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Wishing to provide a solid, biblical foundation for the advancement program, Guiding Principles have been developed.
It is only by the grace and power of God that believers are prompted in the spirit to fund God's work out of a response of gratitude and worship. The role of the development office is to prayerfully deliver the stewardship message to all believers and provide an opportunity to respond to God's calling on the possessions he has entrusted us with, not to be persuasive in speech and presentation. (Ex. 36:6-7).
Further, we believe:
1. God is creator. (Gen. 1) and sustainer of all things (Col. 1:17) and the One "who works within us to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine" (Eph. 3:20), is a God of infinite abundance (Ps. 50:10-11) and grace (2 Cor. 9:8).
2. Scriptures draw us to the saving grace found in Christ. (Romans1:16) as our chief treasure (Mt. 13:44), Christians are called to lives of stewardship, as managers of all that God has entrusted to them (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
3. We are to live as stewards. A Christian's attitude toward possessions on earth is important to God (Mt. 6:24), and there is a vital link between how believers utilize earthly possessions (as investments in God's kingdom) and the eternal rewards that believers receive (Phil. 4:17).
4. Possessions are a tool to use for God's glory. God entrusts possessions to Christians and holds them accountable for their use, as a tool to grow God's eternal kingdom, as a test of the believer's faithfulness to God, and as a trademark that their lives reflect Christ's values (Luke 16:1-9).
5. An attitude of gratitude. From God's abounding grace, Christians' giving reflects their gratitude for what God has provided and involves growing in an intimate faith relationship with Christ as Lord of their lives (Mark 12:41-44).
6. Giving from a worshipful heart. Because giving is a worshipful, obedient act of returning to God from what has been provided (1 Chron. 29:10-14), Christian fund raisers should hold a conviction that, in partnership with the church, they have an important role in the spiritual maturation of believers (James 3:1).
7. Lead others to spiritually mature view of stewardship. The primary role of Christian fund raiser is to advance and facilitate a believer's faith in and worship of God through a Christ-centered understanding of stewardship that is solidly grounded on Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16).
8. The Holy Spirit directs the giver. Recognizing it is the work of the Holy Spirit that prompts Christians to give (John 15:4-5 2 Cor. 9:5-7, Neh. 1:4-11), fundraisers and/or organizations must never manipulate or violate their sacred trust with ministry partners.
9. Kingdom building is ultimate goal. An eternal, God-centered worldview promotes cooperation, rather than competition, among organizations, and places the giver's relationship to God above the ministry's agenda (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
10. God's wisdom is foolishness to him who doesn't believe. In our materialistic, self-centered culture, Christian leaders should acknowledge that there is a great deal of unclear thinking about possessions, even among believers, and that an eternal kingdom perspective will often seem like foolish nonsense (1 Cor. 2:14) to those who rely on earthly kingdom worldview techniques (1 Cor. 2:1-5).
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