Stewardship Blog

30Aug

A Newlywed Couple’s Journey to Financial Freedom

Beginning wise financial habits when you’re young helps set the stage for financial freedom. Blue Ridge campus couple Josh and Megan were aware of basic financial practices prior to participating in Financial Peace University (FPU), but taking the nine-week course at The Summit Church helped put them on the right financial path. “Megan’s father referred us to Dave Ramsey’s teaching,” Josh said. “When we found out FPU was coming to Brier Creek, we talked to him about it and decided to take the class.” Practically newlyweds, Josh and Megan have been married for three years. They participated in FPU during the...

28Aug

From Debt to Content: Seeing God's Blessings While Giving Extravagantly

As a young teacher, Deborah got her first credit card and was amazed at how she could buy something and pay for it later. It was almost too good to be true. “One day while paying my bills, I looked at the statement and realized the amount of interest and the minimum monthly payment was the same,” Deborah remembers. “I realized I would never get it paid off if I only paid the minimum, so I decided that day to start working towards paying it off.” It was a simple lesson, but one she needed to learn. “Sometime after that, my car...

26Aug

Sent: Putting God First in Every Area

Nate and Sarah* knew they needed to establish a strong foundation for their marriage from the very beginning, particularly with their plans for communication and organizing their finances. After getting married last August, they were gifted an enrollment in Financial Peace University (FPU), which they began immediately with the hope that the classes would give them the guidance they needed. “FPU helped us build that foundation together and allowed us to have a fresh start and the best start we needed heading into marriage,” Sarah said. Following one of the suggestions from their time in FPU, the two started having weekly meetings...

13Dec

The Journey of Trusting the Lord: La'Treall's Story

For La’Treall, First isn’t just a season at The Summit Church: It’s a journey she’s been on her entire life. After living in the Raleigh area off-and-on for 27 years, she began to realize that, while her life was full, she still struggled with giving. “In the Book of Malachi, where the Lord challenges his believers to test him and prove whether or not he’s faithful, he’s not just saying he’s faithful,” she said, “he’s asking you to try him out and see, see if he’s faithful.” La’Treall wondered if she was truly doing this. “While early on, I had intellectual assent...

29Nov

Jesus is Worth It: The Allison Family

{[ vimeo id:'296461730' ]} For the past 15 years, Matt and Catherine talked about going overseas. They both had a passion for missions, but weren’t sure where, or when, God wanted to use them. He needed to work on their hearts first. “It’s a lot easier to talk about having open hands than actually having open hands,” Matt said. “God has been so faithful and gracious to us, showing us who he is and preparing us for what he actually told us a long time ago, but didn’t allow us to actually start stepping into until now.” This fall, they plan to sell...

21Nov

What is First in Your Life? The Lenker Family

{[ vimeo id:'289334693' ]} Growing up in the church, April was very accustomed to being involved—attending on Sundays and Wednesdays, even serving. But when she came to The Summit Church, her understanding of the “why” behind it changed. “When I came to Summit and understood the gospel more, I became much more aware of the radical nature of sacrifice,” she said. “Just understanding the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross and how that plays into day-to-day life, particularly with giving.” During a recent meeting, her husband, Jonathan, the campus pastor at Brier Creek, remembers Pastor J.D. challenging the staff. “He...

15Nov

Why Married Couples Should Have Joint Bank Accounts

At my former church, I had the opportunity to spend time with those in our premarital class and discuss the issue of money. One of the very first pieces of advice I gave was to, once married, get joint bank accounts and avoid bank accounts to which your spouse will not be able to access. Why? Because you do not get choose what part of your spouse you want to marry or what part you want to give to your spouse. It’s an all-in deal—You get all of them, and they get all of you. Including your bank account. Having joint bank...

11Oct

Breaking the Chains to Find Life-Changing Generosity

Michael and Amanda felt content in their former lifestyle, “keeping up with the Joneses” to maintain the status quo. The couple prospered financially as Michael pursued a successful career. But increased success for Michael meant increasingly less time with his family, including a young son Charlie, and with God. When a job opportunity brought their family to Raleigh, Amanda’s dad, who had read Pastor J.D.’s book Gospel, suggested they visit The Summit Church. It was there Michael and Amanda truly heard the gospel for the first time. Michael and Amanda soon made the commitment to become members of the Summit, and...

26Sep

One Small Group's Generosity on Display

At the Summit, we talk about giving God the first and best of our time, talent and treasure. Because of God’s great abundance of blessing to us, we are able to bless others. We’re used to that part. But what about when you’re on the receiving end of that generosity? Judith, a member of the Apex campus, has seen that flip side as her small group rallied around her as she was caring for her ailing mother. Judith wanted to honor her mother with the best care possible. “She was a wonderful, wonderful mama and a godly woman,” Judith said. “It was the hardest privilege...

13Sep

4 Ways to Increase Your Margin for Generosity

This article was originally published at relevantmagazine.com. "I want to be more generous, but I just can’t. There is no room in my finances.” At some point, many of us have had this thought. In our hearts, we long to be generous toward others. We desire to use our money to make a difference in the lives of those in our community and around the world. We want to be a conduit of generosity, giving because God has given to us. But we feel stuck, unable to move forward in our generosity. We find ourselves envying those who seem able to give without...

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