Read what others are saying...
John Ashmen, President, Association of Gospel Rescue Missions
"We're told in Scripture that God loves those who give cheerfully, which means the way we approach donors needs to nurture this emotion. And this book shows just how to do that—establish a resource development program that yields transformed hearts and generous gifts. What a difference it would make if every ministry would put this into practice."
Rebekah Burch Basinger, Executive Director for Congregational Relations, Brethren in Christ Church of North America
"The basic premise of The Sower—that growing givers’ hearts should be a priority for the fundraising programs of Christian ministries—is a message that today’s hard-pressed fundraisers need to hear and practice. It’s a challenge to balance the very real financial needs of our organizations with the spiritual nurture of donors, but as the authors suggest, the resulting eternal fruit makes doing so well worth the effort. I commend this book to persons and ministries who are serious about raising resources in a God-honoring way."
Craig Blomberg, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary
"Scott Rodin and Gary Hoag are unique individuals. They are trained New Testament scholars and experienced seminary executives and fundraisers. When they team up for this booklet, the result is a thoroughly biblical approach to ministering to donors and potential donors that seeks to transform them into whole-life stewards for God in Christ, whether it benefits the fundraiser’s organization or not. Not surprisingly, more often than not it does! A must read."
Sung Wook Chung, D.Phil. (Oxford University), Pastor, Professor and Bestselling Korean Author
"The triune God of the Christian faith is distinct from all other so-called gods in that He is the God of generous giving and sharing. God the Father has given generously His only beloved Son for sinners, who are His enemies. This book exhorts all true disciples of Jesus Christ to participate in the life of faithful stewardship and generous giving with the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a must reading for all Christians in the whole globe who are struggling everyday to imitate the character of the triune God."
Howard Dayton, President, Compass—Finances God’s Way, Cofounder, Crown Financial Ministries
"I am encouraged to see this quality publication that defines development work as ministry in the Kingdom of God that replaces manipulative transactional techniques and closing strategies with a dependence on prayer and relationship-building as the essential tools for success. The authors call us to our appropriate roles to sow faithfully, and then wait and hope and believe. Sowers cannot play God and cause the seeds to grow. All they can do, and must do, is sow faithfully and regularly and trust God for the increase."
Melinda Delahoyde, President, Care Net
"Ministries can use all the help they can get to understand how to raise money from a biblical worldview. The Sower does a wonderful job of being both theologically sound and practical in application to help ministries honor God in how they raise Kingdom resources."
Steve Moore, President & CEO, The Mission Exchange
"Funding the vision of the Great Commission is spiritual work that must be done in ways that places a priority on developing better stewards of Kingdom resources. This book will help you do just that."
Todd Harper, President, Generous Giving
"Scott and Gary understand that the primary motivation of an effective asker is not the liberation of resources but the liberation of people. They practically explain how, as people are liberated, resources can be liberated exponentially. I encourage you to read and apply this book for the benefit of the asker, the giver, and the Kingdom!"
Brian Kluth, Author, Radio Speaker, Founder of Maximum Generosity
"Scott Rodin and Gary Hoag are respected stewardship learners and leaders. This book takes Christian leaders, staff, volunteers, and givers on a journey that will transform their thinking, fundraising, giving, and generosity. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to go deeper and go further in their generosity journey."
Patrick Johnson, Vice President Churches, The National Christian Foundation
"There is a generosity movement afoot in this country as God is working in the hearts and minds of ministry leaders, pastors and givers to understand the joy of generosity. This book is an excellent resource to help the reader understand the blessedness that God wants for each of us as we seek to live the generous life. Scott and Gary are wise guides into this blessed life. I highly recommend that you listen to them!"
Elisa Morgan, President Emerita, MOPS International, Publisher, FulFill™
"While we clearly know that ministry requires money, many of us struggle with the whys and the hows of raising money for God’s Kingdom purposes. This book sets forth a helpful definition of development work as a ministry in and of itself—and in so doing—empowers God’s people to do the work to which He has called them."
Adam Morris, Ph.D., Vice President Advancement, Biola University
"Out of my personal experience in raising resources for over 20 years in Christian ministry, I fully concur with the basic premises of this book that generous giving is not the result of a ministry’s work, but God’s work in people; that true generosity flows from transformed hearts as they are conformed to the image of Christ who is generous; and that Christian fundraising is not merely about marketing transactions to secure gifts but it is about encouraging spiritual transformation, which is helping people become rich toward God through their giving."
Joseph M. Stowell, Ph.D, President, Cornerstone University
"Our thoughts about raising resources for the cause of Christ have needed an overhaul for years. At last, Scott and Gary refocus our minds and hearts on celebrating God as our sole Provider and they’ve redefined the role of "asking" in a wonderfully biblical way. This book is a much-needed help to all of us who have been called to the ministry of cultivating stewards whose hearts desire to be rich toward God."
G. Craig Williford, Ph.D., President, Trinity International University
"Tired of raising money and wish you could focus on developing people who love God and give generously out of their love relationship? Rodin and Hoag provide a thoroughly biblical foundation and reorientation for our approach to fundraising. They show us that God wants us to stop focusing on raising money and to start discipling people to become godly stewards. Additionally, this book is filled with wise, practical advice for how to make this shift. The distinction between God’s role and our responsibilities will set you free and allow you to discover what could become the most meaningful season of our work."
David Wills, President, The National Christian Foundation
"The topic of helping people become rich toward God through their generosity is close to my heart and this booklet is a great addition to the material available. Both givers and those who seek to influence them will find this an encouraging, practical and thoroughly biblical resource."