Crown Couple Learns To Live Debt Free at Early Age - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Check out this great letter to Crown Financial Ministries from a Texas friend who learned biblical, debt-free living and passed it onto her kids...

"Two years into our marriage (1984), my husband and I read every Larry Burkett book available. We immediately put his principles into action in our financial affairs. We were debt free by the age of 35 (1993), with no help from outside sources.

We have been blessed with great jobs and incomes, but the simple principle of becoming debt free at a relatively young age in order to free up resources for compounding has been the main contributor to our financial success.

We recently met with a financial advisor to see where we stood for retirement. We were rather surprised to learn that we could retire today (at the age of 49), live very comfortably off the income from our investments, and leave the entire principal of our estate to whatever legacy we might choose. However, neither of us have any intention of retiring because we love our jobs!

Knowing that we go to work because of personal choice rather than necessity is a blessing indeed! But the biggest blessing in our lives from being debt free is the ability to have financial resources available to meet needs as they confront us.

We have tried to instill these principles in our children as well. Our daughters both began a Roth IRA when they were 13 using their babysitting incomes. We agreed to match the dollars they contributed in order to introduce them to the idea of a 401(k) plan where their employer might someday match their contributions. At 21 and 15, they are very proud of their investments.

Thank you for all you do in your ministry. We are proof that it works! I continue to listen to your radio program and have felt convicted numerous times to share our story with you."

Susan, Texas

God Shows Himself Strong in Life of Longtime Crown Friend - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Enjoy this excerpt from the incredible article by Chuck Thompson in the February 2008 Crown Money Matters newsletter...

God is the Great Provider, and when we follow Him, He has the resources we’ll need to accomplish His unique purposes for our lives. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (NASB).

For each of us, choosing to live out God’s purposes is an act of faith, as Raymond Harris has discovered. And seeing the results of this faith has led him to greater and more humbling glimpses of the greatness of God, to whom he gives all the glory...

“If I would be a faithful steward,” Raymond says, “God would entrust more to me over time. I remembered Larry Burkett saying that we shouldn’t be encumbered by earthly things so that we can serve the Lord more freely. As a result, I never incurred any debt and never entered any lease for longer than three years.”

In January 2007, Raymond took a major step by selling his company to internal partners. “I had no idea where I was going to go,” he says. “I’m only 52, and I’m not ready for retirement. But the Lord was preparing me for hopefully what I’ll be doing in the future."

The first hint of this future direction came to Raymond through the missionary work of his own family...

Read the rest of Raymond's inspiring story when you subscribe to the Money Matters newsletter.

God Gives Business Owner Wisdom and True Success through Crown - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Enjoy this quick clip from Crown Ministries' Money Matters show, featuring Christian business owner and Lucky Rock friend Raymond Harris of Raymond Harris & Associates in Dallas, TX.

In the interview Raymond briefly discusses the need for great wisdom to effectively run a business and how Crown helped him biblically manage his business and shape his approach to giving. Hint: if you do it God's way, you'll be successful in every way that counts.

FYI, click here to subscribe to the excellent daily Money Matters show and consider ordering God's Principles for Operating a Business, which was mentioned in the clip.

God Reaches Across the Globe through Local Crown Ignite Attendee - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Switching gears today, here's a great story on how God used an ordinary church member to do extraordinary things thousands of miles from home. (From the January 2008 Crown Money Matters newsletter.)

When Sharla Bickley woke up on the morning of June 15, 2007, she was looking forward to attending the Crown ignite! training that day but had no idea where it would end up taking her.

Sharla attends Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, and she decided to take a friend from church with her to the training. She knew the transforming effect of God’s financial principles and how He could use them to fulfill His purpose in a person’s life. And she knew that God could use the outcome of this process to impact the church’s work in other nations.

Although Sharla might not have awakened that morning thinking her attendance at Crown ignite! would send ripples throughout the world, that is exactly what happened.

“It just seemed to make sense to equip all of our international mission teams at the church to take Crown with them when they would go,” she says. “I was going on a team to Kenya, and we decided to take Crown’s teaching there, too. Combining our efforts with a faithful Kenyan pastor, over 300 attended training for pastors and business owners.

“Another friend of mine was going to Moldova. We thought, ‘Man, they could use God’s financial principles there, too.’ So in Moldova we partnered with Crown Europe and New Hope International to pull off a large event with more than 140 pastors in attendance."

Each of those pastors signed a covenant to teach at least 100 others. That means 14,000 people will be taught God’s financial principles in that small, but important, country in Europe!

“Getting caught up in the momentum, I realized that we have church missionaries in Turkey that needed this too. So right now we are in the process of training our leaders in Turkey to take the important message of stewardship and sustainability to their people.”

Sharla doesn’t claim to have any special gifting or ability in this area. She’s just an everyday, ordinary follower of Christ who has been used in extraordinary ways.

Like her, you can be involved in helping to bring the life-changing message of stewardship and sustainability to the people your church reaches out to in the world. Even if you don’t personally go yourself, you may be able to influence a mission team to take this life-changing teaching with them.

We invite you to attend the next Crown ignite! training on April 3-5, 2008 at Crown Financial Ministries’ Home Office, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Join us in our effort to spread sustainability all across the globe!

God Adjusts Debt-Thinking and Finances of Chiropractic Student - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

I would like to give a huge praise and thank you to Jesus Christ for what He has done for us. Let me start from the beginning. I began school July 2004 at Life University College of Chiropractic in Marietta, GA. The Holy Spirit challenged me approximately two years ago to stop taking out any school loans. My initial thinking went something like this … great but there is no way this can be done.

My wife is a school teacher which provides basically just enough to pay our day to day expenses. So how were we going to come up with approximately $6500 per quarter? I had no clue how He would provide, but I knew that if it would be done only He could do it.

Well, it has been two years now and our faith has grown much, much stronger, and we have not taken out even one more penny to pay for school. When there seemed to be no open doors, He miraculously provided one. Here are some of the amazing ways He provided: He provided three competitive scholarships in one quarter, a $7300 scholarship that I was not qualified to receive but was given the opportunity to get because I was the only one to apply, a double payment from my wife’s job when they changed the pay cycle, a great work-study job which mostly gave me time to study for class, extra part-time jobs, gifts from family members, incredibly cheap rent for the area, and a few times where we had no idea how the money was in the account (but we definitely knew Who provided it).

I tell you this story because I am no different than any other listener. I followed Howard’s advice as well as other financial experts. Most importantly it forced me to stand on God’s word at all times, especially during the times when it seemed like He was a little late. Well, He was always right on-time and He promises to do the same for you.

P.S. Just before I finished this email, God provided another scholarship that I was not “supposed” to be qualified for. This time it was for an amazing $3500. He does not lie when He promises to give us more than we can imagine.

GOD Bless,

Your brother and sister in Christ

Stephen and Amie , Marietta, GA

Medical Emergency Proves Wisdom of Biblical Call to Save - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Check out this recent testimonial from a couple who benefited from Crown...

"My husband and I have been married for 27 years and have followed many of the Biblical financial principles your program repeatedly endorses. The principle of having 3 months living expenses on hand finally proved invaluable to us this year.

In our 27 year marriage, my husband, Bryan, had been to a doctor only 2 or 3 times, never been in the ER, OR, nor admitted to a hospital, and he never even had taken any antibiodics. In September of this year, he found himself with a ruptured appendix and had a hospital stay of a week; he was very sick. In the course of his 6-week recovery, he used accumulated sick days at work but still only received about 2/3 of what he normally earned over that course of time. In addition, we were responsible for a small portion of his medical bills amounting to about $1,500.

Three months after Bryan's surgery (just this past week), our deep freezer (only 7 years old) quit working, and the very same week an ice storm hit our area, and due to some electrical malfunctions during a power outage, our dish washer (5 years old) and VCR/DVD player were zapped.

We have used this scenerio to bear witness to our 3 adult children that God's principles do work, even if it takes 27 years to experience some of the benefits of them. How very grateful we are to have had that 3 month surplus of wages on hand to get through these last 3 months! There were times over the years when we considered using some of that surplus to upgrade to a nicer vehicle, grander vacation, new furniture, etc., but we never had peace about it. Keep up the good work proclaiming the financial freedom that God's Word encourages! Thanks so much!"

Bryan and Barb Burkholder, Lebanon, PA

Former Business Owner and Single Parent's Journey to True Financial Freedom - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

God brought Helen of Atlanta, GA, to a place of complete surrender after her circumstances collapsed around her. Watch Helen's testimony and see how God's word and a Crown Financial Ministries Small Group Study helped change the course of her life to one of True Financial Freedom.