What New Money Attitudes?

For a century or more the “closed eyes” attitude has dominated funding for mission. “Don't look at money. Don't talk about money. We will do great, expensive mission projects and the money will come. Don't ask me how. It will just be there.”

In God's grace we and millions of Christian ministers have experienced God's provision in spite of our debatable attitudes. And God can continue to provide in unexplainable ways, especially when the challenge is beyond our abilities.

But today's economic conditions are shaking out some “dead wood” in our faith; for instance, the tendency to just let God create the resources for missions and forget our involvement in the creation.

God commissioned us from the beginning to make more out of the world which He gave us. In the New Testament Christ “re-commissioned” us to go into all the world and build the family of God. The Apostle Paul calls us “God's fellow workers” (I Corinth. 3:9).

God is re-awakening us to the joys of participating in His provision. It is about so much more than money. It is about breaking the bonds of debt and poverty which oppresses the majority of people. It is about demonstrating to the world that we do not serve the financial systems of this world, but make money serve people and the purposes of God. It is part of our fellowship with God to create resources for great accomplishments “on earth as it is in heaven.”