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Jason is the founder of Ignite Student Ministries, a dynamic ministry igniting youth, young adults and university students to passionately pursue Christ and transform society in high schools, work places and universities around the world.

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Resourcing Hope

Jason VanaJason Vana

Photo Credit: Flickr User 401(K) 2012 (Creative Commons)

As followers of Christ, as the church, we’ve been charged with bringing hope into this world.

We are charged with sharing the good news of Christ’s redemptive power in every aspect of life.
We’re called to take care of the widow, the orphan and the alien (those who do not belong).
We’re commanded to make disciples, not converts, in all the world.
We’re told to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, tend to the sick and visit those in prison.
We’re commanded to assist the poor, downtrodden and distressed.

It’s not an easy command.

Following Christ will take all we have.
Our time.
Our energy.
Our plans and desires.
Our assets, resources and, hardest of all, our money.

How we as Christ followers expend our resources speaks of our ability to bring hope into the world.

Mark Driscoll, in his book Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe quotes the research of Christian Smith in Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money:

We estimate that if committed Christians in the United States gave 10 percent of their after-tax income—fully but no more than 10 percent— that would provide an extra $46 billion per year of resources with which to fund needs and priorities. That represents nearly an additional 25 percent of what all Americans—Christians or otherwise—currently give in all types of private philanthropy.

Just some of the things this money could fund, according to Smith, include:

Driscoll, Mark; Breshears, Gerry (2010-03-19). Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (RE: Lit) (RE: Lit: Vintage Jesus) (pp. 397-398). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

We have the ability to drastically change the world.
We have the resources needed to eradicate diseases and make a significant dent in poverty.
We can effectively fight the sex slave industry, help start businesses and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

But we’re not.
At least not at the level we could be.

Instead, many choose to hold onto their resources.
They live outside their means.
They build bigger homes, purchase fancier cars, and buy all the latest and greatest toys.

And rob their local church, that group of Christ followers who gather together to seek Him, of the ability to care for each other and fund efforts to change the world.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Christ called His church, His followers, to be agents of hope in the world, both spiritually and naturally.
He has called us individually and corporately to live on 90% of our income, so we can advance His Kingdom.
He commanded us to put the needs of others above our own.

Until all of us use our resources to effect Godly change in the world, we will never bring the level of hope He calls us to bring.

How can you reorder your personal resources to help bring hope into the world?

This post is part of a series on the local church. View more in the series.

Jason is the founder of Ignite Student Ministries, a dynamic ministry igniting youth, young adults and university students to passionately pursue Christ and transform society in high schools, work places and universities around the world.