2.5%.  That’s how much American evangelicals give to Christian causes.  Not 15%, not even the biblically-mandated 10%.  Just 2.5%.

But here’s the really disappointing number: 98% of that tiny 2.5% primarily benefits other Christians. This basically means that of every $100 of income earned by American evangelicals, about 5 cents goes to touch the lives of those that Jesus called “the least of these.” A nickel.

This is not about hard economic times preventing us from giving. In fact, the opposite is true: since the Great Depression, income has risen on a fairly consistent curve, with only a few blips along the way.  At the same time, however, giving as a function of income has steadily decreased. Simply put, the more we have the more we keep.

We need a revolution here. We need to take the needs of the world around us seriously. The Church needs to be reminded that spending 85% of its resources on salaries, facilities, and other internal needs of the congregation makes a mockery of the Great Commission.

It starts with you. Will you become a revolutionary?

Check back next week for more fuel for this fire.