And from Thailand comes a welcome check-in from our pal Rick Clark of Team International, who notes:
Barna has documented that 80% of American church attendees believe that it is their job to equip the pastor to do the work of the ministry. Most churches in the States (and many overseas) have Ephesians 4:12 upside down.
So if 80% of church attendees figure they’re there to support the pastor’s ministry, would it really surprise us to find that at least 80% of Christian donor/champions figure their purpose must be to support the executive director and accompanying nonprofit organization as said ED carries the heavy freight of the cause?
And would it surprise us were we to discover that at least 80% of Christian nonprofit ED’s aren’t actively attempting to dissuade their donor/champions from that view?
The nonprofit apple doesn’t fall far from the church tree.
Fortunately, Greg Stier is in the 20% that rolled down the hill.
His organization, Dare2Share, is right-siding Ephesians 4:12. Check out this month’s ‘Mission Mobilization Tool’–a 17 minute video that challenges and equips Dare2Share donor/champions to mobilize one teen to ‘shred the gnar’ with all the teens in his or her sphere of influence.
Most donors don’t want to evangelize kids, let alone train kids to evangelize other kids. Many would gladly rather pay Greg to do this instead; after all, he’s so much better at it than we are. And we’re all kinda busy.
But if we read Ephesians 4:12 when we’re not standing on our heads, we see that the Bible nicely precludes this option. Which is why I hope you watch Greg’s video not only as a great and scalable example of coaching champions (large organizations, be very slow to let yourself off the coach your champions hook), but also as a personal challenge for you to equip a teen in your sphere of influence to share the Good News.
Do the Word 
Amen! Thanks for the encouraging words Eric! And for those who are considering moving out of the “pay off” model (gifts we give so that we don’t have to actually do the work of the ministry and instead pay someone else off to do it) to a “pay-it-forward” model (giving of our time, talent and treasure in an important cause!)…it’s worth it!
Once again, Eric, your advice hits home for most of us. I would love to see every believer take this to heart and start by supporting their local church and then praying about how God can use them (time, talent, and treasure) to advance His kingdom. We praise the Lord for you brother!