Have you ever wondered way so many churches reduce giving to missions and many Christian organizations fail to balance their budgets – thus not being able to fund potential life changing ministries?
Introducing: Growing Into Generosity
In Growing Into Generosity, Clark Dickerson, founder of DickersonBakker, provides an answer to that question. While conceding that a significant number of Christians do practice generosity, Clark uses his decades of experience and careful research to identify ten reasons why many followers of Christ fail to give at all and others, who could give more, fail to do so. In each of the ten chapters Clark provides a biblical foundation, practical and personal illustrations, and workable solutions to guide Christian leaders who want to teach and promote biblical generosity.
Three biblical principles, that while illustrated throughout the Bible seem to be “forgotten” by many in the Christian community, are the foundation of Growing Into Generosity. They are:
- God is the Owner of All (Psalm 24:1)
- We are Stewards, not Owners (Matthew 25:14-30)
- We are Blessed to Bless Others (Galatians 6:10)
Stewardship Trends
Research indicates that the average Christian family gives 2.5% of annual income to charitable causes. And, some 40% of Christian families give nothing to charity – not even to the churches they attend. Why do people who receive the blessing of Sunday services and enjoy other church related programs never give financially?
It may surprise you to know that during the Great Depression, families gave 3.3% of annual income to charity and that currently non-Christian families give about the same amount – 2.5% of annual income – they just give to difference causes.
A Question as Old as Time
Growing Into Generosity provides stories about people Clark has met over the years to help to answer the question, “Why aren’t Christians more generous?” Through some of these same people, you will learn how lives can be changed by accepting and acting out what God’s Word teaches about generous stewardship.
In addition to being an informative reading concerning stewardship, by using scripture references in each chapter and study questions and action points at the end of each chapter, Growing Into Generosity is a quality study guide for Bible classes, school and college courses, and for family and individual study groups.
So, why aren’t Christians more generous? The answer to that challenging question is within each of us who, by faith, claim Christ as Lord. Many of us aren’t more generous because we resist the call of God to be generous. And our lack of generosity means that fewer are hearing of the salvation that comes only through Christ.
Therefore, may it be that we turn our hearts towards God’s message of stewardship and fully embrace his call to generous giving, so that we might be like our generous Father in heaven and be found fully faithful when Christ returns.
Answering God's Call
For individual and small group purchases, Growing Into Generosity is available through collegepress.com and Amazon.com. Both hard and soft covers can be ordered through both. If seeking Kindle, go to Amazon.com. If wishing to order in volume, go to collegepress.com If you would like more information, go to collegepress.com and click on the book cover.
If your organization is struggling to understand your donors’ giving patterns, our team can help identify the gaps in your major gift strategy.
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