Jack K
Puritan Board Doctor
My church has announced that an annonymous donor is offering a matching gift. The donor will give a sizeable sum to the church's general fund provided the rest of the church matches the amount within the next month. What do you think of such practices? Under what conditions should a church play along?
NOTE: I try to resist the type of posts that say, "My church did such-and-such. Let's all talk about how bad that was." I don't know the details of this case nor the donor's identity and his motivation/maturity. The elders considered all these things and decided to accept the gift offer and put the challenge to the congregation. My place is to assume that the elders acted with godliness and wisdom in this case. I have no interest in hearing how wrong they are from people who don't know them nor the details they were privy to.
That said... I do think my church faced an interesting issue. Generally, what might be the concerns to consider when someone makes such an offer? What would you ask of the donor? How would you pastor the congregation through the matter? Under what conditions, if any, might you play along?
NOTE: I try to resist the type of posts that say, "My church did such-and-such. Let's all talk about how bad that was." I don't know the details of this case nor the donor's identity and his motivation/maturity. The elders considered all these things and decided to accept the gift offer and put the challenge to the congregation. My place is to assume that the elders acted with godliness and wisdom in this case. I have no interest in hearing how wrong they are from people who don't know them nor the details they were privy to.
That said... I do think my church faced an interesting issue. Generally, what might be the concerns to consider when someone makes such an offer? What would you ask of the donor? How would you pastor the congregation through the matter? Under what conditions, if any, might you play along?