brown on green, A Regular column about finances

Boosting Their Confidence

Confidence is a very important thing and hard to keep balanced. When a person is overconfident, he or she can seem arrogant. Lack of confidence can lead to inaction. Confidence (or a lack of confidence) also can affect a ministry. When people are confident in a ministry, they are more likely to contribute and become involved in the work of the ministry. On the other hand, when people lack confidence in a ministry, it can lead to downward spiral when people stop contributing to the ministry and become less involved in its work.

Many times, an “I believe in you” affirmation from someone a person respects can make all the difference in the world. It can boost the individual’s confidence to a level he or she performs well and the expressed belief in them becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The same is true for ministries.

Over the last two years, Free Will Baptist Foundation has granted $1 million to 32 ministries and projects. These grants have generated confidence and enthusiasm for these ministries. In many cases, giving from individuals and churches has increased, allowing the ministries to do even more than their grant intended. This has been especially true for several smaller ministries that received modest grants. The fact that the grant committee expressed confidence in their particular ministry or project inspired confidence from their regular contributors, who in turn, made a stronger commitment to the ministry.

Sometimes, an “impossible” project becomes possible when a ministry receives a significant amount of money. The regular donors begin to see the previously “impossible” project as a real possibility. This has been the most gratifying aspect of the grant program.

We have seen youth camps that struggled to expand for years receive a grant, and suddenly the rest of the necessary expansion funds begin to appear. A grant to the Women of Good News in Ivory Coast inspired not only the women of that country but the entire Ivorian Free Will Baptist movement. When ministries receive a grant, it is the equivalent of saying, “I believe in you and what you are doing.” This ignites the confidence of everyone involved in that ministry.

The Foundation staff hopes and prays the next round of grants will continue to ignite confidence in our ministries when they are awarded.

About the Columnist: David Brown is director of Free Will Baptist Foundation. To learn more about the grants program, visit www.fwbgifts.org.