By far, the largest amount of charitable giving in the United States on a year-by-year basis is to religious causes. So, should we be concerned if we see shifts in certain factors surrounding this area of philanthropy?
Maybe so. The alarm sounded with the recent release of a study by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy indicating generational changes in giving to religious causes. The story goes like this—baby boomers give less to religious causes than their parents did when they were the same age, and members of Generation X give even less. Accompanying this trend, younger people attend religious services less than their parents or grandparents. According to the study, the decline in giving may result from the decline in attendance at religious services.
Believe it or not, this is a trend that all charities watch. The reason—givers to religious causes tend to give to more groups of all kinds. If giving to religious causes declines, a potential shortfall results in giving to other groups as well.
Another barometer to watch is the annual report on philanthropy called Giving USA. Here we see that total dollars given to religious causes increased over the past 40 years, but expressed as a percentage of total giving in the U.S. religion’s share has fallen from near 46% to 32%. In fact, giving to religious organizations showed the lowest growth of all the many subsectors of charitable giving.
So, what’s up? I’m not an expert, but there are some concerns that I think we all as ministry leaders and believers should try to remedy.
First, I wonder if we have gotten away from the biblical view that possessions play a role in our spiritual development. Scripture makes it clear that the way a believer handles their possessions reveals much about their hearts. Are ministry leaders preaching and teaching this? Some may say “yes” but some also have embraced such a seeker-sensitive mindset that they might be afraid to emphasize stewardship with their congregations or supporters. As put in a new book edited by Wes Willmer, Revolution in Generosity, ministry leaders may focus on the transaction with the believer rather than on the transformation of the believer when they give. Transformation should be the focus.
Next, I wonder if all these years of capital campaigns and stewardship drives are catching up with us. When the church or a ministry spends a great amount of time in this mode, it causes the preacher and other leaders to behave like development officers of a large nonprofit organization. This could de-emphasize the biblical message about stewardship to the detriment of the long-term development of devoted stewards. The bottom line is that ministry leaders should stick to teaching what the Bible says about stewardship, about the transformation of the heart that reflects where we are in our relationship with our Lord. This is a sure way to make an impact on the finances of the organization.
Finally, I hope we can address the generational issues that are sure to arise regarding stewardship. Are we teaching biblical concepts of stewardship to the younger generations? Is there a difference in how these generations behave in giving because they have more demands for their income? I thought God demands it all, because it is His anyway. There is an upcoming generational shift of resources that will be huge according to current research. Are we showing these younger generations how they can make an impact for Christ now and how they can lay up treasures in heaven? The next generation, and the generation after that, will reflect the values that we have left them and that we have taught them. It is time for ministry leaders, church leaders, and mature Christ followers to take the lead in conveying biblical stewardship to the next generation.
Let’s practice what we preach.
