By: Bryn Clark
Recently there’s been a word floating around the Center that used to send chills down my spine: “fundraising.” Talking about money is somewhat of a faux pas in today’s society: let’s discuss the weather, sports, news, politics, even our personal lives…but finances? The norm is to, quite literally, mind your own business.
Because of this, asking someone for money is about as terrifying as many of our high ropes elements. Yet, as a ministry that seeks to provide a broad array of people with life-changing experiences, additional funding is necessary to cover costs.
Which makes fundraising a necessary evil, right? Well, I used to think so. But I’ve come to see fundraising less as a means by which we reach our goal and more as an opportunity for ministry itself.
The Bible is emphatically clear about our use of earthly resources: the Levitical code evolved around communal resourcing, particularly when it came to caring for the poor, and fiscal generosity is given more airtime in the New Testament than purity. Jesus himself elaborated on financial godliness numerous times in His parables and teachings. All of these instances carry the same message: our money is not our own but God’s.
Most of us would say we agree with this statement though the reality is that few of us live this out in our day-to-day lives. But our vocation as human beings -whether we’re accountants, teachers, stock brokers, engineers, or doctors- is to be people of God dedicated to building Christ’s kingdom.
If we take the image from Nehemiah of the Israelites rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, we can begin to imagine what it looks like for us all to have multiple roles, a variety of resources, but one calling and, more importantly, a common proprietor. It would be ridiculous for an Israelite to think that he possessed ownership over specific parcel of the wall; the king is the one to whom all things truly belong. We the builders are just stewards, given the task of using the resources we have to complete the kings’ decree.
Many of us at La Vida have expressed, in relation to fundraising, a fear of being disingenuous, the lurking, accusing voice that tells us we’re leveraging relationships to get ahead in life. It’s important to name that fear then counter it with the Biblical reality that all of us, those who give as well as those who ask, are together gifted with the task of building God’s kingdom. It would be commonplace for one Israelite to say to a co-laborer “hey, could you hand me a couple of those bricks you have there?” Likewise, when we begin to see all earthly resources as God’s resources, we drift away from the idea of ownership, into that of partnership. Any Christ-centered fundraising endeavor is a partnership in God’s kingdom.
As we move into this next exciting, thrilling chapter of the La Vida ministry, we’re looking to expand our partnerships as we expand this ministry. We believe that God has given us the task of building Christ’s kingdom through La Vida’s multi-faceted ministry: whether it’s climbing a rock wall, meditating during a solo, ministering to children as close as Wenham or as far as Iceland, La Vida experiences present our participants with life-changing encounters with Christ. This is a combined effort, one that is neither assigned nor expected to be done alone. With the calling of kingdom partnership comes the calling to learn how to humbly ask for more bricks.
Interested in learning how you can financially support the La Vida Center? Visit our website for information on how to give.