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EKG the Heartbeat of God …changing the heart Eternal Impact The Passion of Kingdom-Centered Communities (due Jan ’08) …changing the thinking M aking Change A Transformational Guide to Christian Money Management …providing the resources. Making Change 10 Undeniable Kingdom Financial Truths.
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EKG the Heartbeat of God…changing the heartEternal ImpactThe Passion of Kingdom-Centered Communities(due Jan ’08)…changing the thinkingMaking ChangeA Transformational Guide to Christian Money Management…providing the resources
Making Change10 Undeniable Kingdom Financial Truths Dr. Ken Hemphill National Strategist For Empowering Kingdom Growth
God owns it alland therefore I don’t.“The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord.” Psalm 24:1
2. God created everything with Kingdom purpose and potential.
3. God created the world with sufficient resources: • To meet man’s needs and provide for his pleasure, • To provide for the needy, • To provide for and expand ministry, and • To reach the nations.
4. God desires to entrust His resources to stewards who are privileged to join Him in advancing His Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
5. We will not be the instruments that God uses to reach the nations if we don’t get serious about allowing Him to provide the resources through us.
We must admit we have a giving problem. • Among adults who attend church regularly (an average of at least once a month), more than one out of every three (37%) did not give any money to a church in the past year. • The average donation by adults who attend Protestant churches is about $10 a week. • Overall, only 3 to 5% of people who donate money to church “tithe” their income.
This problem is a growing one. • Giving to churches, overall, is declining. • Church donors tend to be older than non-givers (44 compared to 37 who do not support a church).
7. In order to solve the giving problem, we must address our spending problem. The average couple spends $1.20 for every $1.00 they earn. We must be willing to adopt a kingdom focused lifestyle.
8. We must have an educational strategy that deals with all avenues of personal finance. Adults who do not donate to their church tend to be considerably more ignorant of Scripture’s content.
People display an amazing level of ignorance about a topic on which they are supposedly well versed, and they are surprisingly open to learning more about their responsibilities before God.
In spite of the occasional sermon or teaching about stewardship, most people remain ill-informed about the matter;
…they possess general understanding of the idea that they should give, but they lack any depth of comprehension about why and how.
9. We have a tool that is both biblical and efficient for allocating God’s resources for the reaching of the nations.
The Cooperative Program is not a budget to fund a denomination, but is a budgetary tool which enables the local church to join with like-minded partners to advance the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
10. The issue of stewardship and tithing is bigger than the simple funding of ministry.
It is the one specific issue of repentance that God demands of the people who would experience revival. It is a requirement with both a challenge and a promise. “…test Me in this way, says the Lord of Hosts, see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Malachi 3:10
Empowering Kingdom Growth • changing the heart...
The Kingdom - Centered Church • changing the thinking… (due January ‘08)
Making Change • providing the resources…