I am eternally grateful for the ministry of Larry Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts. It was his ministry that first taught me God could creatively provide for His work without His people having to borrow. Over the past 20 years, I've had the privilege of seeing God wonderfully provide needed resources for Christian churches, camps, colleges, and missions without those organizations the use of long-term mortgages or bond issues. Several years ago I was asked to give a full-day seminar for leaders from Christian ministries on how to experience God's provisions for their large expansion needs. Reflecting on my experiences of seeing God provide resources for various capital and expansion projects, I discovered there were eight steps commonly used steps in experiencing God's provisions without the use of long-term indebtedness.

1. Prayerful And Unified Planning.

Whenever there was a building project in the Scriptures, there were always thorough plans developed before the project was undertaken.  Ministries that take the time (often 3-18 months) to do careful, prayerful and unified planning for the future are much more likely to experience God's direction and people's support than groups that continually undertake hasty and speculative projects.

2. A Commitment To Debt-Free Expansion.

This commitment by a ministry's leadership will:

• Save hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest.

• Protect the ministry from overbuilding or overspending.

• Protect the leadership from "presuming upon the future".

• Allow them to interact with God's people in order to raise the needed resources necessary for the project.

• Allow them to experience God's creative provisions.

3. Donor Survey.

The Bible says, "In the multitude of counselors there is safety and victory." Using experienced Christian help to conduct extensive surveys before launching a major fund drive will allow ministry leaders to gain valuable input. The information can save them from making major mistakes or going in a wrong direction.

4. Major Donor Involvement.

God has given some people abundant resources to invest in His work. When major gifts are given before the public phase of a fund drive, or when they are given as matching or challenge grants, this encourages and excites others to give. Several major gifts are vital to the success of any major fund drive.

5. General Donor Involvement.

For a building drive to be successful, it must have a groundswell of support from those who care about the ministry or have benefited from it . Every gift or pledge is vital to the project. Each represents a person's belief, prayers and support of what God is doing in the ministry.

6. Comparative Pricing And Bids.

Thousands of dollars can be saved on any project if prices are carefully researched for items needed. Even if you have regular suppliers, you owe it to the donors to shop around.

         7 & 8. Donated and Discounted Material And Labor.

Follow friendly leads and contact companies directly. Thousands of dollars can be saved by utilizing donated and discounted materials and labor.

It should be your desire to use these eight elements in major funding efforts, whether it be for a new facilities, major equipment, or significant ministry initiatives. This approach can save thousands of dollars. In the end, you will have debt-free facilities, equipment and programs that will benefit thousands of lives in the future, without the burden and cost of long-term borrowing.