Church heritage involves ‘lifting’ spirits as well as debts

Edward Kimball had no formal religious training, yet the man drew saintly acclaim for his contribution to the advancement of America’s evangelical movement in the 19th century.

In 1855, Kimball took an interest in a 17-year-old newcomer to the young men’s Bible study class he taught at a church in Boston. Spiritually, the new pupil was completely lost in the wilderness.

Brother Kimball, who was in his early 30s, reached out to Dwight L. Moody, and they connected. Moody later shared: “I can still feel the power of that man’s hand on my shoulder. I had not felt that I had a soul till then.”

Moody’s faith blossomed from that day forward. “He was much more than an evangelist whose preaching led innumerable souls to Christ,” said The Rev. Dr. Lyle Dorsett, an academic theologian and Moody biographer. “D. L. Moody became one of the most effective ‘disciple makers’ of church history.”

Credit Kimball for starting the ball rolling, giving Moody the confidence to become a “spiritual lifter,” raising the bar of evangelism and igniting the hearts of other pioneers who followed him to the pulpit through the ages.

They included dynamic preachers like F. B. Meyer, J. Wilbur Chapman, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham and Billy Graham. (That’s a real, religious rock star heaven hall of fame roster.)

 Edward Kimball

 Although Kimball had a successful career selling an assortment of commodities, he quit his job…and skipped joyfully down an entrepreneurial path in 1879 – aiding churches nationwide as a “debt lifter.”

Someone coined a term to label Kimball’s new role – “finangelist.”

In this capacity, Kimball served as a consultant to get churches out of the red and into black ink territory – helping them become debt-free.

“He made people “glad to give,” one Midwestern newspaper reported. “Kimball gets more money out of a congregation than they are naturally willing to give.”

Appealing to the church members, Kimball would cite the Scriptures. He tried to model the traits of Paul the Apostle, who was a primary writer of the second letter to the Corinthians.

Kimball paraphrased: “Give from your heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous on every occasion, and your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

At the time of Kimball’s death in 1901, he had assisted more than 600 churches in the United States…and “lifted” more than $15 million in church debts.

Hence, Kimball will be forever remembered as the supreme “finangelist” as well as the catalyst who sparked a miraculous “evangelical” chain of events.

Kimball had his own followers who carried the torch for “modern church finance.” Dr. Albert F. McGarrah of the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, authored several books on the subject.

In 1916, he “instructed” local ministers to recruit “competent women to participate in raising funds, management of finances and all other business of the church, not simply in their societies.”

Churchgoers will be more inclined to give if they believe they “are getting their money’s worth” from the quality of the preacher’s sermons, McGarrah said.

Furthermore, if the church is “attractive to children,” their parents will be more likely to support it, he said.

“The people want fellowship opportunities,” McGarrah said. “Bring in forms of entertainment…and good, free dinners.”

Amen to that.

And then there was the church bulletin notice: “Thursday night – Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.”