"I want our church people to give more! Can you help me accomplish this goal?" As a pastor you would probably never say this, but you do think about saying it, right? Is "people giving more" even a good goal? Is it a Biblical goal? Is it a goal you want to see accomplished?

Almost every ministry has unmet needs, and it is true that having more money on hand would help to meet those needs. Increased weekly offerings would certainly be a welcome blessing. Sometimes these unmet needs of the ministry create additional burdens for the pastor.

But ministry leaders must be careful not to let these burdens cause them to resort to man-centered tactics. Many non-ministry "charitable" organizations use fear and guilt to extract money from donors. These tactics often prey on common fears and promise cataclysmic consequences if a certain amount of money is not raised. Some secular fundraising tactics appeal to the self-interests of potential donors by promising gifts and other benefits of "membership" in the cause. Have you ever seen guilt or a drummed-up urgent need used in an attempt to extract money from donors?

Taking a man-centered approach to ministry funding can cause us to express our financial concerns to the people in a way that may actually be discouraging regarding giving and stewardship instead of exhorting and challenging. Leaders may even be tempted to resort to the man-centered tactics that are driven by selfish motives.

A simple shift in mindset may be needed. Instead of having a goal for "the people to give more," the more appropriate goal is for "all the people to give faithfully." After all, the requirement of stewardship is faithfulness, not more. This goal is right, and it may challenge our motives. Are we using people to build the ministry, or are we helping people to grow in their responsibility and walk with God?

If the goal is more:

• We may feel reluctant to teach the whole counsel of God regarding financial stewardship.
• We may develop a spirit of contending or competing for the steward's resources.
• We might develop a jealousy over giving to other servants or ministries.
• We will rely on our own power to accomplish the goal.
• We may cause the donor to lose any eternal reward by encouraging wrong motives behind the giving (wood, hay, and stubble).

If the goal is faithfulness:

• We will see that teaching the whole counsel of God regarding financial stewardship helps the believer's spiritual growth.
• We will be ‘trusting the Lord' Himself, believing that God will instruct from His Word, convince by His Spirit, and direct the steward as to where, when, and how much to give.
• The believer's faithful stewardship will be a blessing to the leadership as they see the believer growing in this important area.
• We will rejoice when others are blessed by the steward's generosity.
• The steward will stand ‘approved of God' at the Bema Seat and receive eternal reward for laying up treasure in Heaven.

Statistics tell us that a very small percentage of God's people tithe. High percentages of people giving nothing in offerings are reflected regularly in the annual giving records of churches. We have all likely heard that "10% of the people in a church do 90% of the work." Well, the giving records reflect something quite similar: "90% of the giving is done by 10% of the people."

Simply challenging the people to give more is not likely to change this because it appeals to the emotions of a man. However, solid, conviction-building preaching and teaching about the role and responsibility of the Biblical Steward is likely to result in repentance, obedience and faithfulness. If the offerings reflected all the people giving faithfully, the lists of unmet needs would likely grow small, or disappear altogether.

As God-called preachers of the Word we must demonstrate our faith and be like the Apostle Paul,) "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Acts 20:27.

Eternal Vision created the publication Treasure Builders to assist pastors in developing their flock in the area of Biblical stewardship. Treasure Builders is a bi-monthly publication that is available by subscription either in bulk to churches or individually to God's people.