[1] John Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2004: Will We Will? 16th ed. (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2006),12.

[2] George Barna, quoted in Survey Finds Americans More Generous Last Year, press release by World Vision, July 22, 2002.

[3] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[4] Liz Pulliam Weston, The Truth about Credit Card Debt: Conventional Wisdom is That We're All Hooked and Struggling. The Reality Is, in fact, Quite Different and Less Frightening, MSN Money, May 8, 2006.

[5] Liz Pulliam Weston, The Truth about Credit Card Debt: Conventional Wisdom is That We're All Hooked and Struggling. The Reality Is, in fact, Quite Different and Less Frightening, MSN Money, May 8, 2006.

[6] Liz Pulliam Weston, The Truth about Credit Card Debt: Conventional Wisdom is That We're All Hooked and Struggling. The Reality Is, in fact, Quite Different and Less Frightening, MSN Money, May 8, 2006.

[7] Devlin Barrett, 2 of 3 College Grads Go into Debt, The Associated Press, May 30, 2006.

[8] Ron Blue, How Much Is Enough?, speech delivered at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., March 1-3, 2001.

[9] George Barna, Barna Research Archives: Money (Barna Research Group).

[10] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 2007.

[11] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, Status of Global Mission, 2007 (International Bulletin of Missionary Research 31, no. 1), 8.

[12] Unchurched Population Nears 100 Million in the US March 19, 2007, www.barna.org

[13] Giving USA Foundation, Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2005, researched and written at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 51st annual issue (Indianapolis: Author, 2006), 112.

[14] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 34.

[15] Sider, Ronald. The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. Books and Culture. January 1, 2005.

[16] Dag Ehrenpreis, Poverty in Focus: The Challenge of Inequality (United Nations Development Program, 2007), 4.

[17] United Nations.  2006.

[18] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 34.

[19] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 34.

[20] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 34.

[21] Shah, Anup.  Global Issue. 2006.

[22] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 34.

[23] Dodson, Howard.Slavery in the 21st Century. United Nations Chronicle Online Edition. 2005.

[24] Ron Blue with Jodie Berndt, Generous Living: Finding Contentment through Giving (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 201.

[25] John Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2004: Will We Will? 16th ed. (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2006), 53.

[26] Ron Blue, Generous Living: Finding Contentment through Giving, speech delivered at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Atlanta, Ga., January 14-15, 1999.

[27] Claude Rosenberg and Tim Stone, A New Take on Tithing, Stanford Social Innovation Review (Fall 2006).

[28] John L. Ronsvalle, Sylvia Ronsvalle. The State of Church Giving Through 2004: Will We Will?. Champaign: empty tomb, inc., 2004, p. 55-6.

[29] John L. Ronsvalle, Sylvia Ronsvalle. The State of Church Giving Through 2004: Will We Will?. Champaign: empty tomb, inc., 2004, p. 62.

[30] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 19, 551.

[31] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, "Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 2007," International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Volume 31, No. 1, 8. 2007.

[32] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, "Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 2007," International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Volume 31, No. 1, 8. 2007.

[33] David B. Barrett & Todd M. Johnson, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 2007.

[34] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 405ff.

[35] George Barna, Survey Explores Who Qualifies As an Evangelical, The Barna Update, January 18, 2007.

[36] Larry Eskridge, Defining Evangelicalism (Wheaton, Ill.: Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, n.d.).

[37] This information is extrapolated from three sources: Social Investment Forum, 2003 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States (Washington: Author, 2003), 4; George Barna, Survey Explores Who Qualifies As an Evangelical, The Barna Update, January 18, 2007; Larry Eskridge, Defining Evangelicalism (Wheaton, Ill.: Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, n.d.).

[38] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 657.

[39] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001), 659.

[40] John J. Havens and Paul G. Schervish, Why the $41 Trillion Wealth Transfer Estimate Is Still Valid: A Review of Challenges and Questions, The Journal of Gift Planning 7, no. 1 (January 2003), 11-15, 47-50.

[41] John L. Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2000 (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2002), 111.

[42] Lifeway Research, Average Church Budget Spending, n.d.

[43] Warren Bird, Scott Thumma, Dave Travis. Megachurches Today 2005: Summary of Research Findings. Hartford Seminary, 2005, 24.

[44] Lifeway Research, Average Church Budget Spending, n.d.

[45] John L. Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2000 (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2002), 1.

[46] John L. Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2000 (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2002), 13.

[47] AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, Giving USA 2002: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2001, researched and written at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University (Indianapolis: Author, 2002), 67.

[48] Christian Stewardship Association, quoted in Holly Hall, Raising Funds by the Good Book: Churches Use Financial Lessons from the Bible and See Gifts Rise, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 17, 1999.

[49] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[50] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[51] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[52] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[53] The Barna Group. Americans Donate Billions to Charity, But Giving to Churches has Declined," 2007.

[54] The Barna Group, Survey Shows Pastors Claim their Congregants Are Deeply Committed to God, But Congregants Deny It! 2006.

[55] Tim Stafford, The Anatomy of a Giver: American Christians Are the Nation's Most Generous Givers, but We Aren't Exactly Sacrificing, Christianity Today, May 19, 1997.

[56] The United Methodist Foundation of Los Angeles, Money and Religion, rpt. in Lifestyle Stewardship: Learning the Freedom of Generous Giving, Alliance Life (January 2001), 13.

[57] AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, Giving USA 1996: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 1995, researched and written at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University (Indianapolis: Author, 1996), quoted in George Barna, How to Increase Giving in Your Church: A Practical Guide to the Sensitive Task of Raising Money for Your Church or Ministry (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1997), 20.

[58] American Pet Products Manufacturers Associate, Inc., Industry Statistics and Trends, 2007.

[59] Market Data Enterprises. US Weight Loss Market to Reach $58 billion by 2007, 2007.

[60] David B. Barrett, Tom M. Johnson, Peter F. Crossing. "Missiometrics: Creating Your Own Analysis of Global Data," International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 31, No. 1, 2007, p. 8.

[61] George Barna, How to Increase Giving in Your Church: A Practical Guide to the Sensitive Task of Raising Money for Your Church or Ministry (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1997), 20.

[62] April 25, 2005 "Americans Donate Billions to Charity, But Giving to Churches Has Declined," http://www.barna.org. The Barna Group, Ltd. California. April 25, 2005.

[63] John Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2004: Will We Will? 16th ed. (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2006), 36.

[64] John Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2004: Will We Will? 16th ed. (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2006), 17.

[65] Ellen Remmer, What's a Donor to Do? The State of Donor Resources in America Today (Boston: The Philanthropic Initiative, 2000), 15.

[66] Ron Blue, How Much Is Enough?, excerpt from a speech delivered at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., March 1-3, 2001.

[67] Ron Blue, How Much Is Enough?, excerpt from a speech delivered at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., March 1-3, 2001.