Give effectively

If generosity is one of our main ways of contributing to the fulfilment of the Great Commission, then it matters that we do it well.

Youth worker and recent Geography graduate

Bethany Cook

Who do you give to?

“I give to a number of places, but I mainly give to a church-planting organisation working in south Asia. I’ve been there and seen that the amount they can do with just a little money is amazing.”

Why do you seek to give effectively?

“I believe God tells us to steward our money well, and a big part of that involves being strategic with giving too.

The way organisations use their money matters, and there are some helping to build God’s kingdom in incredibly resourceful ways!”

What has been the impact of your giving?

“On my own I couldn’t plant a church in an unreached village, but having met people who are, and getting to be part of others’ journeys to faith (even when it feels like I have little to offer!) is the most amazing thing.”

Why give effectively

Our money can make an enormous impact

Imagine there are two local church-planting charities. One can plant one church for a given sum of money. But the other can plant ten churches with the same money. Which would you give to? All else being equal, we’ll want to give to the one that can plant more churches. That’s all giving effectively is about. It’s simply good stewardship of the limited resources God has entrusted us with.

The most effective charities have 100 times the impact

Secular data shows that the most effective charities can have an impact 100 times greater than an average charity.^{1Note 1Max Roser, ‘Many of us can save a child’s life, if we rely on the best data’, Our World in Data (2024)} There are good indicators that this is true also of Christian ministry, particularly when we consider the relative costs of ministry across geographies. Giving to some ministries means our money will go further in creating a bigger gospel impact. So it’s worth investing time and prayer into carefully considering where we give.

This is exciting as it enables us on modest incomes to punch far above our weight. If you’re on minimum wage and are giving 20% (as a growing number in our network do) to a highly effective charity, you’ll have the same impact as someone able to give £500,000 to an average charity.

Two common giving mistakes

In Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.Acts 1:8 (NIV) Jesus describes the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem (locally), to Judea and Samaria (nationally), and to the ends of the earth (internationally). Whilst the passage isn’t directly talking about giving, this pattern reminds us that Christian mission has both local and global dimensions – and our generosity should play a part in supporting Christian witness across all three.

This pattern of ministry highlights two common mistakes Christians make in their giving.

1. We don’t give to the local church

The Bible is clear. We must not neglect giving to our local church.

2. We don’t give to the ends of the earth

Our neighbours aren’t just those locally. In 1 Corinthians and Romans, Paul talks about gathering a collection for those hundreds of miles away in Jerusalem.

Yet statistics show we are dreadfully neglecting our global neighbours. There’s a “Great Imbalance”, with just £1 in every £1,000 given by Christians, and only one missionary in every 100, going to reach unreached people groups.^{2Note 2See reporting by the Joshua Project: Missions and money and Frontier peoples overview} The unreached are where there’s less than 1 in 100 people who are Christian, so most never hear the gospel. They make up over one-third of the world’s population. Since they have so little chance of hearing the gospel, it could be argued that a disproportionate amount of our giving should go here, yet the reality is entirely different.

Think PRIME

We should think about our giving like investing. When we invest, we think about where our money can make the greatest returns. Likewise, when we give, we should think about where our money can make the greatest kingdom returns. The PRIME framework helps ordinary givers give effectively. Giving at its PRIME is:

• PPrayerful
• RRedemptive
• IIntegrity-based
• MMultiplying
• EEvidence-based

PPrayerful

Without abiding in Christ, our giving is entirely ineffective, and we’ll bear no fruit (John 15:5I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.John 15:5 (NIV)). In fact, God may lead many of us to give in seemingly ineffective ways, so we must listen to him above all else.

For example, friends of ours felt led by the Holy Spirit to give a large gift to a ministry they had previously been involved with but had lost touch with. The next morning the charity told them that without that gift the charity would have had to fold, and now 20 years on the charity is still going – a reminder that God’s vision is far larger than ours.

RRedemptive

Disciple-making work cannot turn elsewhere for funding – there is no welfare state for souls – so we should give to organisations which prioritise disciple-making.

There is no welfare state for souls

In Mark 2When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”Mark 2:5 (NIV)Read all of Mark 2:1–12 →, Jesus first forgave the sins of the paralysed man, then healed him. This is a challenge for us: are we truly loving our neighbour if our giving isn’t focused on making disciples? Even a doctor is not truly a lifesaver, but a death postponer. That said, Jesus did also heal the man. While disciple-making must be central, biblically, acts of mercy very often go hand-in-hand with this.

IIntegrity-based

The integrity of the organisations we’re giving to is fundamental because it reduces the chances of funds being wasted, ensures sound doctrine is being preached and allows us to trust the impact measurement.

The integrity of the leaders is key to the integrity of the organisation. If you can trust that the leaders are both competent and trustworthy, then that goes a long way. Other aspects include accountability, a culture of integrity and good governance and processes. These help ensure integrity over time and at scale.

Relational giving helps here. Gospel patrons who build a relationship with those they support, like Phoebe in Romans 16:1–2I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.Romans 16:1–2 (NIV), can judge their trustworthiness far better. Just remember trustworthiness doesn’t necessarily guarantee competence – you might trust a friend of yours as a person, but if they opened a restaurant, it might not be good!

MMultiplying

Think about ways that can really multiply the impact of your gift – perhaps double, triple or 10x your impact. Often this can involve thinking about the downstream impact of your giving, i.e. what future ministry can happen as a result of the initial intervention. Here are some examples of multipliers; see Practice 2 for more on some of these.

1. Cost reductions. Are there ways your money can go much further? For example, an indigenous church planter could cost one-ninetieth of a Western missionary and be better placed to reach the local culture.
2. Influencing others to be impactful. These are ministries that train others to make disciples, such as Christians in Sport, which equips sports professionals to share their faith.
3. Income-generating models. Seed funding or loans that create sustainable or even profitable ministry, such as buying church property or investment into a new Christian school or publishing company.
4. Scalability. Content creation like film, radio or social media can reach millions when successful.
5. Neglected areas. A ministry which is neglected may have the lowest hanging fruit and encourage more work in that area.

EEvidence-based

Ministries should be able to show the impact they’ve had with rigorous impact evaluations backed by high quality data.

Measuring the right things is fundamental. For example, in a Hindu country a profession of faith may simply mean adding Jesus as one of their many gods, yet getting baptised is a costly commitment that more likely indicates a true conversion.

It isn’t easy to tell which ministries are most impactful. So seek help and advice from others, and draw on research that others have done. The fund model, where organisations are vetted centrally, similar to that of Paul’s collections in the New Testament, is becoming more popular. Examples include All Access, Solving the World’s Greatest Problems and Doulos Partners.

Many who aren’t Christians still display a common-grace commitment to doing good. For example, a movement called Effective Altruism focuses on how to maximise impactful giving. We can cautiously learn from them, using discernment to test against biblical principles, such as from the book Doing Good Better and through Christians for Impact, an organisation combining Christian and effective altruism principles. Recent development economics also has lots of helpful takeaways: some Christian resources that draw on it include Shrewd Samaritan by Bruce Wydick and When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

The real impact of effective giving

From Rakesh to Sumita and beyond

For £60 a month, Rakesh was funded to plant a church in an Indian village with no Christians. Despite persecution, including being taken in by the police, he persisted and now has 75 people attending his church, with many being baptised.

One new believer is Sumita. Life was hard for Sumita. Her husband was a drinker. He lost his job and became physically abusive. He told her, “I can leave you, but I’ll never leave the alcohol”. He sent Sumita and the children away to her in-laws.

Sumita was consumed by nightmares, anxiety and itching all over her body. But then she heard Rakesh share the gospel. She accepted Jesus, and these ended immediately.

She tried to share Jesus with her husband, but he had no interest. But she persisted and prayed – and one day he agreed to come to a church meeting. That night, he heard the gospel and was saved. He repented and reconciled with Sumita and the children.

Now, Sumita is passionate about sharing Jesus with others, and six of her family have come to faith.

Embrace risk

Expect some of your giving to be wasted. Those seeking high returns in the stock market are aware that many of their stocks will go down. Likewise, we shouldn’t be afraid of taking risks in our giving. Remember the church’s giving is spread widely, like a diversified portfolio.

Put it into practice

1. If you reviewed your current giving today, where might you shift it to increase its gospel impact?

2. Choose a ministry you’re familiar with and try applying the PRIME framework to it. What stands out?