There is a secret to raising money for your local church, says Sam Healey – it comes from the heart

You must be off your rocker! You must be mad!’ cried the ruddy-faced church leader. ‘What’s “heart” got to do with finding the money to replace our church roof?’

Taking a sip of his tea, he settled back into his office chair and waited for an explanation. He continued suspiciously searching the facial features of the young man sat before him for any external signs of insanity.

But it’s true. If you have the heart you will get the money, from whomever you ask, for whatever you need.

I don’t know if you have ever set your heart on something for the house or the latest piece of tech? While you may have had to save for a long time, the money becomes no object, because you have to have it.

Something else happens too, long before you have this much-sought-after item in your possession: you talk passionately about it, to anyone who cares to listen, and you can convince them it is wonderful. Why? Because it is in your heart!

Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke: ‘The mouth speaks what the heart is full of’ (NIV). The heart is not just a physical organ it is a spiritual one too. It is a second brain, the centre of your motivation. Without a godly motivation, without a vision, both people and churches perish. …

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This is an extract from an article that was published in the July/August 2017 edition of  Reform

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