40 Day Generosity Book Bends the Trends: Helps Church Giving Go Up in a Down Economy

Brian Kluth continues his 'generosity' work despite losing his wife after an eight-year battle with cancer

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO (ANS) -- The annual STATE of the PLATE research on church giving shows a lot of churches are experiencing giving declines unprecedented in our lifetime, but an ever expanding number of churches are finding surprising trend bending help from a small generosity devotional booklet written by a pastor in Colorado.

Cover of the booklet

The 40 Day Journey to a More Generous Life was written by Pastor Brian Kluth, who is also an ASSIST News Service correspondent, to help Christians know and understand 400 key Bible verses on finances, generosity, and giving. When ordered by churches and given out to every family, this small 40 day Bible devotional booklet is bending the downward giving trends upward, with some churches experiencing what seems like miraculous results - - double and even triple digit giving increases in a down economy.

Over the past few years, over 1600 churches have given out copies to every family in their congregation. There are now over 450,000 copies in print and translations available in many foreign languages around the world.

In video testimonials (http://www.generouslife.info/index.htm), Tom Robertson, a leader at Pine Grove Community Church in Wisconsin said, "Our church hadn't met budget in 4 years and couldn't afford to buy the devotionals. So, my wife and I personally purchased copies for every family in the church. Since then the giving has gone up 50%!" Pastor Chris Richards, a pastor of a large church in Texas gave out copies of the devotional to every family. After the 40 days his church collected a special offering of $200,000 and also saw the church's general offerings go up 50%. Pastor Jay Klopfenstein from Grace Church in Indiana said, "Our offerings had been running 20% behind budget for our church and school.

We gave out copies of your 40 Day Bible devotional to all our families and used the 40 Day companion materials. Within a short time our offerings increased 50%. And the last 2 weeks our offerings are up 100%!"

Brian Kluth pictured with Dan Wooding during the interview for Front Page Radio

The miraculous giving results are even occurring overseas. A large church in Mongolia gave out the devotional and saw giving increase 60% in the midst of major bank failures. A church in Beijing, China distributed 8000 copies in the Chinese. In Australia, the Salvation Army has given the booklet out at churches and they have seen churches experience 50%, 100%, and in one place a 600% increase in giving. In India, the devotional has been translated into 10 major Indian languages. Next year, the Spanish version will be released in the United States and countries across Latin America to inspire greater generosity for churches, a growing missionary movement, and outreaches to the needy.

Spurred on by the incredible impact of the 40 Day Generous Life devotional is having in churches everywhere, Kluth has started the www.GenerosityPledge.org movement with a 7-point personal giving pledge and a 30 Day generosity devotional called, The 7 Keys to Open-Handed Living in a Tight-Fisted World. While Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have started the Giving Pledge movement for billionaires, Kluth believes there is a need for a generosity pledge movement among Christians everywhere that will bend the downward giving trends upward to release billions for God's work among churches, ministries, missions, and the needy. Recently, Kluth was even in a CNN TV news interview about tithing.

Kluth says, "We need Bible-based materials in churches that help people understand that real joy and lasting contentment doesn't come from getting everything you want, but by being thankful for everything you have and sharing it. We need a growing generosity movement that is unprecedented in our lifetime."

Every morning, he wakes up to put some more sticks of wood on the fires of what he believes is a growing generosity movement that needs to spread across the country and around the world.


He continues despite the loss of Sandi

Brian and Sandi celebrating Brian's birthday in northern Wisconsin

Brian Kluth has continued with his extraordinary "generosity" work despite losing his wife Sandi Kluth a year ago, after her 8 year journey with cancer. Over 20,000 visits from around the world were made to Sandi's www.caringbridge.org/visit/sandikluth website that chronicled her cancer journey up to the time of her death. And they continue today.


The www.CaringBridge.org website was started for people that have experienced a tragedy or life-threatening illness so family and friends can monitor their progress.

Kluth, who was for ten years, senior pastor of the First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and now has the unusual title of "Generosity Minister-At-Large" to the body of Christ around the world, told the ASSIST News Service (ANS) at the time of her death, "Sandi's health began to decline and she went into the hospital and hospice for several days. On Wednesday, she began hospice care at home and passed away that evening.

"In her life and in her home going we experienced wave upon wave of God's grace on the shorelines of our daily lives. She will be missed but never forgotten by all who knew her."

Writing on the www.caringbridge.org website, Kluth said, "Sandi was a wonderful woman, wife, mother, sister, cousin, friend, singer, and servant of the LORD. She will be deeply missed by all.

"As I went to sleep last night and as I woke up this morning, hymns came to my mind and I sang to the LORD (through my tears) praising Him for who He is and for the wonderful privilege He gave me for being Sandi's husband for 28 years."

If you would like to hear my moving interview with Brian Kluth about his ministry and his wife's battle with cancer, please go to: http://www.assist-ministries.com/FrontPageRadio/FPR06.27.10BrianKluthmono.mp3
* For free eBook copies of the 40 Day devotional, go to: www.GenerousLife.org
* For free eBook copies of the new 30 Day devotional and 7 point personal generosity pledge, go to:www.GenerosityPledge.org
* For media radio, TV, and print interviews, contact: Brian Kluth at: 30days@kluth.org Cell: 720.432.2422 Landline:303.346.5332

---

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.

Noted Financial Personality Releases Consumer Directory of Christian Financial Advisors

Contact: Robert Yetman, 407-719-7255

PALM COAST, Fla., Aug. 16, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- ChristianMoney.com, a comprehensive website for Christians that provides information about personal finance along with news and opinion of current events, is pleased to announce the availability of a brand new directory that features financial professionals who wish to be known to the general public as Christian in orientation. The directory site is ChristianFinancialPlanner.us, and it is the latest addition to the family of ChristianMoney.com-related websites created for the benefit of the more values-centered consumer. The purpose of the directory is to give those consumers who wish to specifically work with Christian financial planners and advisors an opportunity to connect with someone whom they feel may be particularly well-suited to helping them meet their financial objectives.

ChristianMoney.com itself is the official online "home" of James L. Paris, a long-standing presence in the realm of Christian media. As the author of over 20 books in the area of personal finance, an established guest on a wide variety of Christian television and radio shows like The 700 Club, Celebration, and Point of View, as well as on secular stations like Fox News Channel, Mr. Paris' name is synonymous with expertise in the area of personal finance both throughout the United States and around the world. Mr. Paris is also the developer of Christian Chirp, a Christian-oriented microblog similar to Twitter.

The directory is just the latest effort on the part of Mr. Paris to bring opportunities often reserved for the secular community to the Christian audience. Says Paris, "I have long been interested in seeing Christian interests reflected in areas that so often seem to remain the sole province of the secular community. With the availability of a directory that highlights Christian-oriented financial professionals, Christian consumers can perhaps feel more comfortable about accessing the sometimes-complex world of financial planning and other associated services." 

For more information about ChristianMoney.com and ChristianFinancialPlanner.us, you may visit those website locations at www.christianmoney.com and www.christianfinancialplanner.us.

Be Good stewards of What God Has Given: Create and Maintain a Budget

By: Ron Mitchel 

In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus told the parable of the dishonest steward as a way of warning us against poor stewardship. The moral of the story is “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”. We are also responsible to provide for our own family, as 1 Timothy 5:8 reminds us: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

The first step to avoiding the troubles of financial debt is to create and maintain a budget. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, don’t worry.

First off, create a list of all your monthly income and also a list of your monthly expenses. When determining income, list all sources including alimony, child support, side jobs, etc. In calculating expenses, be sure to include housing, food, transportation, utilities, entertainment, etc. To gain an accurate reflection of actual expenses, sit down each night and write down expenses, just make sure to save receipts. Determine if your income covers all of your expenses. If the answer is no, then some expenses need to be reduced.

Adjust expenses. If it is a small discrepancy, it may mean reducing some minor expenses like entertainment or cell phone plan. If the deficit is larger, you may need to downsize your vehicle or living arrangements. If your income covers all of your expenses, you still may want to trim some of the excess fat off your spending habits. This can free up extra money for things such as vacations or college funds for your children.

Additionally, consider if you need to add new categories. Some areas that are often overlooked are debt reduction, emergency savings funds, and retirement savings. An emergency fund ensures there is an adequate amount available to cover unforeseen events (car emergency, etc), should it arise. This will eliminate the need for using credit which can quickly damage your budget.

There are several advantages to sticking to your budget. Firstly, most people have set financial goals that they would like to reach in the future. Sometimes it may be a trip, a brand new car, or a college education. A budget can help people save money to make these goals a reality. Additionally, many people are crushed under heavy consumer debt. Without a disciplined pattern of spending, it is virtually impossible to make much headway in reducing debt. A personal budget will provide the necessary framework to begin eliminating these inflated account balances.

If executed properly, a budget will allow a person to simultaneously meet their expenses, place money into savings, and pay back outstanding debts. Therefore, it is anyone’s best interest to create and implement a budget.

For many in these trying financial times, having enough money to balance their budget can be difficult if not impossible. In this situation, it might be advised to take out a small loan with a trusted acquaintance or company to get the boat upright, so to speak. But what company is best suited for this task? I preferChristianCashAssistance.com as they allow you to fill out a simple form and be connected with lenders who are willing to help you put your financial house in order.

Article Source: http://christian-topics.info

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