Finance

“I believe our finances are a tender spot for us before the Lord and definitely before any other people, why? because our finances are hard to get. Like we work very hard for what we have. Our finances are hard to keep, right? Things cost more than they used to cost. Ultimately, our finances are what build protections in my life.”

“And as evangelicals in one of the richest countries in the world, we're feeling as disciples of Jesus Christ. Churches are spluttering because of a lack of finances. Young men are daring to go to seminary, lack of finances. Church planters are struggling because of lack of finances. Jesus would remind us, if we're his disciple, we're gonna take our money on our material things and we're gonna use them for the advancement of his kingdom.”

“That's what the righteous do. Not perfectly, but persistently.”

“I want to equip you in prayer, not just to pray for you, but to teach you to pray, to equip you in serving that we've already talked about, to equip you in giving. I want every one of you to know the joy that can only come from completely surrendering your finances to the Lord. By not thinking that you can weasel your way or figure your way out of the place you're at by just holding on to a little bit more and holding on to a little bit more. God wants you to know the freedom of total reliance upon him with your finances.”

“We don't say a lot about finances in this church. You guys are faithful. But that doesn't mean that it's not important. A life that prioritizes the kingdom is a life that prioritizes finances, time, activity, and our interactions. And so, our priorities shape our focus. Our priorities shape our character.”

“Many of us are doing that a really awesome job of that. You are such a generous church and that allows us to do so much ministry like what we're doing in Maine and around the world and locally, but stewardship isn't just our money. Stewardship is also the care of our gifts that God has given them and using them for his purposes.”

“They've never done this before, but they're doing amazing work with children and have more children that they're engaging than they've ever had before, and asked for some churches to be able to give financial gifts. And so I'm sitting in a finance meeting with our lead pastors and our lay finance committee and team, and they're kind of analyzing about this. And our pastor kind of proposed, I think we should give a gift.”

“And so if she's good with the finances, you sit at the table and you talk about how she's gonna manage the finances and how you're gonna check in and when you're gonna check in and what that's gonna look like. You know, maybe you're gonna work less and she's gonna work more because she's got this job that she can get because she's driven and she's got a degree and she can do this and you're gonna be at home then and you're gonna care for the kids when she goes. Like, you can work all of those things out. But John Piper says it this way.”