A recent study shows that practical measures of morality such as numbers of abortions and divorces are the same in the church as as they are in the rest of society. So I ask: In a country where the separation of the secular and the sacred has permeated our national psyche and dictates the terms of our morality, why should we expect anything different of our church activities? Particularly, wouldn't we be asking a lot for our youth group fundraisers to accomplish the purpose of ministering to others at the same time that they raise money? 

Call me Utopian, but I believe that it's possible to infuse the enterprise of generating filthy lucre with a certain spirituality. Too often we settle for the expedient. We sell out to the tired conventions of youth groups past. I'm going to use this column to share an example of an activity that did far more than raise funds. It actually knit together and helped establish a new church. 

I have seen fundraisers come and go. As the preacher of Ecclesiastes laments, there is little new under the sun. Probably nothing will ever beat the good old-fashioned support letter writing campaign for sheer return on time invested. However, in my years of observing youth groups raise funds for missions, I've never seen one have a greater impact on a church than the one which my own church did a few months ago. It had its origins in Africa, where the word "harambee" is a part of the vernacular, but it is based on a biblical principle. Interesting how in a country which has made a national institution of car washes, pancake breakfasts, and walkathons that we should turn to another part of the globe for this, the ultimate in fundraisers. 

Harambee is a Swahili word which means "pulling together to accomplish a greater goal than can be accomplished individually."

Our church mission's chairman, Bill Britton, first became aware of the concept on a trip to Kenya. A small group of people in the town of Isiolo, about 150 miles northeast of Nairobi were just beginning a church there. When they heard that a group of foreigners were interested in helping them build a church, their first question was, "How much money are they going to give us?" The answer came back, "None, but we'll do it through a Harambee." This must have seemed comical to the small congregation. Their largest offering to date had been the equivalent of about ten dollars.

Now in Kenya, a Harambee is a big deal which lasts for a number of weeks. The idea is to get everyone you know, adult and child alike, to go out and ask anybody they know to contribute something. At the conclusion of this time, everyone gets together for a big celebration to put everything they've raised into a big pot. Its American equivalent might be an Amish barn-raising. It's as much a celebration of community as it is an event to raise funds.

The Isiolo church took up the challenge. Their numbers weren't great, but each individual reached out to many others asking for help in building the church. They canvassed the area, asking everyone they knew to contribute. Children were lucky to get a shilling from their friends. Adults unabashedly solicited relatives and strangers alike. When it was all over, they had raised the astronomical sum of about $4,000. They saw this as a miracle from God and a cause for much joy and celebration. God had indeed pulled them together to accomplish more as a group than any of them could have accomplished individually. The congregation threw a great party to commemorate their ringing achievement. Not only was there money to build the church, but many in the community had invested a fair sum in doing so. The process of generating funds had also generated a substantial sense of community and ownership along the way.

The obstacles in applying such a concept in the United States seem obvious: We don't have the same sense of community in our sterile suburbs and urban wastelands. We don't just walk up to people and ask for money unless we're a panhandler. The issue had Bill Britton stumped. He saw the power of Harambee, but how could it make the jump to our bedroom community in southern Florida? He found the answer in Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents. You'll recall that in the parable, the master gives his stewards money to invest. After a period of time, they return it to him offering various returns on his investment. His response to the one who dug a hole was one of reproach, but to the steward who doubled his investment he said, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things! Come and share in your master's happiness!"

Britton determined to combine the community-based elements of a Kenyan Harambee with a re-enactment of Jesus's parable. Rather than ask for money, we would give it away, asking people to invest it for missions. Then, after a period of time, we'd get together to celebrate what God had done. 

As we kicked off our Harambee, providentially, our pastor had planned to preach on giving. Toward the end of his sermon, he announced that we were going to put shoe leather on the principles that he'd been sharing. Our church has about 500 members, so the missions committe had 500 envelopes printed with the words: "Harambee: Multiply Your Talents For Christ." In each envelope the committee placed a ten dollar bill. Each member of the congregation received an envelope, no strings attached. This was a complete act of faith. We had no idea what might happen next. Would we be like the steward who buried his talent in the ground? Members of the missions committee wondered if we'd be out $5,000. Perhaps the whole church would be tempted to just go shopping.

Whatever fears the missions committee had were matched by those in the congregation. One member's thoughts were typical of many: "I thought, I've got no business expertise. No creativity. I was mortified and completely out of my comfort zone. I envisioned myself as a failure, handing back the ten dollars. I was forced to rely on God." True, some were exhilerated by the challenge, but all were forced to their knees as they saw their own inadequacy. 

What happened next is that everyone - moms, dads, teens, and kids went about multiplying their talents in all kinds of creative ways. One group pooled their money and made pizzas which they delivered during the Super Bowl. They sold 42 pizzas at $10 each. Some ladies made ties and sold them; one man made birdhouses. My nine-year-old daughter made earrings with a friend and proclaimed, "I found out that it's possible to help other people and have fun at the same time." As Britton said, "Our whole church was alive with the Spirit and excitement was everywhere." Like the Isiolo church, we were seeing the effects of being united together in working toward a common goal. As we raised funds, we were creating a community. One of the interesting things to see was that groups of people spontaneously came together to pool their resources in joint efforts. An initial flea market type sale in the park among church members was such a success that a second sale was scheduled for the general public. 

After ten weeks, the church had its weekend Harambee celebration. An artist in the church made a huge paper mache globe which was suspended from the ceiling during each of our two church services. Later that night, at the end of the Harambee finale, the globe was lowered so that the talents could be deposited in it. One by one, each of the participants came forward, sharing their experiences as they deposited the talents they had multiplied.

A dinner capped off the festivities. People had a chance to rejoice with one another as they never had before. 

One might be tempted to conclude that the bottom line was the $13,000 that our church raised for missions. More important, however, is that our church pulled together and in so doing, learned about stewardship and community. 

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HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

Establish a Ministry Philosophy
Before making any plans, begin by clarifying your philosophy of raising funds. Identify a cause which you believe in and which you feel is worthy of your investment. Are you convinced of the urgency of the Great Commission? Then pray for God to touch your heart with a particular mission field. Do a little research. Or, if God has already touched your heart with a need, do you believe that it is possible to use fundraisers as tools for ministry? Whatever your fundraiser, determine to find its spiritual dimension. Embrace the notion that your youth group can minister to the church. Youth groups can be the source of new ideas, radical commitment, and sometimes, revival in churches. Pray about how God is going to enable you to minister to the church.

Establish a Broad Base of Support
Recruit a team of people to do the work beginning with your own youth group. If you are not an organizer or promoter, then recruit someone who can help you. For example, my church's missions pastor, Bill Britton, has offered to fly out and help any youth group pull one off in his or her own church (call me at 407-641-2833 and I'll put you in touch). Just showing a copy of this article to someone else might be enough to get the ball rolling. Get the backing of your church's missions committee. Explain your plan to them. Get them to help your youth group organize it. Have them begin by establishing a strong prayer base for your efforts. Then enlist them in selling the idea to the church. Get the missions chairman to help you sell the idea to the senior pastor. Show him that you have covered all your bases. 

Harambee Plan of Action: 1. Set objectives and be creative in how you seek to fulfill them. Here are some examples: a. To build awareness of missions issues, particularly the field of El Salvador. To communicate the urgency of the church's situation there and our own group's role in helping it this summer. b. To generate our church's involvement (involvement of at least three quarters of our congregation in the Harambee). c. To effectively teach the concept of stewardship. d. To raise $15,000 for missions. e. To increase prayer support for our missions efforts. f. To build community in our church congregation. 2. Get someone in the church to provide the seed capital. 3. Print up envelopes. 4. Promote the Harambee concept through every available channel: the bulletin, the pulpit, small groups, and church newsletters. 5. Have your pastor preach on missions or stewardship and then make the Harambee the practical outworking of his teaching. 6. Get enough ten dollar bills from the bank to stuff all your envelopes. 7. Pass out the envelopes at the conclusion of the pastor's sermon. 8. Schedule several opportunities for your congregation to reach out to one another and the community with their goods and services. Have someone print up a "classified ads" listing of all the services for sale. 9. Give Harambee participants periodic opportunities to encourage one another with their testimonies. 10. Organize a committee whose job it is to throw a Harambee celebration. Throw a party. In so doing, give participants in the Harambee a chance to share what God showed them as they invested their talents and allowed Him to work through them. 11. Take the inevitable enthusiasm and sense of community which results and encourage people to invest it in specific Great Commission activities. 12. Share your success story with other church groups. Let people like me know what God does through you and your group so that we might use your story to encourage others.