About Us

Global Institute For Transformation (GIFT)

Is Dedicated To Leading A Transformation That Will Impact Hearts, Lives And Communities -- And Dedicated To Countering Trends That Are Negatively Impacting The Church And People Around The World

Dear Friend In Christ:

Research indicates that while many of us profess faith in Christ, many of us are living lives that are indistinguishable from non-Christians. And many of us don't make God our top priority. Unfortunately, the Church seems to be losing ground as a result, with too many people migrating away from the Church.

For Christians (both Catholics and Protestants), there is nothing more important than being transformed to live more like Christ in a life of purity, humility, obedience and selfless love. Absent this, our witness can be weakened, our faith can be compromised, and our Church can be negatively impacted.

GIFT is committed to helping people affect these transformations, and this focus is sorely needed. Because with all the pressures facing us today, we all run the risk of conforming to the world, rather than being transformed to live like Christ and influencing the world for God.

A Transformation Has Never Been More Urgently Needed

The following alarming facts illustrate that as a whole, we Christians are conforming to the world, rather than being a light in the darkness that puts God first and helps transform society with God's love. And God's Church is becoming less effective as a result:

The Last Christian Generation. The Crisis Is Real. The Responsibility Is Ours -- written by Josh McDowell and David H. Bellis -- indicates that we're losing our youth; that over 85% of Christian youth don't embrace a biblical world view; and that our current generation may be the last Christian generation unless something is done to address this.
Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed, "The so-called traditional churches look like they are dying," and he's attributed this to increasingly secular societies seeing less need for God.
Christian strategist Tom Rainer has warned of "The Dying American Church."
More than 2/3 of our youth who attended church during high school have left the church in their adult years -- and few return, according to a 2007 Lifeways study.
Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion, per the Pew Religeous Landscape Survey. A bad trend: 50% higher than the unafiliated rate of Americans overall and 3x the rate of those unaffiliated in prior measures.
Pastors believe 70% of their flocks live lives that put God first in everything they do; but sadly only 15% of their flocks actually put God first using the same measures, according to Barna.
Multiple researchers have validated that Christians live lives "virtually indistinguishable" from non-Christians.
Only 16 % of non-Christian teens and young adults have a favorable opinion of Christians, with a commonly voiced frustration being "Christians in today's society no longer look like Jesus", according to Barna.
The Church's influence is weakening, as Christians are now seeking non-traditional venues to build their faith -- and many are leaving their Churches for these alternatives. While over 70% of U.S. profess Christianity and 50%+ attend Church monthly, 30% of Christians are now building their faith via small groups, media and cyber cafes vs. the Church -- or they're using these venues as a supplement to the Church. This use of non-traditional venues is projected to involve 70% of Christians by 2025, according to Barna.
On the global front, 4 billion people are living on less than $2 per day -- with 1.1 billion living on an estimated $.77 a day and are barely able to survive. (The World Bank estimates that it takes a consistent $1.08 per day to meet basic needs.) This shortfall persists while Americans enjoy an average household income of around $53,000 per year.
1 billion people live without clean water; 5 million people die from waterborne illnesses each year; and nearly half of all hospital beds globally are occupied by people suffering from water-related illnesses -- while Americans spend an estimated $10 billion on bottled water (often tap water), and even more on coffee to go and assorted beverages.
While we tap corn crops to lessen our dependency on oil -- ethanol production will have reached 11.4 billion gallons by 2009 and U.S. goals include producing 35 billion by 2017 -- the decreasing availability of corn as a food crop and the spiking cost are projected to increase deaths from starvation.
And -- as an indicator of how materialistic we've become -- while the American family size has shrunk since 1970, our average house size has grown from 1500 square feet to well over 2300 square feet. And many of these homes now house media rooms, lavish kitchens, multiple fancy baths and elaborate furnishings. This clearly is not the best indication of Christian stewardship. We're just not using the resources God has given us to build His kingdom or to address the global equity that He desires for His children.

The Value Of Focusing On Transformations -- Thus The Need For GIFT -- Is Affirmed By Many Church Leaders

Not long ago, Leadership Magazine devoted an entire issue to "Spiritual Transformation." In that issue, various Church leaders expressed a common theme: Christianity today is failing to witness true transformations, in part due to narrow biblical teaching.

"The problem is that we do not practice spiritual transformation. Churches have not designed their ministries to help people believe and behave differently."

"We're preaching a very narrow gospel. We've been throwing a lot of seed, but it's not taking root, it's not producing fruit. We are not seeing people's lives transformed. There is a growing sense of failure among the church leaders."

"We've accepted a narrow gospel for so long that people don't believe real life transformation is possible anymore."

"Transformation is not just an attitude; it's a changed life. Transformation is actually a response to God and God's action. It requires our deliberate, humble participation."

"Transformations will involve actions that will be costly and sacrificial, maybe even to the extreme."

We Really Can't Lead A Transformation Ourselves -- It's Jesus Who Transforms Our Lives. GIFT Is Just Seeking To Be A Faithful Servant In His Work.

As a cross-denominational ministry (serving Catholics, Protestants and unbelievers) dedicated to transforming lives, we realize our role is limited to being a servant of Christ and a tool for God to use in His transformational process.

We are reminded of God's role -- and our inability to do anything apart from Christ working through us -- by the insightful words of Pope Benedict XVI:

"We too expect God to be strong in the world and to transform the world on the spot, according to our ideas and the needs that we perceive."

"God chooses a different way. God chooses the way of the transformation of hearts in suffering and in humility. And we, like Peter, must convert, over and over again. We must follow Jesus and not go before Him: it is He who shows us the way."

"So it is that Peter tells us: You think you have the recipe and that it is up to you to transform Christianity, but it is the Lord who knows the way. It is the Lord who says to me, who says to you: follow Me! And we must have the courage and humility to follow Jesus, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life."

Would You Please Consider Supporting GIFT And Our Commitment To Helping Transform Lives To Live More Like Christ

If the status of the Church and our transformation is of concern to you, would you please prayerfully consider supporting GIFT and our mission of transforming hearts, lives and communities by helping people receive, fan into flame and share the gift of God.

Also, if you would like us to support your church or ministry via speaking engagements or another type of involvement, please indicate your need via our contact page or call us.

Finally, if your organization would like to jointly market some of the properties in our GIFT Shop, please indicate so on our contact page or give us a call.

On behalf of all GIFT founding partners -- Tom Hiller, Roberta Maurer, Dawn Liphardt, Densil Allen -- and on behalf of the many contributing friends and colleagues, we hope we can help make a difference in your life, and help you transform the lives of others as well.

Thank you for visiting our website. We look forward to a deep spiritual and transformational partnership with you. We hope you, too, will discover the sheer joy of following Jesus!

In His Service,

Tim Maurer
President