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November 10, 2009
Guest Post: 5 Reasons To Start A Debt Ministry - Part THREE
Part Three: Broke people cannot give
As pastor, you are providing the vision and next steps that God is leading your church to take. That vision will require money - lots of it - to happen. For the next building to happen, there must be giving. If you are to provide a food shelter for the community, it will require money. Medical missions trips take money. Whatever the next step is for your church, it will take money.
Christ-followers should manage their money differently - and it should be noticeable. Yet, many Christians have fallen prey to the "more stuff - bigger stuff - shiny-stuff-syndrome." They have pledged away all of their future income to purchase stuff that they could not afford any other way. The result is a perpetual state of financial brokenness. They do not save money for known upcoming expenses (car repairs, property taxes, vacation and Christmas) or emergencies (sickness, job loss or appliance failure).
It also means that they will be unable to give much toward the next step of the vision. The average household has between $500 and $1,000 per month in non-house debt. If you include the house payment, the average household has between $750 and $2,000 per month (or more) in debt payments. What else could they do with this money? How much more could they SAVE? How much more could they GIVE?
A lack of giving is due to one of the two below reasons:
1. Heart Problem
2. Lack Of Wisdom
We cannot force a change of heart, God does that. We can, however, teach the Word and provide practical next steps for people to take such as a personal finance group study, stewardship class, or basic money skills workshop.
Teach people to become debt-free, challenge them to give and see the vision be funded!
The I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. team is passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible. We provide full personal finance ministry solutions including development of money messages, speaking on Sundays, teaching live personal finance workshops (2-hour Financial Learning Experience; 6-hour Financial Freedom Experience), and training financial counselors on-site (Financial Counseling Experience). We also provide books and group studies, including Joe's book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. and its related six-week group study. For more information, contact their team HERE.
Learn more about Joe Sangl.
Posted by bstroup at November 10, 2009 8:29 AM
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