USA (MNN) — American unemployment is at 8.2%, average price of gas is $3.35, and the national debt is growing faster than the economy, according to CNNMoney.
With many households taking a hit with the growing economic crisis, families often have to make budget cuts. What’s usually one of the first things to go? Charitable giving.
Giving USA recently reported that charitable funding of religious organizations went down 1.7% last year. It’s the second year in a row that support of churches and non-profit religious groups has decreased.
Jerry Jackson, President and Founder of Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH), says, “One of the issues all of our non-profits face is that our costs are going up: the cost of gas, cost of transportation–everything is going up. So to have a reduction is a double hit.”
However, FCBH isn’t a trend-follower. Jackson says last year they saw an increase in funding by nearly 12%.
“We were very appreciative that the donors recognize the value of the Word of God and actually increased their giving and kept us more than current with rising costs,” says Jackson.
What makes FCBH so different that their supporters are confident in their giving consistency? “We really are championing the cause of the poor and illiterate…. I think that touches the heart of people in America where we live an awfully good lifestyle and these folks are living in areas where they don’t know what God’s Word says.”
One of FCBH’s most effective areas of ministry is their production of the Proclaimer, a small mp3 player the size of a pack of gum, continaing God’s Word recorded in the heart language of the listener. “To have the Word of God in a foreign language makes Jesus a foreign God,” explains Jackson. “So, I think people are really getting that and understanding that and empowering us to record and get these Proclaimers in the hands of people in the language they pray to God in, so He can become their God.”
FCBH was featured last year in Return On Investment Ministry’s list of the Top Ten religious non-profits that have the largest eternal impact per donated dollar. FCBH ranked sixth on the list. According to RIO Ministry, FCBH’s work disciples one person to faith in Christ per every $1.75 donated. FCBH has also earned a four-star rating for the past five years on Charity Navigator.
You can be a part of helping to make an eternal impact with the Gospel. Click here to support FCBH.
