Randy Alcorn

It’s one thing to trust God to provide for our present needs ([Matthew 6:33](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%206.33)). It’s another to presume upon Him by dictating (via a decision to incur debt) the terms of His future provision. By choosing to go into debt, we twist God’s arm to provide not only for our needs, but also our wants.

Do we believe God knows best what our needs are? Debt spends money we don’t have. So isn’t our decision to go into debt proof that we believe we need more than God has given us? If we don’t have the resources to buy something, and if we feel such need for it that we’re borrowing to get it, aren’t we saying God has failed to meet our needs?

If God knows best, and if He knows what we need, then why hasn’t He provided sufficient funds? Is He encouraging us to pray for provision rather than take things into our own hands by borrowing? In this age where we seem unwilling to wait for anything, does God want us to learn what it means to “wait on the Lord” ([Psalm 27:14](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps%2027.14); [Isaiah 30:18](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Isa%2030.18))?

Before we go into debt, we should ask ourselves the following questions:

1. __Is debt our way of getting around depending on God?__ (Why trust God to provide when we can get a loan?)
2. __Is debt our means of short-circuiting the God-created means of acquisition__—including work, saving, planning, self-discipline, patience, and waiting for divine provision?
3. __What message are we sending to God when we go into debt__ rather than live on what He has provided? What are we really saying when we take out a loan? How does it reflect on our view of God? What are we saying about His sovereignty, goodness, wisdom, or timing?
4. __What effect will going into debt today__ have on our ability or willingness to tithe and give voluntary offerings tomorrow?
5. __What effect will today’s decision to go into debt__ have on tomorrow’s freedom to follow God wherever He wants us to go?
6. __By taking out a loan that commits us to make payments over a number of years__, are we presuming upon God? (Certainly, if we will require more income to make the payments, we’re presuming on God. We may “know” that we’ll receive a promotion and pay raise in September, but God hasn’t guaranteed it. Plans change, companies go out of business, and employees fail to get “certain” promotions.)
7. __Although our income today might be enough to make debt payments__ over the next twenty years, is it right to assume that we’ll continue to generate the same level of income? (Many people’s income increases over the years, but many others’ decreases. Many incur increased financial commitments beyond their control, such as health-related expenses or caring for an elderly relative. People get laid off. Has God promised that can’t happen to us?)
8. __Are we mortgaging the future to pay for the whims of the present?__ Are we mortgaging God by supposing to commit Him to pay off something He may disapprove of?
9. __Is debt our way of circumventing prayer__, patience, and waiting on God to provide?
10. __If we “must” go into debt to provide for our “needs,”__ is it because our “needs” are really wants in disguise? Have we spent so much money on our wants that there’s not enough left for our needs? Have we robbed God and forfeited His financial blessing by failing to give Him the firstfruits?
11. __Have we really exhausted all other avenues to avoid going into debt?__ Have we given up expensive activities, hobbies, and memberships, and liquidated valuable possessions? (Often, we think we have no choice but to go into debt, when in fact we’re making many unnecessary choices that drive us toward it.)

One of the strongest arguments for not going into debt is that we’re not God. We’re not sovereign, omniscient, or omnipotent. [James 4:14](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%204.14) warns that we cannot know what will happen tomorrow. And if we don’t know and cannot control all that the future holds, how can we be sure that we can pay off new debts? We can be certain that God will provide for our basic material needs if we seek first His kingdom ([Matthew 6:25-34](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%206.25-34)), but where does the Bible promise that God will provide for all the debts we incur though our own greed, impatience, or presumption?

If we are seeking first His kingdom, will we put ourselves in bondage to debt?

Eternal Perspective Ministries, founded and directed by author Randy Alcorn, is focused on investing in what lasts for eternity, and helping others to do the same.

Eternal Perspective Ministries

Articles

Before we go into debt, we should ask ourselves the following questions...

11 Questions to Ask Ourselves About Debt

## You may be familiar with the story. In John 6:1-15, we find Jesus and his disciples watching a crowd that had been following Jesus come toward them. Jesus asks his disciple, Philip, where he thought they could buy bread for the crowd, for the crowd had not eaten in a while. Philip stated the impossibility of them providing everyone bread.

But the disciples found a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, his meal. The boy gives up his food to the disciples and Jesus. Jesus then takes the meal, blesses it, and begins to break it into pieces.

The breaking did not cease. It kept multiplying until everyone in the crowd was full. And even then, there were twelve baskets full of leftovers.

Can you relate to the boy with five loaves and two fish? You feel that your resources are so little and wonder what God could ever do with them. Don’t get discouraged. Keep your hands open. Here are five lessons we learn from the boy in John 6.

### 1. God is in control.

In verse 6, we read these words, *“But he was saying this only to test him, for He Himself knew what he intended to do”* (NLT). Jesus had asked Philip the question about buying bread, not because he wanted a solution, but because he wanted faith. None of what was transpiring caught Jesus off guard. He wasn’t concerned. He was in control. The boy with five loaves and two fish saw this firsthand.

God doesn’t need the money we possess to accomplish His mission. He isn’t in heaven, anxiously wringing his hands, wondering if we will step up financially so His mission can proceed. And if we don’t leverage our resources for His purposes, God will not throw up His arms in exasperation and walk away from the mission dejected. No, God doesn’t need us for His already victorious mission, but He does invite us to participate, to join Him in victory. He is in control. The boy learned this on that day.

### 2. God is about multiplication.

As the boy handed his meal to the disciples and Jesus, he likely wondered what difference such a small amount of food could make among the large crowd. It would not be surprising if the boy assumed he and his meal would be turned away, asked to return to his friend or family. His meal was small, and the need was so great.

But then, Jesus took hold of the food and began to break it into pieces. The small meal turned into a feast that was more than enough to fill the stomachs of the crowd. He takes that which is insufficient and uses it to accomplish His purpose. He took an elderly, childless couple and made a people more numerous than the stars. He used a small group of people in a house to start His global church. Our God can take whatever is given in faith and multiply its impact in unfathomable ways for His mission. God is about multiplication. The boy learned this on that day.

### 3. Multiplication often requires trust.

At some point, the boy had to release the food he possessed. At some point, he had to settle in his heart and mind that the food was not his to hold. At some point, he had to determine that he was not the one who dictated how the food was to be used. Was the boy hungry in that moment? Possibly. Did the boy have doubts whether his food could be helpful? Probably. Did the boy wonder whether his needs would be met? It is likely. But he released the food, nonetheless.

Why would we release the possessions we hold? Trust. Giving and holding possessions loosely requires trust. Trust that God will use the resources for his purposes; trust that God will care for our needs. The boy with the meal saw the few fish and loaves he once held multiply in a miraculous way. In Jesus’s hands the small meal became great. But it took an act of trust to get the meal into Jesus’s hands. Multiplication often requires trust. The boy learned this on that day.

### 4. Multiplication often requires sacrifice.

The boy made a great sacrifice. Much like the widow who gave two coins in the temple treasury, the boy gave all that was in his possession. The act was likely a painful one, maybe not physically painful, but mentally and, possibly, emotionally. The boy went from comfortable, having sustenance, to uncomfortable, having no sustenance.

That is how sacrifice works. Sacrifice drives out comfort. Sacrifice is uncomfortable. But sacrificial giving is what we find celebrated in Scripture. God looked favorably on Abel’s offering because he sacrificed his best. God blessed Abraham because he was willing to sacrifice his son. Jesus pointed out the widow with two coins because she gave all she had. Biblical giving is sacrificial. And God uses the sacrifice to shape the giver’s heart and advance His Kingdom. Multiplication often requires sacrifice. The boy learned this on that day.

### 5. Multiplication is a result of God’s work, not our work.

The boy handed over his meal. This was certainly an act of trust and sacrifice. But the boy did not feed the five thousand. Nor did the disciples feed the five thousand. The boy and the disciples were simply participants. The people were fed by Jesus. Stomachs were full because an act of God took place. Apart from this act, the people would have remained hungry. His act allowed the boy to participate in God’s work.

The same is true for us. God wants us to trust him with our possessions and work to advance his Kingdom. But ultimately, it is not our possessions or work that will cause the multiplication. We give and work, knowing that it is God who is in control, and it is His work that causes multiplication. While we eagerly participate in His mission, He multiplies the bread and fish. Multiplication is a result of God’s work, not our work. The boy learned this on that day.

The boy with two fish and five loaves learned a lot that day. He learned God is in control, and that He is about multiplication. He learn that multiplication often starts with an act of trust and sacrifice. And he learned that while we certainly get to participate, it is ultimately God who brings about the multiplication.

So, if you feel you have little, look to the boy with two fish and five loaves. Remember what he learned that day. Trust God with your resources, and let him multiply those resources in ways you could have never imagined.

You were meant for more. Your money was meant for more. You and your money are meant for an exciting, adventurous, and satisfying purpose. You were designed to live and give generously. And deep inside you know this and want this.

Art Rainer

Generosity

If you feel you have little, financially-speaking, look to the boy with two fish and five loaves.

5 Lessons Learned by the Boy with Five Loaves and Two Fish

Matt Bell

As is true in so many areas of life, there are aspects of stock market investing that may not be fully understood, even among experienced investors. When something dramatic happens in the market, for example, news accounts continue to use video or photos of dejected (or perhaps exuberant) traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But why do we even *have* floor traders in this day and age when most trading takes place electronically?

Perhaps we’ll get to that question in the future. In the meantime, *this* article is about the often-misunderstood relationship between a company, its stock, and its shareholders.

### __When you buy stock, who gets the money?__

If you decided to purchase shares of a company’s stock — let’s say Tesla — do you envision someone down the hall from Elon Musk receiving the money and depositing it in a bank? (Or, perhaps more realistically, using it to buy more Bitcoin?) If so, you’re not alone, but you’re also probably not correct.

What actually happens is much like what happens when you buy a car. If you were to buy a *new* Tesla, the money would indeed go to Tesla. But if you were to buy a *used* Tesla, the money wouldn’t go to the company that manufactured the car but to the owner who sold it to you.

To continue the analogy, buying stock during a company’s initial public offering (IPO) is much like buying a new car. The money goes to the company (or, technically, its investment bank). It’s much more common, however, to buy stock on the “secondary market” — like buying a used car.

By the time you purchase the stock, it’s the second or third (or maybe the 50th or 100th) time the shares have changed hands. Your money isn’t going to the company; it’s going to another investor who owned shares and decided to sell. Just as Tesla wouldn’t know if you bought one of its used cars, it won’t know that you bought some of its stock from another investor.

(Where the comparison between buying stock and buying a car breaks down is that a share of stock doesn’t automatically become less valuable the more times it’s re-sold the way most cars do!)

### __Your broker as middleman and record-keeper__

When you purchase stock, you may be notified about upcoming shareholder meetings. You may also be sent the paperwork necessary to vote at those meetings. What you *won’t* receive is a stock certificate with your name on it.

Today, most securities are bought and sold electronically through a broker and are held in “street name” — i.e., the name of the broker. Tesla may know how many shares of its stock Fidelity, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and other brokers “own,” but it doesn’t know that *you* are the rightful owner of a portion of those shares. You *do* own the shares you purchased, of course, but it’s up to your broker to keep track of that.

It’s the broker’s job to provide you with the paperwork to which you’re entitled — including prospectuses for mutual funds and ETFs, tax forms, and shareholder voting materials. Further, your broker is resposible for making sure you receive any dividends owed to you.

This broker-based electronic system makes the buying and selling of stock efficient, inexpensive, and arguably safer than handling the paper stock certificates of yesteryear.

### __The option of Direct Registration__

If the broker-as-administrator setup gives you pause, you have another option. Perhaps you’re concerned about what might happen if your broker went under. How much time and hassle would it take to be made whole? Further, how could you be certain there are proper records of what you own?

People with such concerns can use the Direct Registration System (DRS). As the name implies, utilizing the DRS means an investor’s name is directly registered on the books of the company whose securities he or she owns.

The big disadvantage to using the DRS is that it can slow the process of making trades, which prevents an investor from using specific order types, such as “market,” “limit,” or “stop-loss” orders.

Generally, with all of the regulatory scrutiny brokers are under, with SIPC insurance protecting one’s securities (and cash) up to $500,000, and with mechanisms in place to transfer holdings to another broker in a worst-case scenario, SMI doesn’t think using the DRS is necessary for most investors. Those who may benefit from it are investors holding especially large positions in a particular stock and who plan to keep that stock for a long time.

### __After the IPO, why should a company care about its share price?__

Even though a company doesn’t receive investor money when its shares are purchased on the secondary market, there are important reasons why a company remains concerned about its stock price:

- The share price likely impacts the compensation and retention of the company’s senior executives. They may have received shares (or stock options) as an incentive to join the company. Plus, because a company’s stock price reflects investor perceptions of the company’s future, bonuses may be tied to its stock’s performance.

- Stock value may impact the retention of other employees who are able to purchase company shares at a favorable price. As the price goes up, so does their total compensation.

- A healthy share price can help prevent a corporate take-over. Robust stock prices act as a barrier to those who may wish to gain control of a company.

- A higher market cap (i.e., the number of outstanding shares times the share price) makes it easier for the company to obtain loans.

- Some companies use their stock to fund acquisitions, so the higher the share price, the more ammunition a company has for such purposes.

So now you know more about the relationship between a public company, its stock, and its shareholders. It’s a bit more complicated than you may have realized.

Since 1990, do-it-yourself Christian investors have relied on SMI for proven strategies and trustworthy guidance.

Sound Mind Investing

Investing

As is true in so many areas of life, there are aspects of stock market investing that may not be fully understood...

A Company, Its Stock, and Its Shareholders: a Primer

Americans are starting to break out the plastic again, and that means consumer debt is once again on the rise. Today on MoneyWise, Neile Simon with Credit Counselor with Christian Credit Counselors joins us to discuss how you can get help with getting out of credit card debt. 
Neile Simon is is a Certified Credit Counselor with Christian Credit Counselors. 
<ul><li>Simon shares the latest figures on U.S. personal debt. </li><li>SURGING PERSONAL DEBT</li><li>In one month alone debt levels jumped by over $40 billion to a total of nearly $4.5 trillion. That's an annual increase of 11.3%, far higher than was predicted and setting a new high.</li><li>There are two types of consumer debt: </li><li>Non-revolving debt, which includes things like car and student loans. That debt grew by about 8.5% to nearly $3.5 trillion in February alone!</li><li>But revolving debt shot up far higher. Credit cards and other types of revolving loans jumped by over 20% to more than $1 trillion in a single month! This is a fast-rising trend. The January increase was only about 4%</li><li>WHAT’S CAUSING THIS?</li><li>Analysts believe inflation, now at a 40-year high, is a major culprit. Prices for almost everything have shot up, putting a strain on budgets. Prices at the pump are especially painful right now. </li><li>WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?</li><li>Most people will have to tweak their budgets to adapt to the new reality of rising prices. </li><li>Some categories will need to be cut to account for higher costs in other categories. The important thing is to stay on a spending plan and find a way to spend less than you earn. </li><li>PLEASE do not think of credit cards as a solution to an income shortfall. That will only make the problem worse.</li><li>But what if you’re already buried under substantial credit card debt. What’s the solution? </li><li>IS DEBT SETTLEMENT THE ANSWER? </li><li>We’re getting more calls these days about debt settlement. But Simon says debt settlement (which is different from credit counseling) is not the solution either. </li><li>Debt settlement may lower your monthly payment, but it often leads to paying more interest overall. It also puts you at risk of continuing to use consumer debt to make ends meet, ultimately digging an even deeper hole. </li><li>CHRISTIAN CREDIT COUNSELING</li><li>Christian Credit Counselors doesn’t do debt settlement. </li><li>When people sign up with Christian Credit Counselors, they will work with their creditors to dramatically lower interest rates and arrive at one affordable monthly payment. CCC has existing arrangements with all major credit card issuers to lower your interest rates.</li><li>Clients ultimately pay less interest and are typically able to pay off card debt up to 80% faster than by doing it themselves.</li><li>For more information, visit their website at <a href="https://www.christiancreditcounselors.org/">ChristianCreditCounselors.org</a> or call 800-557-1985.</li></ul>On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 
<ul><li>How much actual cash should you keep on hand?</li><li>Does it make sense to take money out of retirement investments to pay for moving costs when going into full-time ministry? </li><li>Can you move 401k funds into an I-bond?</li></ul>Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to <a href="mailto:questions@moneywise.org">Questions@MoneyWise.org</a>. Also, visit our website at <a href="http://moneywise.org/">MoneyWise.org</a> where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app.

Biblical Wisdom For Your Financial Journey

MoneyWise

MoneyWise is a daily radio ministry of MoneyWise Media. Hosted by Rob West and Steve Moore, the program offers a practical, biblical and good-natured approach to managing your time, talents and resources.

MoneyWise with Rob West

If you needed evidence that we’re getting past the pandemic, look at the latest consumer debt figures. ﻿Americans are breaking out the plastic again and consumer debt is once again on the rise. Rob talks how you can get help paying off credit card debt.

Consumer Debt Rising With Neile Simon

After two years of government restrictions due to COVID, tourism is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year. Rob West gives you some thing to think about as you plan your summer vacation.

The MoneyWise Minute is a great way to be reminded of God's financial principles with actionable items you can easily apply to your daily life.

MoneyWise Minute

After two years of government restrictions due to COVID, tourism is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year. Rob West gives you some thing to think about as you plan your summer vacation.

Vacation Tips for 2022

Produced by John Rinehart

Directed by John-Mark Warkentin

Cinematography by Brian Petersen

Edit by Brian Petersen

Music by Benjamin James

Consultant John Warkentin


— Film Transcription —


I’m a doctor. In truth I never had that much interest in medicine. I had the grades and mum and dad really encouraged me to go for it. And everyone says, “Don't do medicine because your parents tell you to do it.” I was that person.

Yeah, I think my parents wanted me to have a good living so I could have a nice middle class life and be able to buy nice things and have nice holidays and be secure and comfortable. I didn't want that. No, I've never wanted that.

Around when I was about 21 or 20 maybe even, I was sort of halfway through university and I was starting to think really I need to decide now what am I going to do with my life? I'm doing an engineering degree, but what am I gonna do? How am I going to use this?

I was thinking well maybe I should try and do something that isn't going to be done if I don't do it.

### Worker Stories

When I was growing up our parents would get us together and they would read to us from the Bible and worker stories. And these stories were just incredible adventures. Men and women would sacrifice everything and give up all their wealth, get on a boat travel for six months, travel across the seas to share the gospel. Entire communities and peoples and nations were transformed as a result.

Growing up I just thought, “I want to be like those people. Those people haven't just found something worth dying for. They seem to have discovered the secret of living as well. Real incredible purposeful lives.” I thought, “That's what I want.”

### Meeting Indian Man

When I was 18 years old and my Gran said to me, “Ah, grandson, hi. There's this Indian worker guy speaking in our church tonight — small village church just outside of Cambridge — do you want to come along?”

I said, “Well, I've got nothing better to do tonight. Okay.”

So I get there and I go into this tiny little church. There he was telling all these stories of what workers in India were getting up to, how they were risking their lives, travelling, facing adversity, but winning people, changing communities.

And I said, “This sounds like the stories I had read to me growing up.” I thought people like these didn't exist anymore. I thought they were locked away 100 years ago.

So when the Indian man said, “Look, does anyone want to come and see this?”

I said, “Boy, are you kidding me? I spent my whole life wanting to meet people like these and learn from them.”

Six months later I got on a plane and I traveled to India. I met with the Indian man and we traveled around the worker fields.

### Indian Man's Testimony

__Indian Man:__ One day, a pastor walked into our village, and he came and knocked at my door. And I was sick that day. My sister is struggling to breathe.

This man of God gave the gospel and said, “Jesus is the healer.” So Mama opened the door took the leaflet, “Jesus is the healer. No way. Why are my children like this? Why all this problem here? Is it really true?”

He said, “Yes it is. It is true.”

And she said, “I don't know. Then you show me is it true.”

So he said, “Can I come in?” And she said, “Yes.”

I was sick, bedridden on the floor. My sister is struggling to breathe. So he shared the gospel and asked, “Can I pray for them?”

She said, “Of course.” He prayed. My sister got instant healing and I was healed and then I realized I need this Jesus.

### Visiting A Village

__Indian Man:__ I went to Bangalore to do my studies.

We, the students of the college, went to north part of the country and it amazed me to see thousands and thousands of villages do not know Christ. Pepsi's there. Coca-cola reached, no Jesus.

We visited a village and the worker painted such a bleak story about them, he said, “Look, no one will employ these tribal people because they're so reviled. So the men rely on begging. The women rely on prostitution. This is all that they have.” It sounded pretty bleak.

They’re the people whom Hinduism left behind. They worship spirits. You know, it’s a real primitive level. To the rest of the Indian people, they are worse than the bottom rung of the caste system, they’re worse than the untouchables cause they’re not even within that system.

I remember going to see this village and it was just not at all what was described. I said to this Indian worker, “Are these the same people?”

And most of the village surged out to meet and greet us and they were singing and they were praising and I said, “Why, this is amazing!”

And the worker explained to us he said, “Well we came and we shared the gospel with them and they were just so excited to hear it they came to faith really fast.”

Not just that, we taught them to start washing themselves to help them buy new clothes taught them some basic things. Suddenly people went for work and they got jobs because the surrounding people didn't realize they were from that same tribe, they were unrecognizable. So we saw these people had come to know Jesus, but the whole community and social situation had been transformed as well.

Five years previously the gospel had never come to this place and there I was worshiping with the church there and I just thought, “This is history in the making.” A sociologist may say, “This is nothing; this is a tiny church in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.” But if that place has never had the gospel come to it and now there's a church there that's history in the making.

### 50 Pounds A Month

So I said to myself, “Right, scrap all of my plans were because they're rubbish. I wanna be a part of what is going on here.”

I said, “Look Indian man, This is amazing. How can I help?”

So Indian man said, “Well the tragic thing is that a lot of these people aren't getting into action because their own churches are too poor to send them.”

I said, “What? You mean this is the coolest thing I've ever seen and it's not happening because of a shortage of money. I mean money is the one thing our church really does have. That's one thing I can easily give. This isn't happening for money?”

So I said, “Indian man, how much do these guys need?”

He said, “Well, uh...in your terms about 50 pounds a month.”


“50 pounds a month! I mean that's nothing. I could go out with a friend both get a meal both get a couple of drinks that's 50 pounds right there or a new pair of shoes 50 pounds or fancy phone contract 50 pounds.”

The thought that someone isn’t being sent to an unreached village to plant a church for that much money. That's madness. That's crazy. That's the saddest thing I've ever heard.”

### Sacrificial Living

At that point in time I just said right, “Let's try and ramp up this level of sacrificial living because every ten pounds I can save is a fifth of a worker’s monthly support in India. That’s amazing.”

I went to Cardiff. I found the cheapest halls of residence I could live in. I bought all the cheapest food I could. I refused to buy any new clothes whatsoever. I mean I just went completely overboard, completely over the top.

It was okay for my first year of University because my clothes were there and they had to last for a year, but by the second year it was a disaster. I had these shoes, which were falling apart. They had a big hole in the bottom so I got some duct tape and I just wrapped it round and round, taped ‘em up.

To be honest that worked quite well so long as it was dry, but unfortunately, I was in Cardiff, I was in Wales and it rains a lot. And every time it was wet the moisture would seep up through this hole and percolate up into my feet. I had such wet feet. It was a nightmare. I was lucky I didn't get trench foot or something.

I wanted to go and be a worker myself, but actually what the unreached need is my financial empowerment to support indigenous workers.

India motivates my work as a doctor. The other day I was offered to do a shift and they said, “Doctor, we can pay 50 pounds an hour.” So I said, “Well that means if I do 12 hours that's 600 pounds.”

In a night I've just paid for a worker for a year. I mean that's incredible.

### Training

__Indian Man:__ The need in the country so great. The answer is send workers. But the problem is we don't have workers to go. Solution is to train young people, place them into those worker fields so that gospel will be preached, churches will be established.

That made me to think about starting this training center.

We went to the training center and what we realized was that all the lads at the training center they were from the newly planted churches in the previously unreached villages.

And this is when God really started to speak to us because we said, “This is a model, which can replicate. It can scale. If you can send someone to where the gospel's never been and not just plant a church, but raise up new leaders; you can multiply; you can be unstoppable.”

And that was when God spoke to us and we had the vision for 500,000 churches. That was the goal.

We don't think anyone should be without access to the Gospel. And to have access to the gospel they need to have access to the church. So that's our vision: five hundred thousand churches, a church in every village in India.

### Partnership

Brother's always been my like guiding light with all this.

Partnering with my brother in this work has been such an amazing thing.

But I think it was seeing brother being so passionate and so just totally on fire that really got me going.

We’re fighting for something together. And he’s just been the greatest blessing in that.

And he was talking about these guys in India and about this stuff that is going on and you know, I’m a business guy, I like numbers and he was talking to me about numbers and I started saying that's really amazing.

And after a while I fell into this idea that maybe one of the big gifts that I've been given, which most people don't like to talk about, this is Britain, we hate to talk about money, maybe one of the big gifts I was given was access to wealth.

And then the idea was simple, it was just earn money, give it away, don't keep it. And a lot of people thought this was a crazy idea.

This came through brother, I mean, you know, I thought it was a good thing for a long time and then I started helping out. That was when I sort of started getting passionate about it and saying, “Well actually this is really important. And this is something that you know we should be doing and actually we shouldn't just be saying let someone else do it.”

It turns out that my skills as an entrepreneur are very useful for advancing the kingdom.

__Indian Man:__ The work was having a very slow progress till I met the brothers. And at this stage we have workers working in 600 plus villages, and as a work we b@ptized more than 6,000 people and more than 13,000 people are coming to these churches.

I strongly believe our partnership together is broadening the horizons. Now we look back and say, “Thank you, Jesus for making them come here to India.”

It's not just about the giving. Yes, the giving is so important. And I think that is the crucial need. But even more than that there is this incredible relational aspect, and that's, that's a great treasure that I've discovered and learned.

The Indian man has been there in some of my darkest moments and he has discipled me and taught me so many great things. And it's been wonderful to hear from him how you know we, though we're such young men, how we've been able to be there and be a rock of encouragement to him and give him a lot of wisdom which he wouldn't have had otherwise. And I would never have dreamed at the onset that that was the case.

### B@ptizms

__Indian Man:__ I plead unto you in the name of Jesus. If you haven’t accepted Jesus in your life, this hour is your hour!

We were there and Indian Man was in the water b@ptizing some of the believers and he was there just, just speaking truth, speaking the gospel:

“Do you believe that God created the heavens and the earth?
Do you believe that you have need of a savior?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ came and died for your sins and that through Him you can be forgiven and that the Holy Spirit will come and indwell with you and that Jesus Christ will come back and then you will reign with Him forever and ever?”

There he was speaking the gospel and there people were joyfully hearing it and that incredible action of just being submerged under water and then coming back up a new creation.

And the Indian Man said, “We've b@ptized a few people, does any one more want to be b@ptized?”

And people came forward, “Yes I do. I want this for myself.”

And I saw that and I thought, “This is what it's all about. The fruit, which we're interested in, is people coming to know Jesus. It's about people. People encountering Jesus, having their life transformed forever and living forever with him.”

### Conclusion - The Gospel Saves Lives

And they say medicine is an amazing thing because you have the chance to save lives. But the truth is doctors don't save any lives. All of our patients still die. All we're doing on our best days is postponing the inevitable, is putting death off.

But the gospel really can save lives. So the same reason that people think medicine's amazing they should be even more excited about the gospel because that can save someone's life for ever and ever and ever.

Behind every great movement of God are generous leaders who partner with those who proclaim the gospel. We call them Gospel Patrons.

Gospel Patrons

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For the same reason that people think medicine's amazing, they should be even more excited about the gospel--here's why.

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Join a community of believers striving to be good and faithful stewards of the resources entrusted to them.

Integrate your faith with your finances

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Grow in wisdom & knowledge

5 Lessons Learned by the Boy with Five Loaves and Two Fish

A Company, Its Stock, and Its Shareholders: a Primer

Every Village In India

Vacation Tips for 2022

MONEYWISE APP

Steward your finances wisely

MONEYWISE COMMUNITY

Better together

Become a Patron

Grateful for our Partners

So much more than a budgeting app

Create an account

Important Links

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Biblical Wisdom for
Your Financial