Christians for Impact

How do you ask people to give, and what does generous giving look like for Christians who care about impact? JD explores this with Noah Maier, a fundraiser who has worked with nonprofits, family foundations, AI companies and venture funds, and has moved around $450 million over his career. Noah shares how he learned the craft making hundreds of calls a day for a state Senate campaign, his seven-step approach to fundraising, and why the best asks come from a place of love. They also discuss the widow's mite in Mark 12 and the danger of making an idol of impact, how to meet donors where they are, whether CFI should be trying to raise more, the new philanthropic wealth emerging around Anthropic, and practical advice for anyone considering a career in fundraising.

This episode was recorded on 25 February 2026.

🔗 Full Transcript and Links: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/noah-maier

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Can Christians be more rigorous about where they give, and how much difference each dollar actually makes? JD explores this with Tim Barker, founder of ROI Ministry, which researches Christian charities to identify giving opportunities that produce high levels of measurable "kingdom impact per dollar." Tim shares how losing his business led him to rethink Christian stewardship, why so little Christian giving reaches the world's poorest and least-reached people, and how ROI Ministry evaluates organisations working in evangelism, discipleship, clean water, healthcare, housing and human trafficking prevention. They also discuss the difference between outputs, outcomes and genuine impact, the difficulty of measuring spiritual change, and how much confidence donors should place in metrics like decisions for Christ or children discipled.

🔗 Full Transcript and Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/tim-barker

🔗 Join us at the 2026 CFI D.C. Conference (Nov 13-15): https://www.christiansforimpact.org/2026-conference-dc

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Can the existence of this extraordinary world really be explained without God, and what does that mean for how we give? JD explores this with Philip Swenson, philosopher at William & Mary, whose work on moral epistemology and the problem of evil brings rigorous academic philosophy to bear on the most practical questions facing Christians who want to change the world. Phil unpacks his extraordinary world argument for God's existence, and why the infinite value of human connection in heaven might be the most compelling reason yet to give generously to the global poor.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/philip-swenson

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Can mobile money really save whole percentage points of a nation's GDP, and unlock an economy in the process? JD explores this with Ben Kolesar, Operations Lead at Wave Mobile Money, whose unlikely path from Congressional staffer to fintech pioneer brought him to the front lines of financial inclusion across Sub-Saharan Africa. Ben unpacks the painstaking work of launching mobile payments from scratch in a new country, the fish traders who became Wave's unlikely first customers in Senegal, and why the most powerful thing a tech company can offer the world's poorest people is simply a cheaper, more reliable way to move money.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/ben-kolesar

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Could the next pandemic kill ten percent of humanity, and what would it take to stop it? JD explores this with Grace Braithwaite, doctor-turned-biosecurity-field-builder and founder of the Cambridge Biosecurity Hub, whose journey from the front lines of COVID medicine to the cutting edge of pandemic prevention brought her to one of the most urgent and neglected problems facing humanity. Grace unpacks the terrifying gap between COVID and what pandemics can actually become, the three-part framework of prevention, detection, and response that could save millions of lives, and why the most powerful thing an ambitious Christian can do right now might just be learning to think seriously about the disease that hasn't emerged yet.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/grace-braithwaite

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Should Christians in the West redirect their giving towards where the gospel is least reached? Can business experience be the very thing that equips someone for the mission field? JD explores this theme with David Johnson, co-founder of Doulos Partners, a non-profit that vets and funds six world-class indigenous church planting movements across nearly 200 countries. David spent 14.5 years in business before serving as executive pastor at Hunter Street Church, Birmingham, and lead pastor at Dayspring Baptist Church, Mobile. He then co-founded Doulos which has put over $36 million in the field in a single year, planting churches in villages that had none, for as little as $258 each.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/david-johnson

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Sarah Eustis-Guthrie is now a Program Officer at GiveWell, the world's leading charity evaluator, where she helps direct over $150 million a year toward the most cost-effective malaria interventions. A University of Chicago graduate who came to Christian faith through a church choir, Sarah co-founded the Maternal Health Initiative, a family planning non-profit working in Ghana, and joins JD to explore how rigorous research can be an act of love. Note: This episode was filmed in early 2025; the USAID/PEPFAR situation has evolved since then. Also, Sarah's role has evolved to a Program Officer. She speaks here in her personal capacity, not on behalf of GiveWell or its affiliates. 🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episod... 🔗 2026 D.C. Conference Sign-Up: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/2... 🔗 2026 London Conference Sign-Up: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/2...

Can a Christian follow the way of Jesus inside one of the world's most powerful and cynical institutions? And what does faithful public service actually look like when the stakes are millions of lives? JD explores this theme with Santiago Gonzalez, a former legislative director and top policy staffer in the US Senate, who recently joined a government affairs firm after years working on Capitol Hill. Santiago's journey began with a failed attempt at medicine, a global health class that changed everything, and a fellowship he stumbled into almost by accident. Along the way he worked to reauthorise federal programmes reducing premature births, championed legislation on antimicrobial resistance, and wrestled daily with what it means to negotiate, network, and legislate as someone formed in the way of Jesus. He draws on the stories of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther to argue that the most powerful thing a Christian can bring to politics is not strategy or connections, but a deeply formed life.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/santiago-gonzalez

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Can one in five people worldwide really be reached with God's word in their lifetime, and what does it take to make that happen? JD explores this with James Poole, Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators UK & Ireland, whose unlikely journey from computer programmer to Church of England vicar brought him to one of the most significant roles in global Bible translation. James unpacks the race to reach 130 million people with zero scripture, the shift from Western-led translation to locally-owned movements, and why the most urgent thing the global church can offer is simply the willingness to listen.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/james-poole

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Can a civil servant really shape billion-pound budgets and shift national policy? JD explores this with Kirsten Horton, a middle manager in the UK civil service, whose journey from prairie schoolteacher in Edmonton to policy insider in Westminster, brought her to one of the most underrated high-impact career paths in the effective altruism world. Kirsten unpacks the painstaking work of navigating government bureaucracy.

🔗 Full Transcript And Links: http://christiansforimpact.org/episodes/kirsten-horton

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