Contact: Brian Kluth, 719-930-4000, bk@kluth.org 

MEDIA ADVISORY, July 28 /Standard Newswire/ -- For nearly a year, donations had been declining at a church in Colorado Springs.  Brian Kluth, pastor and author, mailed out copies of his "40 Day Journey to a More Generous Life" Bible devotional to every family in the congregation.  In the months following the giving went up 41% and months later the church's giving has remained higher than it's ever been.  A chaplain at the Air Force Academy got the devotional and gave out copies to the people attending his church services and giving went up 35%.  All of this happened without ever mentioning the church budget. 

"For years, churches have taught people to give to the budget," says Kluth.  "This Bible devotional brings the focus back to teaching people to give to GOD.  When a church makes giving to GOD their focus, church budgets automatically begin to go up.  It changes the whole emphasis from meeting the budget to meeting God.  Instead of just trying to get financial transactions it encourages spiritual transformation in people's financial lives.  Budgets don't inspire people to give, but the Bible does."

The 92-page full color booklet identifies 40 Biblical financial teachings and 400 Bible verses.  The daily Scripture readings help ignite people's faith in God to provide, inspires them to become more generous, and increases their giving to their church and to the ministries they care about.

There are now over 400,000 copies in print of the 40 Day Generous Life devotional book.  It has been used by over 1000 churches from over 100 denominations to help them instruct their people in what the Bible says about money and giving.  Churches of all size are using this devotional -- small rural churches, urban churches, suburban churches, and over 25 megachurches with thousands of people attending.  One pastor that used this book in the midst of their building fund campaign said, "we raised 50% more than we were expecting, because of the use of this 40 day devotional."

The booklet is also inspiring greater generosity around the world.  There are translations underway in over 40 foreign languages for free worldwide distribution.  In Mongolia, an 1100-person church saw their giving increase nearly 60%.  In Australia, a denomination is sharing this book with all their churches.  They have documented cases where church giving has gone up 54%, 116% and in one church there was even a 600% increase in giving commitments.

Because of the success the 40 Day www.GenerousLife.org book is experiencing with churches, Kluth developed free 60 second radio spots and a 40 day on-line version for Christian radio stations to use.  The www.GiveWithJoy.org radio stories are now being played on stations across the country at no cost to the stations.   Kenny Robinson from WMSJ-FM said, "We are a listener supported station and have been using these radio spots and devotional to help teach our listeners the principles of giving.  I must say that the response has been incredible.  We've seen God move among his people throughout our listening audience."  Some radio stations have also been purchasing copies of the devotional to send out as appreciation gifts to their financial partners.

Beyond the devotional book, companion resources are also available.  Videos for church services, small group videos, Sunday School material, banners, posters, and sermon helps are also available.

Kluth says, "God always uses scarcity to bring clarity.  We're in a time when we need to clearly give people God's answers from the Bible on how to manage their finances and giving.  When we do this, giving will go up even in the midst of a down economy."

For free PDF copy:  www.GenerousLife.org
For free 60 second radio spots: http://givewithjoy.org/radio_tv.htm
For free eDevotional: www.givewithjoy.org

Contact:
Brian Kluth
Email: bk@kluth.org 
5201 Pinon Valley Road
Colorado Springs, CO  80919
Cell: 719-930-4000