The current financial landscape is complex and confusing, and this confusion extends to Christ’s church as well. There is a significant opportunity for improvement within the church in terms of embracing financial principles that align with our faith. Unfortunately, financial discussions often involve unclear language, confusion between financial literacy and financial planning, and constant bombardment with advertisements from various professionals and companies promoting their products. These factors have bewildered many Christians.

While personal wealth has grown substantially over the years, statistics indicate that only a small number of Christians have a biblical worldview guiding their financial lives. Most believers contribute very little to their local church, lack a charitable mindset, and are ill-prepared financially for retirement. Meanwhile, the world bombards us with conflicting messages of financial success, security, and significance.

As followers of Christ, we understand that the grace of God, which brings salvation to all people, instructs us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, while eagerly awaiting the blessed hope of Jesus Christ’s return (Titus 2:11-14). This message of hope extends to all areas of our lives, including our finances. However, I have observed a significant gap between the financial messages preached from the pulpit and the practical advice received by the congregation. Sometimes, these messages rely on guilt and shame and become prescriptive when advising the flock on how much to give. What I believe, along with Kingdom Advisors, is that we need to focus on integrating biblical principles of finance into the church. In financial planning, it is impossible to separate worldview from decision-making. Every financial decision, indeed every decision, is a spiritual decision for believers. As Paul states in Romans 14:8, “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Therefore, while we live, we live for the Lord in all aspects of life.

Ron Blue, the founder of Kingdom Advisors, uses Nehemiah’s example as a framework for his mission. Ron aims to build an army of trained, competent, and capable Christian financial professionals who possess credibility on professional, theological, and academic scales. I find this mission to be excellent and am thrilled to be a part of it because it has the potential to provide the church with solid financial advice that empowers believers to live lives of contentment and radical generosity. This generosity can fuel ministry and missions within the church. My hope is that it encourages members of the church to live like the early church in Acts 4:32, where “no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”

It’s important to note that Kingdom Advisors does not believe that Christian financial advisors are superior to non-Christian ones. Rather, they recognize that they approach their work differently. A Christian advisor utilizes a biblical worldview to provide technical advice, offer good counsel, and inspire and guide their clients. Biblical financial planning is rooted in the gospel and stands in opposition to worldly wisdom. Instead, biblical financial planning focuses on seeking wisdom from above, which is described in James 3:17 as being pure, peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. This perspective prioritizes contentment over envy and self-seeking, which are unfortunately prevalent in the world of personal finance and necessitate different planning approaches.

As Christians, we can agree that God owns it all. We serve a sovereign God and act as stewards of His money. With this perspective, we can establish principles, set priorities, develop plans, and implement processes to achieve our financial goals. Kingdom Advisors believes that money can be used in five ways: Live, Give, Grow, Owe (taxes), and Owe (debt). Our biblical worldview guides us in determining how much money is allocated to each category.

I became a CKA® because I desire to heed Paul’s advice in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.” I believe that Kingdom Advisors helps to equip me to be a tool in the Lord’s hands to serve the church.