LETTER FROM CEDAR | OCT 2024

Dear CEDAR friends and supporters,

Have you ever wondered why Christians give? The National Christian Foundation (NCF) has just published one of the largest research studies on Christian giving ^(a), i.e. giving done by Christians to both faith-based and secular causes. They find that givers aged 45 and above give because they ‘feel greater purpose in life’ and ‘feel grateful’. Those aged 44 and below give because they ‘feel more fully alive’, ‘feel closer to God’, and ‘feel more hopeful’.

NCF finds that the overwhelming driver for Christian givers is their desire to ‘be good and wise stewards of what God has given them’. When asked about the most important characteristics they look for in a charitable giving organisation, they report (i) a trusted partner, (ii) a faith/ministry-based partner, and (iii) one who helps them live with a biblical worldview.

CEDAR Fund sees itself as one such partner. The majority of our development, relief, and poverty alleviation work are supported by individual brothers and sisters who trust CEDAR and desire to share God’s love and join in God’s work in bringing about holistic transformation.

The needs in this world are increasing and evolving, and so our response needs to be. CEDAR continues to live out our ‘From Church, Through Church’ principle and engage in development and relief work in a ‘Kingdom smart’ way ─ built on Kingdom principles and evidence-based approaches.

We hold our work to a high professional standard, as we know that in development work and in cross-cultural settings, it can be easy to ‘do more harm than good’. Please pray for us as we continue to learn from our overseas partners in their varying contexts and adapt development approaches to be ‘as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’ (Matthew 10:16).

May we continue to experience the resurrection power of Him, who holds all things together.