Significant worldwide change is imminent. That’s the view of many Christians and Christian leaders, fueled by “signs in the heavens above.” Let’s see what they are talking about and why it’s so important.
NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Association in Houston, Texas has announced what it calls a ‘tetrad,’ which is a series of 4 lunar eclipses, beginning April 15, 2014 and ending September 28, 2015. Research into Tetrads reveals some very interesting information. Tetrads are few and far between, and on three occasions since they have been recorded, the lunar eclipses of three tetrads have fallen on Jewish holy days. All three times this has occurred in the past, something significant has happened to Israel which in turn has affected the world.
I won’t guess what the ‘significant change’ could be, but each of the previous three tetrads that fell on Jewish holy days did cause significant change. Let’s briefly look at each of those.
Only months after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain ordered all Jewish people to leave the country (after about 200 AD, Spain became and remained a second Jewish homeland for well over a millennia. So deeply woven into the fabric of Spain are the Jews that neither history can be fully studied without considering the influence of the other).
During the 1st Arab – Israeli War for Independence just after Israel had become a nation again for the first time in 2,000 years. It should be noted here: that even though Israel declared themselves a nation in 1948, the first permanent government took office on January 25th, 1949. Israel had a transitional government in 1948. In this way the “(Tetrad) four blood moons” can tie to the year 1949 for the first elected office of that year and the birth year could still be 1948.
On 14th May, 1948 - Israel proclaimed its independence. Less than 24 hours later, the regular armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded the country, forcing Israel to defend the sovereignty it had regained in its ancestral homeland. In what became known as Israel’s War of Independence, the newly formed, poorly equipped Israel Defence Forces (IDF) repulsed the invaders in fierce intermittent fighting, which lasted some 15 months and claimed over 6,000 Israeli lives (nearly one percent of the country’s Jewish population at the time).
Coincided with the 6 Day War when Israel recaptured Jerusalem. As Israel’s neighbours prepared to destroy the Jewish state, Israel invoked its inherent right of self-defence, launching a pre-emptive strike (5 June 1967) against Egypt in the South.
It was followed by a counter attack against Jordan in the East and the routing of Syrian forces entrenched on the Golan Heights in the North. At the end of six days of fighting, previous cease-fire lines were replaced by new ones, with Judea, Samaria, Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights under Israel’s control. As a result, the northern villages were freed from 19 years of recurrent Syrian shelling; the passage of Israeli and Israel-bound shipping through the Straits of Tiran was ensured; and Jerusalem, which had been divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule since 1949, was reunified under Israel’s authority.
Shortly after the eclipses the Byzantine Empire defeated Arab armies at the Battle of Lalakaon in Turkey and permanently stopped the Islamic invasion of Eastern Europe.
As you can see, these were major events.
March 27, 2014: For people in the United States, an extraordinary series of lunar eclipses is about to begin.
The sabbatical year in the seven-year cycle begins on Rosh Hashanah on September 25, 2014, and ends on Rosh Hashanah on September 13 – 14, 2015 — the day of a partial solar eclipse 2000-year history of blood-red moons’ connection to Passover and Sukkoth. During this century, the only string of four consecutive blood moons that coincide with God’s holy days of Passover in the spring… and the autumn’s Feast of Tabernacles (also called Sukkoth) occur in 2014 and 2015 on today’s Gregorian calendar.
What About Previous Tetrads on Jewish Holy Days?
Does a Biblical Correlation Exist?
The biblical basis for the blood moons doesn’t indicate any tetrads (a series of 4 total lunar eclipses), it just mentions one ‘blood moon’.
Joel 2:30 -31 And I will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Jehovah.
Acts 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious Day of the Lord.
Note that this ‘blood moon’ occurs before (not at or after) the Day of the Lord.
Also, the book of Revelation describes the same thing.
Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (Hebrew “owth” which means “signals”), and for seasons, and for days, and years.
We went through 2090 and found five more tetrads, but none of them line up with Jewish holy days. Most scholars agree that when Jesus said, “this generation shall not pass before all these things are fulfilled,” that he was talking about the generation that began when Israel was re-established as a nation. There is disagreement on what a ‘generation’ is, exactly, in terms of years but the predominant line of thought is 100 years. One hundred years from 1948, when Israel was re-established, brings us to 2048 and we have gone beyond and have found no tetrads occuring on Jewish holy days.
Future tetrads will occur in the years shown below, but none of them occur on Jewish holy days.
I believe significant change is coming, whether or not the coming blood-moons indicate it. We have major, reputable economists and business investors warning that a major worldwide economic collapse is imminent. We have Islamic terrorists trying to take over area after area, country after country, leaving their death and destruction wherever they go. We have Iran close to becoming nuclear capable; in sixteen seconds Iran can cause more deaths than the Jewish holocaust if they do get nukes.
Friend, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is nearing; if not this decade, perhaps the next. If not that, perhaps the next. The Biblical directive is that we have been ‘in the end times’ since the resurrection of Jesus Christ and he could return at any moment in time. There are no additional ‘signs’ given to the Christian church that have to happen before he returns. By stating over and over again in the Bible that Jesus is ‘coming soon,’ God wants us to know and believe that his return is always imminent. This gives us hope, because it will indeed happen on God’s appointed time table.
Is significant change coming? You betcha as they say in Minnesota. Are you ready? Is Jesus your Lord?
Romans 10:9,10 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Believe and you won’t be caught unaware.
Jesus came to bring spiritual light to the world of spiritual darkness. He is the light of the world.
John 8:12 Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
It’s terribly dark out there today. We have millions upon million of Christians living today but are they so shining their light that others may see and know it’s Jesus Christ who is the source of that light? Do you remember what Jesus told us about us and what we are to do with the light he’s shined upon us?
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus equated letting our light shine to us doing ‘good works’ in this world. The purpose of those good works is to enlighten others about our Father God and to glorify him, not ourselves. This is totally selfless service for the good of others that the knowledge of God may go forth as he draws people unto himself.
Are you letting your light so shine? Are you doing good works that others can see and glorify God for?
There is a phrase being circulated that shows the difference between a Christian who does let his light so shine and those who do not. The term is called ‘cultural Christian.’ A cultural Christian is one who does admit and even declare he is a Christian, but that’s as far as it goes in terms of good works in this world that glorify God.
Here’s a simple example of a cultural Christian in dialogue with someone he meets.
As you can see, the stranger is engaging the cultural Christian in dialogue about something spiritual in nature, but the cultural Christian is either bankrupt of true knowledge or is reluctant to speak the truth in love. He admits he is Christian but that’s about it. Let’s talk about the weather instead.
A cultural Christian is a secular or nonreligious individual, or one who is religious but who does not identify with Christian Theology, who still significantly identifies with Christian culture due to family background, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up.
Is that what Jesus is looking for? I think not.
Christian fundamentalism is a movement that began in the late 19th- and early 20th-century among British and American Protestants. It was a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th century modernist theologians had misinterpreted or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which evangelicals viewed as the fundamentals of Christian faith. A few scholars regard Catholics who reject modern theology in favor of more traditional doctrines as fundamentalists. Scholars debate how much the terms “evangelical” and “fundamentalist” are synonymous.
Now which definition is more suited to Biblical truth? Obviously, if you want to let your light so shine, Christian fundamentalism is the preferred approach.
Fundamentalism has taken on a negative connotation in most people’s minds because it threatens them and takes them out of their comfort zone. A fundamentalist is someone who ‘takes the Bible literally’ as they say, and they think that is something to be feared.
Are you a cultural Christian — a Christian in name only — or a true Christian — one who believes the Bible and acts upon what it teaches? Are you filled with the light of God’s Word so you can indeed let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify God — or are you still in spiritual darkness even though you call yourself a Christian?
Now is the time to get honest with yourself and with God and our Lord Jesus Christ. God is serious about the coming new world and the destruction of this one. Things will not stay the same much longer, and the time that we stand before our Lord Jesus Christ at his judgment seat is fast approaching.
If you are a cultural Christian, be willing to admit it and to take the steps you need to become a believing Christian. Become one who receives God’s Word with meekness so that it may fill you with light and build you up so that you can indeed let your light so shine before men that they glorify God for your good works in his name.
Are You Serious About Christ and the Coming Kingdom of God?
Are you serious about Christ and the coming Kingdom of God? Here’s why you should be and what to do if you are.
Hello, my name is Richard Allen Golko and I am nothing in the eyes of this world. I don’t have shining credentials to show you, I’m not highly educated, I’m not rich and you won’t find me in the book of the Who’s Who. I’m not ordained by any man or organization; I’m not known by more than a handful of people and I don’t expect any red carpets wherever I go. I’m not perfect but blemished; I’m not very good looking and I can’t sing worth a darn.
What I do have is my Father God who loves me and who has granted me a good solid knowledge of his Word as I diligently studied it over the years. I have my Lord Jesus who is Christ, and he has forgiven me for all of my sins, and continues to do so as I confess any new ones. This is the whole basis of my credentials and authority to preach and teach God’s Word and invite people into the Kingdom of God.
How about you? Who are you? All I really want to know is if you are serious about Christ and the coming Kingdom of God. Nothing else really matters. I do hope you have good health and your needs are met and you are able to help others. But are you serious about Christ and the coming Kingdom of God?
Do I really need to elaborate? Without Jesus’s birth, sinless life, death and resurrection, mankind has no hope. We would not even be here if God did not foresee that he could save mankind from Adam’s fall. If you look at life from God’s perspective, this world remains here only because God foresaw he could save it after man’s conscious decision to disobey God and go his own way.
When the Bible uses the name ‘Jesus’ it is referring to the earthly ministry of the Son of God. The Bible also uses the term, ‘son of man’ to refer to Jesus’ earthly ministry.
The word ‘Christ’ is not a name. I use the ‘name’ Jesus Christ conveniently as do most people. but technically we should be saying, “Jesus who is Christ’ or ‘Jesus the Christ’ because ‘Christ’ is equivalent to the Hebrew word, “Messiah’ which means, ‘Anointed one.’ There are many ‘anointed ones’ but there is on one, “The Anointed One.’ This is Jesus whom God anointed with his spirit to teach about the coming Kingdom of God, to lay down his life in substitution for mankind’s and to dethrone the devil as god of this world.
The term, “Christ Jesus” used in the Bible refers to Jesus in his glorified, resurrected state as Head of the Christian Church. It’s the resurrected Christ we preach to others. This is what I’m asking about. Are you serious about the resurrected Christ?
If you are Christian, you probably know and understand these things that I’m saying. But are you truly serious about Christ? If you let anything intrude into that — your own sin, your own troubles, the cares or riches of this world or fear — then it’s time for some serious character adjustments. We’re called out of the world and into the body of Christ to represent Christ to the world. That is our entire purpose after being saved.
Our entire purpose after being saved is to represent the risen Christ to others.
Do you believe that? Are you actively pursuing your new occupation?
Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth even as it is in heaven.” The earth was made for God’s people living under God’s government. The devil is presently on the ‘throne’ of the earth and is called, ‘the god of this world’ in the Bible (2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus who is Christ has technically dethroned him, but he has to return to physically unseat him from his earthly throne. When Jesus returns, he will usher in ‘The Kingdom of God’ and we will live in a world of righteousness, peace and love. That’s what’s coming, folks! God’s Kingdom right here on earth. Our job is to invite as many people as we can into Gods Kingdom.
Do you believe God’s Kingdom is coming? Do you believe Jesus is returning to establish God’s Kingdom on earth? If not, I urge you to study God’s Word and get a good scope of God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. Believe it or not, it’s coming and it’s coming like a freight train; very soon, and nothing can stop it.
If you are truly serious about Christ and the coming Kingdom of God, I need your help. I’m looking for a number of committed individuals to help start a new work to help increase the impact of Christ in culture. It’s something you can do from your own home, according to your own schedule. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but to work with you to do what God wants you to do.
With God’s help, I’m assembling an Advisory Board of Christians to provide insight and direction into the Christian Culture Center’s activities. It’s free to join the Advisory Board and requires a minimum commitment of time, as you decide you want to serve. For more details about the Advisory Board and to join, click here. You’ll complete periodic surveys and provide input to the Christian Culture Center staff and Board of Directors. At times you’ll vote on matters important to the operations of The Christian Culture Center.
For those who want to do more for our Lord Jesus Christ to establish Christian culture, we have our Involvement Partners program. Involvement Partners are volunteers who work together with us on specific tasks to help accomplish our God-given mission. As an Involvement Partner, you can serve in whatever area you are adept at, according to your own schedule. Again there is no fee to join.
People Serious about Christ and the Coming Kingdom of God Apply Here!
If you are serious about Christ and the coming Kingdom of God, join our Advisory Board, and if you have a few extra hours every now and then, become an Involvement Partner. I am deadly serious about launching The Christian Culture Center because I believe God wants it, and I believe it can help engrain God’s Word in culture. Let me know your interest by using the links below to sign up today.
To join our Advisory Board, click here.
To become an Involvement Partner, click here.
Thank you and God bless you in Jesus’ name.
I praise you in the evening before sleep sweeps me away.
I praise you Lord with everything I have.
What I enjoy the most is simply loving you.
And nothing Lord can change my love for you.
I praise you Lord with everything I have!
Anti-Christian culture exists almost everywhere you look. It’s the predominant message we’re presented with every day by the media, by the popular arts, by architecture by false religions and by the laws we live under.
One movement that was anti-Christian was the tower the unbelievers built after the flood on the plain in Shinar. We call it the Tower of Babel. After the flood, Noah and his family carried out God’s command to repopulate the earth. It didn’t take too long for the numbers to multiply, and of course, many of these new population refused to follow God and wait for the coming savior. They produced anti-Christian culture.
Knowing they were disobeying God in wanting to separate themselves from the believers and the true teachings of God, they decided under Nimrod’s command to build a tower high enough so that if God flooded the earth again, it would not affect them. That was the purpose of the Tower of Babel. But God saw what they were doing and decided to confuse them. To stop the development of anti-Christian culture, God introduced multiple languages.
People woke up one day and when they spoke, a different language came out. They knew what they were saying, but only those who were given the same language as their own could understand them and communicate with them. They could not understand most of their fellow men either. They were in total confusion.
The reason God did this is stated in verse 6 below. Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
Tower of Babel on Left, European Union on right. See any Similarities?
God caused them to speak multiple languages to prevent them from communicating with each other in large enough numbers to be able to cooperate together on anti-Christian culture projects such as the Tower of Babel. It’s taken mankind many thousands of years to be able to overcome that obstacle. Now that we have people to translate as well as having instant electronic translators, people from any language can communicate with anyone of any language.
The barrier has been crossed and just look at what they are doing once again. They’re building a ‘new world order’ to govern the earth according to their won rules, not God’s. The Tower of Babel is an excellent example of anti-christian culture. Anti-Christian culture is back and is nearing full bloom.
Rather that submit to God and believe what God says is true, they revolted and objected and tried to build something that would inhibit God from dealing with them, at least through another flood. It precedes Christ, of course, but it demonstrates the same principle. People reject God and Jesus Christ arbitrarily, even when they cannot deny God and Jesus Christ exist. Some people just do not accept being under any authority whatsoever, even God’s or our Lord Jesus Christ’s. They are anti-Christian and will produce anti-Christian culture.
There are people who will do anything they can to distance themselves from the one true God to escape judgment. The same thing will happen during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem. With King Jesus Christ literally there in Jerusalem, people won’t have any doubt that he exists, was raised from the dead and has eternal life. The facts will be obvious to them.
However a great multitude of them will not want to be part of the Kingdom of Christ. They will move to the farthest locations from Jerusalem to be as far away from Jesus and Gods family as they can. They will be anti-Christian and will still produce an anti-Christian culture. Then, at the end of the millennium, when the devil and his angels are loosed from the chains holding them, these people will gladly join the devil in his final attempt to attack Jesus Christ and overthrow God’s kingdom.
Fallen human nature does not change. It is worldly and anti-Christian in nature, and seeks to serve self rather than God. The only antidote for anti-Christian culture is Christ himself. If you fall into that category, take large doses of the Bible over a period of time, believe it and you will be fine. Call me in the morning!
Christian culture is a taste of God’s kingdom on earth. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about Christian culture so we can learn and do. I’ll only cover a few verses here, but if you take this study further, you’ll find tons more right in God’s holy Word, the Bible about Christian culture.
The book of Acts presents the rise and expansion of the Christian church in the first century. If Christ is interested in culture, we’ll surely find references to Christian culture there. Studying the book of Acts, you get a sense of what things were like when the first Christians risked their lives as they shared their new faith with others.
The book is full of scenes of conflict with the ruling religious class as well as the Roman authorities. You quickly get the sense that this new Christian faith was up against a tremendous amount of pressure, oppression and persecution, from within and without. But the believers of that time stood strong and ‘did exploits.’ They changed their culture for Christ.
Let’s see how they handled community, which is a big part of Christian culture, in the opening chapter of Acts.
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.
and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Note the early Christians’ enthusiasm for sharing God’s Word with others! It’s readily apparent that they were not only convicted but committed to reaching out to others. They wanted others to be saved, to come unto a knowledge of the truth and serve the living Lord Jesus Christ: They taught the resurrection of Jesus. They also wanted to produce Christian culture.
Look what else they did. They sold their pluralities, gave the money they made to the apostles, who then distributed to each person who had need. This is another big part of Christian culture. There are several things to learn from this.
A big lesson to learn from this account in Acts is that the family of God comes first. If you had enough food only for your own family and a stranger came up asking for food, would you give it to him? I know you’d want to; so would I. Or would you save the food so your own family didn’t starve? If you’re like most of us, you’d have to save the food for your family no matter how much you wanted to help the stranger.
There’s another record in the book of Romans that also proves my assertion that we give to Christians first and foremost.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and tear you.
I’m pretty sure it’s plainly evident that we’re not sent to feed the world, but each other in the body of Christ. If we have excess then we can think about blessing others, but keep in mind that we don’t want to support unbelief in any way, shape, or form. We don’t want to throw our pearls before swine, as Jesus said. Use those resources to strengthen the family of God.
Now let me say here that I do believe in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and providing physical needs to anyone, Christian or not. However Christians come first and foremost. I do not believe Christians are the ‘chumps’ of the world that should be taken advantage of by those who do not and never will have true interest in learning about Jesus Christ and coming unto a saving knowledge of the truth. God doesn’t ask us to feed the world. He asks us to feed the family of God and bring others into it. Let’s be wise in establishing Christian culture.
In this record, people gladly received what Philip said to them and ‘there was great joy in that city.’ Whenever and wherever the Word of God is held forth and believed, there is great joy. Philip was just one person, witnessing alone in Samaria. Look at how the Lord backed him up, empowered him and blessed him.
Just one person on fire for our Lord Jesus Christ can change the culture of an entire city! That is exciting. Perhaps we don’t need ‘masses of people’ to produce Christian culture. Maybe just a few of us who really believe and walk with our Lord Jesus Christ will get the job done.
If you’re a believing Christian who is on fire for our Lord Jesus Christ, I encourage you to work together with us at The Christian Culture Center to help establish Christ in culture. Visit our main online portal at http://ChristianCultureCenter.org and sign up for our Advisory Board. Help us help Christians do what God wants them to do.
Later in the book of Acts, we find a Christian cultural phenomenon. God did ‘extraordinary miracles’ through the apostle Paul. In my thinking, a miracle in itself is extraordinary, so imagine what an ‘extraordinary’ miracle is! God does everything in his power to help us reach others for our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look at this phenomenon that helped to establish Christian culture quickly and easily.
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
What did these newly converted Christians do? They took all their anti-Christian scrolls (we’d say ‘books’ or ‘tapes’ or ‘CDs’ today of course) and burned them up. I say ‘anti-Christian’ here to describe systems of belief that are counter to Christianity. There are many, many books we could put into this category today and I’m sure I’d upset quite a few groups if I started listing them here. I’m not out to upset people or groups, but to teach the truth in love. Anything that promotes any type of spirituality that denies Jesus is the son of God is anti-Christian and any book that states such should be burned period. That’s what the Christian believers did here in the book of Acts and look what happened as a result!
I’d say this is a great example of Christian culture in the book of Acts, wouldn’t you? Chapter 18 shows the actual pinnacle of the rise and expansion of the Christian Church in Acts. It doesn’t get any better than this — an entire town turned to Jesus Christ because of God’s powerful works through committed believers.
To establish Christian culture in your area, perhaps some books need to be burned. Perhaps something should be done to help the needy Christians in your area before you send that money off to a secular charity. Perhaps if we concentrate more on what God wants us to do, we will get further in establishing Christ in culture. I’m just saying… no I’m doing also! How about you?
Ignorance is bliss to some people. It’s bliss because they don’t have to think deeply about the meaning of life. The movie, “The Matrix” illustrated this excellently with their ‘do you want the blue pill or the red pill’ scene. The blue pill of course, allowed the subject to stay in his comfortable induced dream-reality state, while the red pill would open his understanding to what was really happening. It’s symbolizing the choice each of us make between ignorance and truth.
I can understand that sentiment. For most people, life is hard. There are fleeting moments of fulfillment and satisfaction, but it’s also full of disappointments, heart-breaks, financial pressures, relationship issues, enduring physical catastrophes, wars, crime, sickness and death. Even the most successful suffer in this world, but for those elite who don’t suffer, to them ignorance truly is bliss. They’re having their day. But it’s just a day.
I say ignorance is deadly. Take an obvious example. The light ahead is green, you’re going the speed limit and you get hit broadside in the middle of the intersection. Somebody ran a red light. They were either ignorant of the red light, or they made a conscious decision to run it. But you were ignorant of their action. Perhaps you didn’t look to the right, left and right again as you entered the intersection. Whatever the situation, ignorance caused that accident, perhaps multiple instances of it.
Ignorance is deadly. But let’s discuss what so many people are ignorant of.
Wow. What a powerful observation. This observation is from the spiritual point of view. People are in spiritual darkness, separated from God because of ignorance! And what is the reason for their ignorance? They hardened their own hearts.
We understand what hard arteries do. They cause massive heart attacks. They kill you. Hard arteries are deadly. So is ignorance. It’s caused by hardening your heart against the truth.
Take a moment and think about this. Don’t ignore it. Hmmm… ignore… ignore-ance. There is it again! Don’t IGNORE the truth or you will remain IGNORANT!
How does one harden their hearts? By saying no to truth when they hear it. What causes this? It could be a million reasons, and I’m not saying any of them or any combination of them isn’t enough to trigger that ‘no.’ Man is born ignorant. God greets him through the world around him (Romans 1:20). He has to learn about God, and God teaches him. At some point he has to come in contact with the truth about Jesus Christ if he is to be saved and gain true spiritual knowledge. But all the while, man has the choice whether to perceive and believe the information he’s presented with or whether he chooses to ignore it. Ignoring it hardens the heart. Ignoring it leads to ignorance.
Open your mind and heart to more of God and by all means gain an accurate spiritual awareness in your walk so you shine as brightly as God wants you to, flooding darkness with light so others can also come to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christian Culture Center is opening a brand new service called the Community Funding Initiative. This new way of resourcing Christian projects lets the community decide which projects they want to see completed. It preempts the normal time and labor-intensive method of applying for grants to foundations that already receive more grant applications than they can service.
Community funding is also called crowd funding and crowd sourcing. The Christian Culture Center is seeking Christians who have projects that need from $500 to $15,000 to complete and who live in the United States. We will expand this offering to the United Kingdom after the initial launch, so if you live in the UK, stay tuned!
Here’s how it works. You submit your project to the Christian Culture Center for approval. Please read the guidelines here first. You’ll complete a project description with at least one project image and preferably one video that explains what you want to do and how it benefits people. Upon approval, you’ll list one or more gifts you can give in exchange for people’s contributions to your project. Typically, people offer different gifts for different levels of donations. A $20 gift is the most common, but people also contribute at higher levels. It’s good to offer gifts at $20, $30, $50, $100 and even higher, depending on the project.
When you’ve reached funding goal, the money is collected and distributed to you, at which time you distribute the gifts you’ve promised to your contributors. Most projects are offered for 30 or 60 days. If the funding goal is not reached, no money is collected and no funds are distributed. Future articles will discuss the best practices for posting projects that get funded.
What Types of Projects Get Community Funded the Most?
If you’re thinking of submitting a project for community funding, you may want to know which types of projects get funded the most.
Typically, projects that get funded the most include writing books, recording music CDs, producing min-budget movies and documentaries, and other creative works. Other types of community funding projects include games, software and phone apps, and even physical products. Keep in mind that if you are promoting physical products they have to be your own original product that is under development when you list the project.
Although this is a secular list, you can get some great ideas by looking at this list on Wikipedia. These are higher-level crowd funded projects, but you can get an idea of what works.
We’re looking for projects that help accomplish our mission: to help increase the impact of Christ in culture. Keep that in mind when you submit your project idea. We also do some preliminary vetting to make sure the project is legitimate and the people who are promoting it are honest and trustworthy. We follow up to make sure the funds collected were used as indicated in the project description itself.
Do you have a project you’d like to have community funded? Contact us here.
Speak with other Christians you know and let them know at the Christian Culture Center’s Community Funding Initiative is available to help them.
Community funding is a viable means to raise money from the Christian community. The Christian Culture Center will work with you to let as many people as we can know about your project. We’ll also help you pick the gifts you can give in return for donations at their various levels.
If you would like to brainstorm project ideas, or you already have a project you’d like to offer to the Christian community, contact the Christian Culture Center Community Funding Initiative here. We’re here to help.
April 20 is the launch date for The Community Funding Initiative.