Guilt Free Giving – Including “Faith Promise” Giving

If you have ever felt guilty or pressured about your giving to missions, PLEASE read this page!

So many people get uptight about giving to missions. Just about everybody knows how important it is that we “do” missions. Many Christians are at a loss as to how it all works. (How do missionaries get paid, anyway?) And, many feel nervous or guilty about their giving. All of the confusion and “pressure” and pictures of starving orphans only seems to make it all the worse!

Now, I’m going to try to set your mind at ease, but really, only you and the Lord can do that. Make up your mind that you will hear me out, and try to understand how all of this works. (It’s not that hard, really.) And, because this has been an area where the Devil intentionally harasses and lies to Christians, ask the Lord to help you get free of the lies. Walk with me through some truths:

1. If you are a born again Christian, God should direct your giving. He will help you know where to give, and how much to give. The Bible is a guide in this, such as 1 Corinthians 16:2, but the Lord expects you to hear and obey His voice, as we do in every area of life.

2. When you obey the Lord in your giving, your heart will be at peace. No one should be able to bring you under guilt for not doing more, because you are already doing what the Lord has asked you to do!!!

3. When a missionary asks you if you can make a monthly gift to help fund the work of the ministry, they are not asking you to promise to do that! And, if you fill out a card saying you will send $xxx to the missionary each month, you are not personally or “legally” obligated!

I can’t say it never happens, but most missionaries will ask if you would pray about making a “FAITH PROMISE.” Those words are chosen carefully because there is a big difference between your promise, and a FAITH PROMISE! If you make a promise, then you need to keep your promise! However, in James 5, God warned us not to promise things we have no control over – like whether you will be able to send $xxx to a certain missionary every month. So what is the missionary asking you? They are asking you to pray about this decision: ask the Lord, “Do you want me to make a faith promise to this missionary? Yes? Ok, how much, Lord?” …and then you fill out the little card.

WHO said to give? The LORD. Who set the amount? The LORD. Who loves missions and the lost more than all of us combined? The LORD! Who knows the future…your future? The LORD. Who is going to enable you to fulfill this “faith promise”? The LORD.

Here’s where we get right to the heart of the matter: What if He doesn’t? What if a month comes, and something has happened (job loss, sickness, car wreck, etc.) and you don’t have the amount you “faith promised” to send? Is this your responsibility? NO. God is the one Who told you to give it, and He is the one Who is responsible to supply the gift. If you really don’t have it, don’t sweat it! I would just recommend this: you and your missionary are partners. You pray for them, they pray for you. With God’s help, you are helping to fund the work of the ministry. So if you can’t send your gift, do send them an email. Tell your friend, your partner, what is going on so that they can pray for you. Again, NO guilt! This is God’s baby. You and I? We’re just blessed to be in the middle of God’s work, doing our part. Everything we have is the Lord’s!

Now what if the Lord says “No, I don’t want you to give to this missionary”? Then you’re done! NO GUILT! It just means that God wants you to invest somewhere else. There should never be any guilt when we are listening to, and obeying the Lord.

4. When you are giving as God directs, there is joy and contentment. This is a good test. Check your heart. Are you a “joyful giver”? “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 6-9

5. “Does the missionary judge me, or harbor bad feelings toward me for not giving?” Friends, I’ve had good, life-long friends tell me that they feel uneasy around me because of the “missionary” thing! When I asked why, they said something like this, “Well, I know you are needing money for your work, and I’m not helping with that, so I feel like you’re judging me.” Another one feared that I was only friends to try to get money, and that my motives were all focused on getting them to give.

TRUTH: Thankfully, not many of my friends have said this (though I think there may be others who feel this way and didn’t say it), but it really broke my heart. I try to be as “real” and straightforward as I can be. I love people! My wife, kids and I want the “folks back home” to know that it gets lonely being a missionary. We love what we do, but when we come home for a bit, we need real friends. We need people who will relax and just be themselves! That’s what we’re doing!

MORE TRUTH: Yes, I know that there are missionaries who give an element of truth to these types of suspicions and feelings about being judged. In this I can only speak for us, for this ministry, but I do BELIEVE that what I say here is true of most missionaries. Again, please walk with me:

1. I don’t know who God chooses to give, or how much they should give…and I don’t want to know! I do not judge you!

2. I trust the Lord to speak to you about giving if that’s what He wants you to do. I hope that you will do what He asks you to do, not just in this, but in every area of your life! I hope this for you because that’s where true peace and contentment come from – following the Lord.

3. I don’t think about who is giving, and who is “disobeying.” That’s God’s business, and their business.

4. Yes, I am excited about what God is doing in my corner of the world. And yes, I want to tell you about it. I’ll try to do this as a testimony, not too short and not too long. I’ll pay attention to your interest in the subject, and adjust as necessary. I’m not trying to hassle you, or guilt you into giving. My goal, 100%, is to bless you with news from the mission field. I will often (but not always) tell you about financial or prayer needs. Again, please, this is a NO GUILT thing! If the Lord tells you to help, please DO. If He doesn’t tell you to give, please DON’T.

5. No, I did not come to see you just to ask for money. I’m not plotting how to manipulate you into giving. I want to share the most exciting thing in my life. I also want to hear about your most exciting thing. I want to enjoy our friendship centered on things that matter to both of us.

6. “What would you do with a million dollars?” Ever get that question? It’s fun to think about! This one thing might help you understand my heart on this more than any other:

I’m a missionary. I love missions! I long to see the great commission finished…DONE…as in, NOBODY left on earth who doesn’t know what Jesus did for them, and the life He offers!!! I think, and plan and work to this end every day. I personally know of hundreds…or thousands…of ministries and missionaries I’d love to give money to. “If I had a million dollars?” It would be gone as fast as I could write the checks! But God hasn’t asked me to give to all those groups, and He hasn’t enabled me to give to them either. I do my best to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to invest the money He asks me to give where He says to give it.

Bottom line: I can’t give to every “need” I hear about, and neither can you! Relax! Listen to the Lord! Do your best to follow Him in your giving and with your whole life. In that is true peace on contentment!

For more good information on giving, please read our Q&A section.