Before I had a Giving Account, I felt like I was giving blindly. I wasn’t sure where my money was going, nor did I feel like I kept track of what I had given or who I was giving to. I was reluctant to give more to charities as I didn’t feel I had control over what I was giving.
There is a line in a worship song which resonates with me: “Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause.” God’s heart breaks for the things that are broken in this world, and I want to be able to care about the broken causes in the world. We are called to be generous with what we have – whether that is our resources, our finances, or our time.
While my heart was in the right place, my giving was a bit erratic, and I wasn’t doing myself any favours trying to manage my giving along with the rest of my finances.
Since I have set up my Stewardship Giving Account, I can easily manage how much I give, helping me become more generous. I can prioritise my giving through my Giving Account and make an impact to the causes I care about. This has, in turn, helped me manage the rest of my finances and allowed me to know that I can tithe properly along with setting aside additional funds to give to other causes that I might come across without going into overdraft. I no longer have to think to myself, “I would love to give, but I just don’t have the money to do that right now.”
What I like about the Giving Account is how flexible it is. Not only can I have my regular giving set up for my monthly tithing, my sponsored children, and a few others I support, I know I still have enough to give to a charity or individual who may need some extra support throughout the year on more of a one-off basis.
It fills me with joy knowing that I can build a balance within my account to really make an impact. I can look at my Stewardship balance and say, “Yes! I’ve got this much money to give away; I can support this charity.”
There is something extremely freeing about knowing that you have funds set aside to give and that when you do give, it blesses others. I feel blessed to be able to support others and be able to contribute in a small way to the Kingdom work that is going on around the world.
Karis Nelson
Karis loves being part of the Giving Services Team whose goal is to serve God by serving others. Although working remotely, they are a tight knit team supporting one another particularly on busy days. The team’s aim is to help Stewardship clients understand how giving financially to support others is just as important and beneficial as those called to work at the coal face.
After living in both India and America at different points in her life, Karis has settled in northwest London with her husband who moved to the UK from France during his teen years. They attend each other’s church plants, leading worship in multiple languages.
They are passionate about reaching out to the UK Asian Community to spread the love of Jesus through music; and supporting others to do the same.
