I receive a fair amount of contacts on Facebook from pastors and evangelists in majority world countries. More often than not, when I accept connection requests from these national workers, a request for financial assistance is not far behind. For a few months, I’ve been thinking about ways to respond but still maintain a connection if the person wants to be connected – although I think it would be unwise to provide financial support, I’m not unwilling to stay in touch and pray for them as the Lord would bring them to mind. I also am trying to not subscribe to a “send the west to the rest” approach but rather a “send the reached to the unreached” approach to mobilizing God’s people, financially or otherwise.
I’ve come up with the following way of responding to requests for financial assistance from people I don’t know.
Are you affiliated with a Christian organization which oversees your ministry? I’m not speaking of an organization that you founded yourself; rather, I’m speaking of an organization external to yourself and your ministry to whom you make yourself accountable?
If They Are Affiliated with a Christian Organization
Does that organization provide financial support for workers? Have you approached that organization and asked them for financial support?
If the Organization Has Said They Cannot Support Them Financially
Have you asked them if you can meet with them and work through why the organization is unwilling or unable to support what you are doing? Have they made recommendations as to what you can do to receive financial support from them, and are you following those recommendations?
If They are NOT Affiliated with a Christian Organization
My wife and I are governed by two things in making decisions regarding financial support for ministries:
- What we understand as biblical principles of giving as we evaluate requests (this primarily revolves around whether or not we know the person requesting the support and/or know someone who recommends them); and,
- God’s leading with regard to specific priorities.
We are committed to regular financial support for a group of global workers who are members of specific teams in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. These are either people with whom we have deep relationships (primarily because I have worked closely with them over a number of years, both in West Africa and remotely) or with whom I have interacted online enough for us to be confident of the strategic nature of their work in those geographic areas.
If and when God leads us and enables us to increase our regular financial support, it would most likely consist of either increasing support to those we already support or to begin to support other people who serve on the same teams.
Again, these convictions are governed by what we believe to be biblical principles of giving and God’s specific leading.
We have made an exception to the above practice on rare occasions – in giving to a person or project who we don’t know, but who or which has come with a strong recommendation from someone we already know and trust.
But we would never contribute financially to any person or project which we do not already know personally or does not have references from existing organizations that are known, have solid reputations in a geographic area, and with whom we already have some form of connection. This is in keeping with the New Testament practice of sending letters of recommendation which vouched for workers (reflected in the book of 3 John).
I would suggest to you that to approach a potential donor independently – with whom you have no prior relationship or without relying on the recommendation of and relaying your request through a person or organization that the potential donor knows and trusts – is to circumvent New Testament principles of financial support.
Because of these convictions, we are unable to lend financial support to your project. If you would like, we will of course pray for you.
If you have tips on the best ways to respond to such requests, I’d be more than happy to read your comments!
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