Gideon Pledge

As Chrissy and I have studied we have found that the process of starting a new church from scratch is not only a difficult one physically and spiritually, it is also difficult financially. When planting a new church, it’s rare that you start out with a base of people who attend your church that donate to the ministry. That is why most new church plants rely on donations from individuals or other churches. Imago Dei is no different in this respect. We are in the process of beginning a pledge drive to help us succeed in reaching Dover, NH for Jesus Christ.

We are looking for 300 people who would be willing to donate $100 a month for 3 years, from January 2011 through December 2013. When we look at God’s providence, He often chooses to do more with less so that we know He is involved. The name of our campaign hails back to Gideon’s overthrow of the Midianites in Judges 7. When he rounds up the Israelites to fight, God pares his numbers further and further back until Gideon is left with only 300 men to fight an army of thousands. God states that He does this so that the Israelites will know that it is God who wins the battle, by His might and not the might of men.

There is a two-fold reason for this kind of fundraising. First of all it is a Biblical example, individual Christians giving to support a ministry that they believe, in a way that shows their reliance on God for the success of the ministry. This mimics the apostle Paul, in his church planting ministries, relying heavily on the support of Christians who had a strong desire to see the Kingdom of Heaven expand. Secondly, It spreads the cost of a new ministry out over many donors so as not to burden any one too heavily or rely on any one too much. The focus can then be on the ministry itself rather than the micromanaging of large donors.

God wanted to make a point to Gideon and the people of Israel that He could accomplish what seemed impossible. God needed enough people that Gideon himself would not be glorified, but not so many that the army would get credit. God relied on 300 to show His power to the nation of Israel, so we ask that you would show His power to the people of Dover with your gift.

Will you please consider becoming a Pledge for Imago Dei?