New Jersey Crown Financial Ministries Friend Shares Crown at Home and Abroad - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Greetings all! Enjoy this great letter to Crown Ministries from a friend who learned to live debt free and bless others in the United States and beyond through Christian Financial Concepts (which merged with Crown Ministries in 2000).

"About seven and a half years ago I started to study about Christian Financial Concepts from a book written by Ron Blue (Master Your Money). This book came with the study guide produced by CBN entitled 'Finances by the book'. These materials totally changed the way I live!

In 1997, I became a certified Counselor and Teacher by CFC. Then I started teaching this material in churches. I have traveled to New Jersey (were I live), New York, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, Florida, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

During these years, many people have come to me to tell me what a life transformation the teachings have worked in them. Our Associate Pastor B. Matias, told me about 3 years ago that after 20 years of marriage they went on their first vacation debt-free. Our Senior Pastor is committed to become debt-free, so both he and his wife can go full time into ministry.

The Lord Jesus Christ has continued to show His Love and Grace upon us. Through the years we have chosen to live debt-free. We are committed to our church and over ten other ministries with our financial support.

Thanks to your Ministry we have developed “Mayordomia Financiera Cristiana,” a bilingual ministry that is under the leadership and guidance of Woodbridge Christian Center and its Pastoral Staff.

Thanks for your ministry; we will continue to teach others as you teach us.

All Glory be given to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith!

In His Grip,

Nelson & Magali Ruiz
Servants of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

* This letter has been edited for length and English grammar. Click here to read the original.

God Works Miracles in Life of Italian Crown Friend - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

Today's Crown True Financial Freedom Story comes from an Italian Crown friend whom the Lord taught to be content in all things and teach his children the same. Enjoy...

"My name is Waldinei, my wife is Luciany and we have 3 children: Isabela, Letícia and Gabriel. We moved to Pompéia in January of 2002, up to our ears in debt that we had had for many years.

God really worked miracles in our lives. We were unemployed and when we arrived in Pompéia, I was invited to work in shipping at the National Office of the Nova Shalom Association and Luciany was invited to teach at the school. We heard about the Crown course but we thought we would only be able to take it the following year. But God knew our needs. We were invited to be in the first group.

We have lived on the basis of post dated checks, loans and investing in deals that never worked out. The verse that says “I have learned to be content in every situation, I know how to be honored and humiliated,” was never a reality in my life. I was dominated by ambition because the desire to become rich was very strong in my life. I never planned anything, did whatever I felt like doing without considering the consequences and without accepting advice.

After studying the Biblical principles presented in the CROWN small group study, my mind and heart were opened for the beginning of a transformation. For the first time in our lives, we decided to get out of debt and never charge anything. We are paying off all of our debts one by one.

We had a car that had been financed and we decided to return the car to the place we bought it. The funny thing was that no one wanted to take it back because they all thought it strange that someone would decide to take the loss of all the payments already made in order to get out of the remaining debt.

Without the car, my wife began to go to work by bicycle (borrowed) and one dark morning, on the way to work in the cold, the Lord spoke to her heart that in the midst of all her difficulties, He wanted to teach her as he had the apostle Paul who wrote, I have learned to be content in each and every situation...”

God taught us that he supplies all of our needs, but our dreams and the acquisition of superfluous things will come about if it is His will. And this demonstrates how much the Lord Jesus wants us to trust in and depend on him.

We have taught our children to depend on God, praying for the needs to be met and we are teaching them to manage their money according to God’s patterns. They are learning to give, save and spend.

The lesson that impacted my life the most was the one on Eternity. I discovered that being rich and getting everything that I wanted would get me nowhere because this life is so very short!"

God Helps Crown Couple Dig Out & Help Others - Crown Financial Ministries Stories Blog

One of the major biblical principles taught by Crown Financial Ministries is that managing money God's way enables us to bless others, for His glory! To see this principle in action, check out the Crown story below...

"In January 2006 my wife and I decided it was time to take control of our finances after listening to your radio show. We purchased the Money Map Coach training material, read it, and started following the Money Map. God surely has been faithful on this journey!

In November this year (23 months), we paid off 2 cars, 1 small credit card loan, and paid down on a student loan all to the tune of just over $28,000. In addition we were able to save $5000.

Prior to starting this journey, we had virtually no savings and felt as if we were living paycheck to paycheck. In addition to all of this we also paid for a wedding and helped our son pay for some of the expenses in bringing his bride to the USA from Peru.

It gets even better! One of our children had a premature, 1 lb 4 oz baby 6 months ago. At the time this happened God had freed up enough monthly cash-flow so we could help pay for some of the medical expenses. A very stressful situation but none of it caused by a lack of finances!

Had we not decided to follow the Money Map two years ago, we really don't know where we'd be financially today. Our next goal is to have the remaining $13,000 in school loans paid within 18 months, and pay cash this summer to replace two 40-year-old furnaces and one old water heater.

Oh yeah!! In the last two years we've also been able to contribute $14,000 to our 401(k) and Roth IRAs.

God is great and Thank YOU for setting us on the course to true financial freedom!"

Jeff and Suzy , Montgomery, PA

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 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!

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.