Why Do Americans Distrust Christian Fund Raisers?

A recent Gallup poll found that 40 percent of the American public thinks Christian fund-raising approaches are unethical. “These are not encouraging findings,” said George Gallup, Jr., whose organization conducted the poll for a conference cosponsored by the Christian Stewardship Council (CSC) and the Billy Graham Center.

Gallup, an active Christian layman, told fund raisers assembled in Kansas City that “unethical fund raising is offensive to God and undercuts legitimate fund-raising efforts. Abusive practices have given Christianity a bad name.”

The conference, “Funding the Christian Challenge,” drew more than 600 fund raisers and ministry executives to a program that departed from previous CSC-sponsored meetings. “Our annual event usually focuses on the techniques of fund raising,” noted CSC president Norman Edwards. “But we felt it would be more helpful this year to deal with some of the tough ethical questions inherent in our profession.”

Questionable Practices

Edwards said widespread public attention given to questionable fund-raising practices helped account for this year’s event nearly tripling previous conference attendance. It also accounted for numerous references to television evangelist Oral Roberts’s highly publicized plea for donations. In January, Roberts announced that if he did not raise $4.5 million by March 31, God would call him home (CT, Feb. 20, 1987, p. 43). It was thought that a $ 1.3 million gift last month from a Florida man enabled Roberts to reach his goal.

Keynote speaker David L. McKenna, president of Asbury Theological Seminary, said Roberts’s “death threat” fund-raising appeal has done “irreparable damage.” Gordon Moyes, superintendent of the Wesleyan Central Mission in Sidney, Australia, said Roberts “set back fund raising 20 years.” And theologian Carl F. H. Henry observed that such an appeal “discredits a ministry whose overall message has been that sufficient faith can work miracles.” He said Roberts should “apologize and say, ‘I was wrong.’ ”

Henry also criticized other questionable practices used by evangelical agencies, including misleading direct-mail fund raising, crisis appeals, and exaggerated claims of conversions cited by evangelists. “But fund raisers are merely responding to what the people want,” he added. “Sound, conservatively worded appeals don’t work.”

Conference chairman Wesley K. Willmer, director of development at Wheaton (Ill.) College, said he was not surprised at the criticism of abusive fund-raising techniques. “The majority of Christian organizations work hard to build trust by avoiding any appearance of wrongdoing,” he said, “so there’s a lot of contempt for this type of abuse.”

John F. Walvoord, chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, said some of the fault finding is unwarranted. “Certainly, many of us might not agree with some of the methods our brothers use, but I don’t approve of calling attention to that from the pulpit. Besides, much of the criticism from the secular media is aimed at Christianity, not fund raising.”

The conference concluded with ministry executives representing more than 350 organizations signing a covenant statement. The signers committed their organizations to maintain high standards, including concern for donors, the practice of proper disclosure and accountability, and avoidance of unbiblical persuasion in soliciting donations.

“These organizations receive very little criticism, yet they have pledged to improve,” said Willmer. “I’m encouraged by that.”

By Lyn Cryderman, in Kansas City.

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