Cwillz Spills » tithing

Giving Highlight: Five Talents International

Chris Williams — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:44:51 +0000

I forgot to do the Giving Highlight last month. I chose another micro-finance related organization to give to. I really like this concept. Before I tell you about Five Talents, I should give an update on the loans I made through Kiva a few months ago. All of the loans have gone into repayment, which means that I am starting to get money back. So basically the people who needed it have used it and have started to make enough money to support themselves/their families and repay me. The money they have paid back I have re-loaned, which will hopefully create another sustainable job for someone else. The cycle continues.

I chose to give to Five Talents because of they address more than the economic/systemic issues of poverty by wokring also for spiritual development. Also, they make online giving easy via credit card!

From thier website:

Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.

Also, a YouTube Special for you:

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Tagged: Christianity, giving, microfinance, missions, personal finance, poverty, sustainable development, tithing

My Money, Your Money, Our World…Transformed

Chris Williams — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Yesterday I aksed for input about where I should give money. One of the joys of having a budget is being able to give.

Since Adam was the only one to comment so far, and I need to take care of July’s giving before the end of July, I took one of his suggestions and headed over to Kiva.org and chekced out what they do. Basically, they are a place that lets people lend money to others who need it to develop themselves personally or professionally. This is called microfinancing.

Microfinancing is all about helping people that banks either cannot (too risky, not enough money to be worth it) or will not (it’s in thier interest to keep people only partially successful). A small loan helps people “prime the well”.

So I am using my “giving” money to microfinance through Kiva. When they pay me back I will either reinvest in someone else, or donate it to another cause.

To Whom Should I Give Money?

Chris Williams — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:36:00 +0000

I got a job. Now I can / should give away some money.

Where should it go? Where do you give to? How do I get there? What are the biggest needs?

Comment so we can spotlight some places that could use it.

Something You Have Heard Before

Chris Williams — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:23:00 +0000

I found this on PreachingToday.com’s Series about money. There is more research out there suggesting similar conclusions. We should tithe out of both obedience and love.

Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need
A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. “Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults.”

The Ronsvalles go on to write: “That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $94 billion available for overseas missions.”

In addition to providing the $80 billion a year needed to eliminate world poverty, tithing Christians would also provide the $7 billion needed to provide primary education for all children, and the $5 billion needed to end the preventable deaths of children under 5.

Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables (Baker Academic, 2004) p. 51; updated statistics from www.emptytomb.org