COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -
A small 90-page book on how
to lead a more generous life by pastor and church giving
authority Brian Kluth is something of a “publishing
miracle” that is being used by churches, denominations,
and ministries across the
United States and
around the world to inspire greater generosity and
increased giving.
In order to keep up with
the increasing demand, 450,000 copies of the
“A 40-day
Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life”
have been printed. When 100,000 copies were printed in the
first nine months, David Neff of Christianity Today, said
“anytime you get 100,000 copies of any book into the
churches, you’re making some impact. Doing so in a
9-month period is spectacular."
Hundreds of
churches have
ordered it for every family. Denominations are sending
copies to every pastor, parachurch ministries are
giving copies to their donors and seminaries are handing
out copies to students.
The story of this booklet has even
caught the attention of the media with news stories on
NBC TV evening news
in Colorado, a live interview on CBN TV news and talk
show, a front page story in the Colorado Springs
Gazette newspaper Life section, a 1 hour live
interview on Moody Radio's 250 stations nationwide,
The Christian Post (as a top story),
REV! Magazine; Church
Executive Magazine,
CCM Magazine,
UPI - United Press International, USA Religious News,
Christian
Newswire,
Christian Headlines,
Google News,
Yahoo News and
MSNBC News.
Kluth said that several
Christian publishers had declined to publish the booklet
because they said there was no market for a book on
generosity. “Last summer my wife and I used some
inheritance money to ‘by faith’ produce and print 15,000
copies and we thought it would take years to distribute
this many. But within a few years we needed to
print 450,000 copies," he says.
Fellowship
Bible
Church in Little
Rock used a customized copy of
the booklet in their $35,000,000 relocation campaign.
One of Fellowship Bible pastor’s said, "We researched
every available resource we could find to inspire
people's generosity. This booklet was the best thing we
found anywhere!"
The "Spiritual Journey to
a More Generous Life" book takes people through 40 daily
Bible readings that help them understand what the Bible
teaches about managing their finances. "Years ago I
was in debt and had financial problems. As I learned
what the Bible teaches about money, God helped me
completely turn around my finances and gave me the
freedom to live more generously. I am grateful that so
many other people can benefit from the things I
learned," said Kluth.
The book is currently
scheduled to be translated into
over 40 foreign languages in 2008, including Spanish,
Chinese, Russian, German, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Mongolian, Hindi, Serbian, Croatian,
Afrikaans, Urdu, Punjabi and many other languages.
The Nazarene denomination’s
Spanish-speaking churches worldwide have proclaimed 2008
as the “Year of Stewardship” and will be using a Spanish
version in its Spanish-speaking churches and countries.
Other denominations have
expressed interest in being part of the foreign language
translation partnerships.
Kluth reports that the
Southern Baptist’s Stewardship Development Association
made a private label version they will promote and sell
in 11 states. Their first order was for 15,000 copies
but feel there is the potential for thousands more to be
ordered in the future.
The devotional is available
in a standard version or churches ordering over 1000
copies can order a customized cover for just $1 more per
booklet. Some of the largest churches in the
country have been ordering thousands of copies for every
family in their congregation, including the First Baptist
Church of Orlando; Church for the Nations in Colorado;
St. Luke's United Methodist in Indianapolis; Fellowship
Bible
Church in Little
Rock; Crossroads
Fellowship in
Charlotte,
NC;
Grace
Community
Church in
Tempe, AZ; Rivertree Christian Church in
Ohio, First North SBC in Spartanburg, SC; Gateway Christian Fellowship in
New Haven,
CT, among other churches.
Kluth reports that after
bank failures in
Mongolia, the
largest church in the country translated the booklet and
gave it to their 1,100 believers. “Over the next two
months we saw offerings increase nearly 60 percent,” the
Executive Pastor emailed to Kluth.
“This whole thing is a
God-sized journey for us. We’re doing our best to keep
up with what the Lord is doing with this book,” Kluth
says. He is senior pastor of First Evangelical Free
Church in Colorado Springs,
CO.
Kluth has had a ministry of
stewardship for several years and offers materials,
seminars, and other aids to churches and ministries in
this important area. Earlier this year Kluth was
honored by the Christian Stewardship Association with
the Outstanding Stewardship Educator of the year award.
Kluth’s web sites can be
accessed at
www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org and
www.GenerousLife.info