What do we look for in Christian charities (or those we believe to be Christian charities, AKA Catholic Charities)? Do we read an article or watch a commercial that evokes an emotional response and then decide to send funds? Or do we read their web pages or printed literature? Their doctrinal statements and/or their ‘about’ section? Are we interested in donating to a charity which (first and foremost) shares the gospel with the lost? Or are we more concerned with humanitarian efforts (those giving assistance with food, water, medicine, medical treatments, rescuing people from oppressive nations)?
Provided in this article is a checklist of 10 things to look for prior to donating. These tips can help you find out if the organization is actually sharing the gospel (or not). Some considerations we may have easily overlooked. But once we recognize the trickery used by some organizations, we can make more informed choices, especially if we desire for the funds we send to be used to primarily share the gospel with the lost.
Near the end of the article, there are alternatives listed (such as missionaries and how to find them), which may be of interest as well.
You may often see a tear-jerking story put forth in a commercial ad or article. They will show starving children in need of medical care. This often evokes an emotional response (especially in Christians) – the desire to help others less fortunate (as was the goal of the ad regarding us believers, the target audience).
The charity will then ask you to send money. You may believe that your money is actually going to help those people in the region in which the ad or article showed the suffering and perilous conditions. But did you know that often times they don’t use the funds you send for the people located in the areas where the video or article suggests the help is needed?
Tip #1: Does the money you send go to the cause you think it does? This should be readily available information on the donation form.
Let’s say (for example) that you have chosen to donate to help starving children in Ethiopia and to reach them with the gospel. The form should say something like this: “89% of every dollar you send goes directly to help alleviate hunger for children in Ethiopia, and reach them with the gospel.”
If they do not show this information in a prominent way, then you can be sure that they will allocate your money any way they see fit. They may show you starving children in Ethiopia (for example), but when you send a donation in, it may be going to a different region and for an entirely different cause. You might be unpleasantly surprised to find out what your money is funding! One of those causes is financially supporting Islamic immigration.
Tip #2: Christian doesn’t always mean Christian. What do I mean?
You and I believe that to be a Christian is to:
Be a believer on Christ alone for salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
Believe in His finished work (Heb.12:2).
Be born-again (John 3:3-7, 1:23).
Be washed clean by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9-11, Rev.5:1).
Believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose the third day (1 Cor.15:1-4).
Believe that our own good works do not play any part in salvation (Eph.2:8-9).
Believe that Jesus alone is the only acceptable propitiation for our sins (Rom.3:25, 1 John 4:10).
Know that “belief” is the requirement (Rom.10:9-13, John 3:16-18).
We assume (often erroneously) that when an organization calls itself “Christian” that they also believe salvation in Christ to be the same thing as we do. However, we often find that when a charity claims to be a ‘Christian’ charity, what that may often mean is that they are a Catholic charity.
This may not concern you. However, if you’d like to find ways of discerning between those charities who actually share the Biblical gospel with the lost as compared to those charities who claim to be ‘Christian’ (but are Catholic), then you may find this article informative.
Why is that so important to know? If it was actually the Catholic organization which offered aid to the person(s), how likely is it that the person actually heard the gospel? Or wouldn’t it be much more likely (as some articles are at least honest enough to report) that, rather than sharing the gospel with the individual in need, they have instead ‘baptized them into the Catholic faith’.
While it’s not my intent to bash the RCC, it’s apparent that the Catholic church has disdain for the Biblical gospel (and often times disdain for most scripture, as they teach it allegorically rather than literally). ‘Baptism into’ the Catholic church is what they consider to be ‘salvation’.
What does God’s word have to say about false gospels? (Gal.1:8-9). How likely is it that a person who is helped by one of these Catholic charities will actually hear the Biblical Gospel? Truly? Not very likely at all.
Tip #3: Catholic charities are the #1 sponsor of illegal immigration into the USA (and other nations). They have even converted what used to be Catholic churches into Islamic mosques. I doubt that I need to connect the dots (for most readers) between this current pope and the globalist agenda.
The money you send to a charity that draws you in by showing you tear-jerking feel-good stories about rescuing ‘Christians’ in the Middle East, may very well be using YOUR donations to bring illegal immigrants into this country (or other sovereign nations). The charity won’t tell you that upfront, but often when we research into who is placing the Islamic immigrants in the US, we find numerous Catholic charities listed, as well as those with deceptive names to make one think that they aren’t Catholic organizations (when they actually are).
Those Islamic immigrants aren’t likely to be Christian at all, but instead have practiced taqiyya (lying for the cause of Islam) to be ‘baptized into’ the Catholic faith. The charity may have never even shared the gospel with them (and if it’s a Catholic charity, you can be sure they haven’t). In fact, they may have promised them access to a newly built (or remodeled church) mosque instead.
Is that where you want your donation to go? No. I don’t think so. This is truly a common ruse to get money from evangelical Christians and support Islamic immigration.
How do they get by with such practices and sell this to the dwindling Catholic congregations? By claiming that the Muslims have been ‘baptized into’ Catholicism. Many of them have been duped, not knowing that the Quran teaches Muslims to LIE and to deceive (in the Quran ‘Allah’ is the ‘best deceiver’ and taqiyya is promoted). Any oath made with ‘infidels’ is not binding (in Islam an infidel is anyone who won’t convert to Islam).
Islam also promotes immigrating to other nations to spread Islam, to infiltrate politics, and to conquer the land when their numbers are large enough.
You will hear Islamists proclaim that they also believe in Jesus. Yet the Quran paints an entirely different Jesus (whom they call Isa or Esa). Their idea of Jesus is that He is not the Son of God, and that He did not die on the cross, nor was He buried, nor resurrected.
What does God’s word have to say about those who deny Christ is the only begotten Son? And who deny His death, burial, and resurrection? (1 John 2:22) The spirit of antichrist resides in those who deny the Father and the Son.
Tip #4: Are those ‘Persecuted Christians’ they claim to be helping actually Christians?
There are hundreds of organizations which claim to be helping ‘persecuted Christians’ flee from oppressive nations. While it may immediately pull on our heart-strings to want to help any person escape from an oppressive nation, we also need to realize that most of the time (not always, but most often) when they claim to be helping ‘persecuted Christians’, what they mean is those are Catholic churches or organizations. Just as was noted above, often times these organizations aren’t sharing the gospel, and those whom they are claiming as ‘Christians’ are merely those whom they’ve ‘baptized into the Catholic faith’, many of which are Islamic and intend to remain Islamic.
Since Muslims are taught in the Quran that it’s an ‘honorable’ thing to lie for the cause of furthering Islam, they then go along with the Catholic rituals of being ‘baptized into’ Catholicism. They weren’t presented the gospel, and they did not accept Christ as Savior.
Once they’ve been ‘baptized into’ Catholicism, then the Catholic charity claims them as converts to ‘Christianity’. They promise to relocate them to the US (and many other nations), lure them with the promises of free healthcare, housing stipends, food stamps, and many other perks. Many are given huge amounts of money to relocate as well. They’re often promised to be relocated near an Islamic mosque.
This is a globalist agenda meant to tear down sovereign nations with unchecked illegal immigration. Worse? They are counting these illegal immigrants as ‘Christians’ when they are actually Islamic!
Before we open our hearts (and wallets) to any charity, we need to ask ourselves if we want our money spent on this venture. If not, you should make sure you know where and to whom these donations go. Are those people they claim are ‘persecuted Christians’ actually Christians? Or are they Islamists who merely desire a free ride and free money? And again, let’s not forget that if the Catholic church is involved, those people aren’t going to hear the gospel anyways.
Tip #5: Often times the name of an organization can be deceitful. Can we trust the name of the organization? Just because an organization uses the terms ‘salvation’ or ‘cross’ in their organization’s name does not mean they are Christian organizations!
They may have initially started out with the goal of offering the gospel along WITH much needed supplies, food, water, medicine, medical treatment, shelter, clothing, and more, but are now no longer even giving the gospel at all.
I am not naming any specific names here, but I’m sure you can think of at least two rather large organizations fitting that description. We can’t always go by the words ‘salvation’ or ‘cross’, or even ‘Christian’, because even though they deceptively still use those terms in their very names, they are not giving the gospel, nor are they preaching the cross.
So how can we tell the difference?
Tip #6: Look very carefully at the main web-page of the organization you intend to donate to. There are numerous clues there that can often be missed if we are simply just reading their professed success stories. Often these exact same tear-jerking articles are claimed by numerous organizations.
Here is just ONE case in point: For instance, I recently saw an article about a young man who escaped from N. Korea, who went through some very horrific events, lost family members, suffered physical torment, and more. It was both heartbreaking and joyous to hear of, first, what he had endured; and second, how he’d reached safety; and next (and most importantly), how the person had then come to Christ after he had escaped. But had he come to Christ?
I then saw that SAME article (or very similarly worded) on at least a dozen (likely more) charitable organizations’ pages. Now we know (common sense and logic) that not all of these charities/organizations could have had a part in the former N. Korean man’s flight to safety, nor could they all have had a part in sharing the gospel with him. Far too many organizations have printed the same story out for that to have been the case. In fact, when we read the article, we can glean several important clues as to who (exactly) helped the man, and/or if he was even given the actual gospel.
We can also glean information from these articles when we focus on what is missing.
Notice the date of the article itself. Then we can research to see who published it originally. This used to be easier to do when search engines gave relevant results rather than ranked results (and other means of squashing information). But if we find the original article, 9 times out of 10 it came from a Catholic charity which claims that the person was ‘baptized into’ the Catholic faith.
We can also find such clues as the church organization that was given credit for helping was St._____ (a Catholic organization). You can often find these clues scattered throughout these emotionally charged articles: names such as St.____, or Assumption ___, Sacred Heart ___, or Our Lady ___. These are typical Catholic charities’ names. Others aren’t so easily connected, but with minimal research you can generally surmise which ones are Catholic. Sometimes, though, it’s not so easy to do since the names can be very deceptive.
Tip #7: Who is the organization affiliated with? This might not be as easy to find out, but it should be, and that’s the point! Is the organization you are donating to (or researching) aligning themselves and/or affiliated with Catholic charities? You may be able to even pick this up readily from within the body of the ‘feel good’ articles they present.
Often times we see what seems to be a ‘non-denominational’ charity profess they need your donations to do the following:
- Offer humanitarian aid to the oppressed
- Help rescue those from nations who have cruel dictatorships, Communism, Islam, etc.
- They then share ‘success stories’ for which they may not even be a part. It’s psychological trickery. Attempting to make you think they did (or had part in) helping certain people they’ve never even met! Yet often times they are affiliated with Catholic charities, and they send these Catholic charities a certain percentage of their own incoming donations in order to be able to share (and even make it look like they are taking credit for) the same event and the same article the Catholic organization printed.
They may claim to be ‘non-denominational’; but if they were, then why are they affiliated with Catholic charities?
This is a deceitful (and often used) practice, meant to confuse Christians. Many Protestant and Evangelical Christians are duped by these so-called non-denominational organizations’ names.
Tip #8: Look within the body of the actual article and see if you can find the following information:
Did the organization (itself) actually help the person flee to freedom? Did the organization (itself) actually give the person the gospel? OR is the organization itself merely printing the article in a somewhat deceitful attempt to cause you to think they did? After all, it’s on their website or in their printed material… that would cause most people to think that they (the organization itself) were a part of the operation itself, right? What if that organization had no contact with the person whatsoever?
What if they have no idea what gospel (if any) was presented to the person? Where did they get the article information? There are many other questions we should ask ourselves when reading these articles.
Not all articles and charities are that way. But next time you read either one of those amazingly feel-good articles or one of those tear-jerking articles, try to step back from the emotional response for a moment and see if you can find the following anywhere within the body of the article: WHAT gospel was presented to the person (if any)? And who or what organization actually gave aid to that person?
Those questions are the two minimum questions when reading one of those articles.
Tip #9: Phone statements are often false!
Let’s say you don’t have time to research the organization by sifting through their in-print data supplied on their web page. So instead you decide to just call them up and ask questions. Sadly, many of those who answer the phones are trained to LIE. They will tell you pretty much anything they know you want to hear in order to get the donation.
In fact, many of these organizations subcontract with telemarketing firms to ‘get the sale’. Those who are hired in the telemarketing field often get bonuses when they reach a goal of ‘x’ amount of sales/donations on any given day. It’s bad enough when that kind of thing happens in the secular world. But sadly, it also happens in many so-called ‘Christian’ organizations.
You can’t believe what you hear, not even (and especially not) on the phone. If it’s not in print, sadly, what the phone representatives tell you may not be true!
Tip #10: Doctrinal Statements
When considering a charity to donate to, we should see if that charity has either a doctrinal statement or (at minimum) an “about” page. It is very telling, both in what IS included and especially in what is NOT included in these statements. If they do not present the gospel there on their own web page, then why would they present the gospel to those whom they claim to be helping?
In all honesty, even if you use only this ONE tactic in researching whom to donate or not to donate to, it can be eye-opening to see which charities actually share (or don’t share) the gospel even on their own web page!
There are likely dozens (or more) of other tips we can look for (such as financial statements, etc.). Yet these 10 tips alone can help sort out those who are sharing the gospel with the lost as compared to those who are only offering humanitarian aid, or worse – the goal of bringing illegal immigrants into sovereign nations.
We can’t let our emotional responses to a tear-jerking or feel-good article take control of common sense as to whom (and where) the money we donate actually goes. The doctrinal statements (and ‘about’ pages) can speak volumes about any charity. Even more, the lack of information there also speaks volumes. If they aren’t sharing the gospel there, then they aren’t sharing the gospel with those they are helping in person either.
The goal of this article is not to bash those who donate to humanitarian causes. I’ve also donated to humanitarian causes when I couldn’t find a church in the location of a particular disaster to send funds to. It’s great to help those who are suffering a humanitarian crisis, but (and this is important) are they sharing the gospel with them?
If these charities and organizations are merely giving food, water, clothing, shelter, medical assistance, or even a complete rescue operation to remove them from physical peril (although all those things are admirable), if they are not sharing the gospel with them, then those in need are still as lost as they were before being physically helped.
In other words: Yes, they may be getting the help needed to prolong their lives on this earth and/or to deliver them from dangerous situations here and now. Those are all noble causes. BUT many of us have the desire to donate to organizations and charities who will actually share the gospel with the lost, those who are concerned (as we are) about their eternal souls.
Here is the best advice I can offer: Rather than a large charity, why not consider donating to missionaries?
If you attend a good Bible-believing church where the gospel is preached, often those churches will fund missionaries in various parts of the world. Find out if your pastor knows the missionaries personally, or if they have a website you can access to read the missionaries’ doctrinal statements.
If there isn’t a good Bible-believing church in your area or if your church doesn’t fund missionaries, there are numerous ways to find them.
I know a family who are missionaries to Taiwan (and have been devoted to serving the Lord there and sharing the gospel there in Taiwan for 29 years!). There was recently a large earthquake where their church is located. The pastor, his wife, family, and church congregation were (thankfully) unharmed, and their church building suffered no structural damage (that they know of), merely items that fell and broke within the church. However, many in the congregation have families who reside where the earthquake did the most damage.
According to a Reuters article, 10 people have been confirmed dead (as of the time of writing this article), and there are continuing efforts to find more people trapped under buildings and rubble.
Pastor Maurice A. Young (and family) has been serving the Lord in Taiwan, sharing the gospel and evangelizing to the Taiwanese people. While Taiwan is not as persecuted as China, it is still perilous to serve the Lord there. Please read their doctrinal statement and peruse the entire website.
As well as sharing the gospel, Pastor Young also teaches the biblical pre-trib rapture to the people in Taiwan. If you feel led to donate a love offering, the web address (and mailing address as well) is on the website, under the “books” page. Whether or not you feel inclined to donate, please pray for pastor Young and his entire family, as well as the church there in Taiwan.
Pastor Young is also a missionary to China. He has a video platform (in Chinese) which reaches many people in China (those who can get access to the internet through encrypted and not easily traced routes… it’s very dangerous for those in China to access Christian websites). Pastor Young’s Chinese video outreach can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdMja7-vYhM9CK0hxy61j5g
There are many other ways to find missionaries. A Baptist church in Madison, Alabama trains and sends numerous missionaries to all parts of the world, sharing the gospel with the lost being their first priority. While I do not know Pastor Mike Allison personally, I have listened to his sermon audio messages for many years now. Please peruse their website for more information.
http://www.madisonbaptist.com/missionaries.html
One family of missionaries that Madison Baptist has sent to Busan, South Korea is the Brown family. You can read their doctrinal statement, and I was also pleased to see them teaching the biblical pre-trib rapture to those in S. Korea as well!
When I contacted Pastor Brown, he stated that they were not currently asking for donations themselves, as they are funded by Madison Baptist (and others). So your funds may be sent to Madison Baptist (the link above). Whether or not you are inclined to donate, please keep the Brown family (and all missionaries) in prayer.
https://gospeltokorea.org
I also wanted to note that Madison Baptist hasn’t asked for funds. I have only spoken with Pastor Brown (the missionary in S. Korea affiliated with Madison Baptist). However, as they send so many missionaries to the field to preach the gospel and the pre-trib rapture, I took it upon myself to note them here. They may not be asking for funds, but funds are surely needed, as are our prayers for them!
The aforementioned missionaries are Independent Fundamental Baptists. Should you attend a Calvary Chapel church, there are also numerous missionaries sent from them as well. See Calvary Chapel Outreach efforts (various locations around the globe).
While I don’t know any of those involved personally with the Calvary Chapel missionary outreach, their website claims to be sharing the gospel with the world, sending missionaries abroad. The Calvary Chapel Mission Resource Connection equips and prepares those entering (and currently in) the missions field. There are numerous articles as well on this site for your perusal. https://calvarychapel.com/mission/#
You may come from a different denomination other than IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) or Calvary Chapel. You may come from a non-denominational church, or it may even be that you cannot find a good Bible-believing church within a hundred miles… No matter your denomination or situation, you can also research online to find other missionaries. Read their doctrinal statements and decide if you agree (or not) that they are scripturally sound. Even if you can’t afford to send funds, you can pray for the missionaries.
Many of us have a desire to reach the lost with the gospel. Yet most of us do not speak many foreign languages, nor can we travel to the numerous locations around the world. We can fund and/or pray for missionaries who can.
While we may have funded large charities in the past, many of those charities lost the main focus (sharing the gospel) long ago. Humanitarian aid may be a good thing, yet what good is it if the people being helped never hear the gospel and die in their sins? Why not consider funding (and/or praying for) missionaries instead?
Yet I cannot tell you whom to donate to. Discernment is key as well. I cannot tell you even whom to witness to. Each believer must individually make that choice. We should take these decisions to the Lord first and foremost. Even if you cannot truly afford to send funds to missionaries, we believers can ALL pray for them! Many missionaries are residing in persecuted nations and live in perilous conditions.
And what about our own backyards? Not all of us can be missionaries in a foreign nation. But we can be missionaries HERE in our own areas, in the highways and hedges, in person, or on the internet, through the mail… however we best feel led of the Lord. Pray for His guidance in all things.
Yes, it’s true that the gospel is being rejected here in the US (as well as most Western nations) on an unprecedented scale. Yet we know that God’s word doesn’t return void (Isaiah 55:11).
The perilous last-day characteristics are upon us, and end-time Bible prophecy is aligning as well. The unsaved world is predominantly in rebellion against God, against the gospel, against God’s word, and yes, against us believers. Yet this was foretold would be the case (Jude 1:19; 2 Pet.3:3-4; 2 Tim.4:3-4; 2 Tim.3:1-7, 13; John 15:18-19, et al).
The point is, don’t give up! We may have family and friends who have yet to come to Christ. PLEASE don’t wait on ‘someone else’ to share the gospel with them! Yes, it may cause strain in relationships or even alienation from those we love. Yet nothing is more important than where they will spend eternity!
We may even be witnessing to those unsaved who are soon to enter the Tribulation. Truth will be hard for them to find then.
It may be that, after the rapture, they will remember what we told them here and now; they may come to Christ then in even more perilous times, once they see what God’s word foretold is happening, once they witness firsthand how horrible life is one moment after the rapture when there are no Christians on Planet Earth. The wickedness of man will be on full display without restraint! They may then realize how (and why) they were left behind and call out to Christ Jesus in belief for salvation.
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
Maranatha!