Trend to Watch, Big discretionary donors are not giving money to Churches

I can't tell you all I know about this. I can tell you this is a trend that two years from now George Barna will report on.

I just thought you would want to know about it ahead of time. I am tapped into the inner circle of some international ministries. And some Churches. I keep my ear to the ground and have spotted a trend that could be troubling particularly if you lead a Church.

Big Money has become discouraged with the Church in America. It no longer believes the Church has the ability to get things done. Big Money has decided that it will find strategic spiritual movers and shakers to take the money they want to invest in building the kingdom of God and fulfilling the great commission. They want more bang for their buck than they are currently getting from the Church.

Oh, they will support their local church. But when they want impact they are investing their money elsewhere.

An early harbinger of this was Joan Kroc's gift of a Billion Dollars to the Salvation Army. Then we saw Warren Buffett give most of his money to the Gates Foundation for distributional effectiveness. Big Givers no longer believe in the effectiveness of the Local Church.

The idea of creating a foundation to survive you and perpetuate your giving has fallen on disrepute. The Tribune's McCormick foundation has become a liberal pro abortion, pro gay rights, anti American foundation that must send conservative McCormick spinning at 5000 rpms in the grave.

IF you are a person of means, morals and a conservative who is still alive and in control of billions of dollars, you may want to find a way to have an effective answer to the strident atheism and liberal trends in America as a legacy . If you wanted to fund an evangelical witness to stand against the encroaching global Islamic expansion around the world where would YOU put your money? In First Baptiluthercostal Church or in some more focused ministry.

I mention that because in the last 7 days I have received information from very large ministries on a back channel that huge money is being offered to them right now. Just come up with an effective strategy to use it for the kingdom (which doesn't include bigger buildings, larger salaries or a Rolls for the Pastor) and they are ready to fund it.

One man, local to Chicagoland told me personally, "Gene, We've just been offered hundreds of millions of dollars if we can just demonstrate a plan that would help get the job done". Another friend of mine said, "they just came in and gave me a Hundred Thousand dollars and said, use it well, and there's lots more where that came from". The hundred grand was a test.

Trust me, they are and they will. I know these men. They get things done.

The world, even the nominal Christian world, sees the threat of a takeover of our culture by Islam in America and Europe as a threat, not only to our future but the the economic well being of the Globe. They also see the continued decline of morals and standards in America and see a church impotent against them.

The claims of Islam are unanswered by the Church of Jesus. Amoral leaders stand and mock God openly. Look at San Francisco a few weeks ago. The Leather Last Supper.

This is a time of tremendous opportunity for those with wisdom. This will become a time of financial drought for those without vision. Ministries and churches judged as ineffective are about to find it's going to get harder and harder to make it. I mentioned a few days ago that there were ministries and churches I would never give a dime to. I a few cases I hope they close up shop. There are others who in my opinion do great and wonderful things. I'm small potatoes compared to the Wal-Mart Heirs for example. They have money in amounts that invested with the right ministry outreach could make a real difference globally. Their survival as a people and even as a corporation depends on continued freedom, not Sharia law.

The church may survive but it is slowly perishing for a lack of vision. The great commission has been forgotten to create the Sunday Morning Great Convention. This is Judgment beginning in the House of the Lord. Evenso, come Lord Jesus.