In the last post (Futility or Effectiveness?), we talked about the roadblocks that keep many of us from giving to help the world’s desperately poor – and noted that dismantling these roadblocks was one of the primary purposes behind our work at Givers by Design. So here’s the question: Why? Why are we so excited about helping God’s people to act, generously, on the biblical mandate to help the least and last?
Well, there is, of course, the question (a serious question… see Ezekiel 16:49 for an eye opener…) of obedience to Scripture. Even more, there is the question of witness – the profoundly negative witness we give to a watching world when we turn our backs on the world’s poorest. Either one of these is a pretty big deal, and reason enough.
Yet, the thing that excites us most is that we have heard, in the course of our conversations on the street, that many of God’s children in America stand ready to give to help the least and last — actually want to give — if only they could do so with s reasonable assurance that their gifts would make a lasting and real difference.
A statement that we have heard over and over again in our conversations with our brothers and sisters in Christ, both inside the church and out,
goes something like this:
“I could give more, I want to give more, but not for ______________.
I want to give where it will make a real difference!”
We are convinced that there is a veritable flood of Christian generosity towards those who suffer in extreme poverty, just waiting to be released – waiting for the knowledge that we can indeed give with effectiveness, with the confidence that our gifts can make a real and lasting difference. This is what moves us at Givers by Design.
If you haven’t already done so, read the article “Helping Well”; you might also find the article “Trends in Effective Giving” to be helpful. Then, explore our Top Organizations page, where we present a hand-picked group of high-impact Christian organizations known for their effectiveness in helping the least and last to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Your gifts can indeed make a real and lasting difference…..
Imagine that “flood” unleashed…
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