Grow You Barnabas
Solid Advice for Cultivating Major Donors in Your Church

By John Weinstein

Barnabas is a New Testament example of how a person of great means can make an impact for God and for good. Selling land and giving it to the apostles to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Jerusalem church is the occasion of his being nicknamed “Son of Encouragement.”

How can your church foster this kind of godly generosity from men and women of wealth?

A passage in the Sermon on The Mount says, “[L]et not your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” This speaks more to the giver’s opinion of his giving rather than an awareness of what others give.

In another passage describing giving at the Temple, Jesus knew what people gave, and even mentioned it to the disciples, as He reveals the Widow’s faith and love in giving all she had.

In James 2, the church is told to not give the best seats to the wealthy because of their wealth, or the worst seats to the poor due to their poverty. In the same book, the wealthy are reminded to be honorable in the ways they earn their money, and to be generous. In numerous passages in Proverbs, the rich are encouraged to be generous and to honor God through that generosity.

Most pastors don’t want to know what their church members give because they fear it will change the way they treat people. In Behind the Stained Glass Window (Baker Books, 1996), authors Jon and Sylvia Ronsvale found that as many as 74 percent of pastors feel this way. And yet, through the role of counselor, pastors know much more personal information about members.

Does that information change the way they treat the members of the churches they serve? I think we can know this information and still treat people equitably.

In the same book, research shows 79 percent of pastors believe that knowing what people give would be helpful. How? As a diagnostic tool to assess their readiness to lead and serve from a life of authentic discipleship.

Even in light of these statistics, we who serve the Lord’s church can’t do things simply because they’re effective or expedient. What would He do? What does His Word say? Jesus knew what people gave and what they didn’t — i.e., the rich, young ruler. He saw this as an indicator of spiritual maturity. Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.

To grow your Barnabas, you must first — long before you address giving issues — spend time with them. Spend time eating, playing and talking with persons of means. This will let them get to know you, and you them.

The development of the spiritual gift of giving also requires prayer. Pray with them as well. In prayer, as people will see what’s important to you, they’ll consider those values as well. This transforming of their vision gets to the core issue of generosity: People give to mission.

Become a proactive agent for authentic growth in their lives. Bible study and authentic relationships are essential to real-life change. When a generous Christian is a growing Christian, the power of influence is added to their gift. This combination creates authenticity, credibility and generosity in others.

Transformation can become permanent when a new perception of the reality of God and His Kingdom is adopted. Share your vision of His purpose for your ministry, the place in the Kingdom your ministry plays, and your hopes for future ministry multiplication. People give to what’s important to them. For major donors, this is the no. 1 motivation to make a major gift.

The next step is to seek their input. There’s a reason they’re in a position to make a major gift: Tap into their giftedness to sharpen your ministry’s business practices, strategic planning process or marketing decisions. They can bring much more to your ministry than finances. Use their gifts to mature you and your church.

An essential and often intimidating step is to privately challenge her or him to take a step of faith and make a significant gift. Whether it’s to a capital campaign, to expand the operating budget, or to fund a new church start, a specific opportunity will serve as the catalyst for their giving.

This step can’t be delegated to another. You’ve become a friend who prays for and with them and is a spiritual mentor. They have a need to give. You have an opportunity to help them.

You have a Barnabas in waiting who will enrich your ministry in many more ways than through giving. Grow them to become what God intends them to be, and enrich their lives.

John Weinstein teaches for the National Association of Church Business Administration, holds a M/Div, and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and a capital stewardship strategist for Generis Partners. He can be reached by e-mail at johnw@generis.com.