For being in college I’m making a pretty good income. I budget my money wisely, save a lot of it, and invest it as wisely as I know how. These are all important parts of stewardship, but being a happy giver is just as important as all of those other aspects. It’s not that I was morally opposed to the idea of giving, there was just some sort of block inside of me. Part of me wanted to have a very clear picture of what my money would be doing and who it would be helping before I gave it away, but that wasn’t all of it. I hate to admit it, but there was definitely some greed insidem e. I would rather see my savings account balance increase than put food in the mouth of a hungry child, and that’s sick.

In the last few months there’s definitely been a real spiritually lead change in my heart when it comes to my opinion of giving. I first felt like a hypocrite for trying to teach others to be wise with their money while not being generous with the money I had been earning. I was easily earning two or three times what most college students earn in a year, but probably didn’t give away any more money than a typical college student would. When talking about finances wholistically, I would definitely think giving is a major part of it, but did not practice in the slighest.

I got sick of it and knew that it had to change. There as more causes worthy of donation than any one person can imagine and so many people that need help in the world, whether it be needing food, shelter, clothing, or spiritual guidance—and I wasn’t giving to any of them! The first step I took toward becoming a giver was supporting a child through Compassion International. The money would go to providing supplimental nutrition, health care, and spiritual guidance to a youth in a 3rd world country, and it was only $30.00 a month. It was a lot easier to give to that than to say the Red Cross, because I knew exactly where the money was going and could see how my donation benefited that one person.

I discussed the issue with one of my good friends with a strong faith and sharp mind and asked him what he thought about my dilemma. He asked me if I tithed, and I told him that I did not. He told me something that really made me think, “If you start a pattern of giving now, 20 years down the l ine when you have and are raising your children to become righteous, they’ll see your giving and pattern it. They’ll become big givers too.” My heart stirred to give even more. $30.00 a month would just not cut it.
I felt that it was the right time to start supporting my local church in a big way. They were facing a bit of a tight spot and the building fund just wasn’t where it needed to be, so I decided to start giving 10% of my income to my local church—the classic Christian tithe. My studies lead me to believe that there’s no biblical commandment for Christians who live by the new testatment covenant to tithe, but there are all sorts of verses telling us to be generous givers, and practicing a tithe is a great way to give. In otherwords, you shouldn’t tithe because you have to, but rather because you want to.

For now, I’m going to keep up my support for a Compassion child as well as giving to the church. I’m sure I’ll be lead to give more in the future, and it’s exciting to see all the amazing work that my extra money can do when it would just otherwise be sitting in my savings account not doing anyone any good.

If you’ve never given to a charity that works with a cause that you’re particularly passionate about, I’d like to challenge you today to start. You don’t have to start out by giving away 10% of your income, but you should at least try to give out $50 a month to a charity that you support and increase that amount over time. There are all sorts of worthy organizations to be donated to that are facing budget short-falls as the economy slows down. By giving a consistent amount on a regular basis to one of them, you are creating a pattern of giving and well on your way to being a generous giver.

How I Learned To Stop Being So Greedy and Become a Giver was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Letters Asking For Support. Well written letters to friends and family indicating where you will be going, what you will be doing there, why you will be doing it will be one of the single best fundraisers you could possibly do. People love to give to philanthropic activities, especially when it’s for someone they know, and when the money is going somewhere very visible to them. If someone gives money to the American Red Cross, they have no idea how it will be spent. If they give money to support your mission, they know exactly where it’s going and will be a lot more likely to give. Asking your friends, family and coworkers to partner with you in prayer and financially will often raise hundreds if not thousands of dollars for your mission.

Your Local Church. If you’re going to be doing any sort of mission work, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask your church body for some help. Often churches will have missions boards and be more than willing to support a member who embarks on some missionary journey.

Creative Fundraisers. If you sign up with a company that will have you sell stuff and give you  a small fraction of the profit, you won’t make a lot of money. If you hold your own adult spelling bee, charge $10.00 a head, and have a lot of fun with it, you could easily raise hundreds of dollars. Google for creative fundraising ideas and you’ll get all sorts of results. Doing something unique and interesting will be much more of a draw than going around and selling stuff for a company!

Be a Good Steward. You can save a substantial amount of money by maintaining a tight-ship in your own financial household. If you write and stick to a budget, plan out your spending, and continually look for ways to spend less money, it’s very easy to save $100 a month if not more.

These are just some of the ways to raise money for a mission trip and you will likely have a lot of success with them for a short term philanthropic trip. If you want to become a full-time missionary, you’ll have to put in a lot more visits to churches, ministries, and individuals, but it can be done.

How to Raise Money for a Mission Trip or Other Philanthropic Adventure was created by and is property of American Consumer News.