Generational Generosity
Inviting the next generation to participate in generosity
Generosity is a foundational principle in our family. Growing up, we watched our parents faithfully serve in ministry for many years. They made countless sacrifices and dedicated many hours to serving the Lord and others. Although we didn’t fully understand the significance of this as children, we are thankful that our parents are leaders by example. As a result, it has made a generational impact on our lives, and our future kids’ lives.
Giving Back to God
From a young age, we were taught that everything has been given to us by God, so we need to give back to him and to others as he gives to us.
Psalms 24:1-2 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.”
When we first learned this as children, we were a bit confused. We initially thought, “How can we give everything we have back to God, and why would he need it back if he gave it to us?”
We quickly discovered that generosity means so much more. This truth in Psalms is a heart posture, rather than a physical action. We need to be grateful for what God provides us, but be willing to give it up for the sake of others at the same time. And when we give it up, we aren’t really losing anything. In fact, we are gaining. We are gaining the opportunity to bless our neighbor or join in the kingdom work being done across the world. This applies to all forms of generosity.
A Growing View of Generosity
As we got older, our view of generosity continued to expand.
As we got older, our view of generosity continued to expand. We began to understand that we could be generous with our time, service and money. Our parents used to say, “time, talents and treasure” so it would be easier to remember for us. Although we understood the significance that a financial gift had, growing up in the nonprofit world, we knew that it wasn’t the only thing we could do. This was important as kids because we didn’t have much money to give.
We didn’t have to have a lot, to give a lot. Time is a valuable resource we all have, and it is up to us to decide how we spend it. Spending time serving God and others is just as significant as writing a check. Mission trips (locally and internationally), local outreach opportunities and volunteering in our church are just a few of the examples that taught us this growing up. It’s one thing to sponsor the construction of a home for a family in need, but what if we could go and help build it for them?
Cheerful Givers
Most importantly, we learned to be cheerful givers.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9: 6-8)
This passage was and is at the core of our heart for generosity. Through our experiences, we have learned that giving is a privilege. It is an opportunity to use God’s resources, to partner with his people and join in the amazing work that he is doing.
True Legacy
In recent years, we have seen the fruit from each lesson our parents taught us and all the hours we invested in others as a family. Years ago, our parents started a family foundation and began to integrate us into the process when we were in our late teens. We would pray with them and help make some decisions about giving, but not much else at the time. They explained to us that their true legacy for us would be to leave this foundation to us where we can continue to make a global impact through generosity. We didn’t quite get that at first, but we do now!
We are both in our early 20’s now, and we run our family foundation actively for ministry giving.
We are both in our early 20’s now, and we run our family foundation actively for ministry giving. We receive funding requests, pray, make decisions together and then administer the funds and the management of those funds. Our parents always shared about “transformational giving” versus “transactional giving.” Over time, we realized that transformational giving requires us being willing to give all. To carry this out, we make decisions to give, but we also find ways we can utilize our time and talent with those same ministries. That holistic engagement is one of our requirements for foundation giving.
Transferring the Vision
So, what were the key elements to transfer the vision of generous giving?
- Faithful Leadership: We had leaders in our lives who shared those truths from Scripture, but also lived it out. We believe both are important for a true transfer.
- Personal Experience:As our parents lived out generous giving, their faith allowed us to personally experience and witness the Lord’s faithfulness. There were so many situations where both of us could only say, “This was God.” Knowing that God is real and does show up is a critical piece in this generational impact.
- Engage Early and Often: Our parents incorporated us at an early age in this journey. We can remember being involved as early as four and five years old and witnessing the impact of generosity on other people, but also witnessing how God provided in those situations. Each one of those situations have made a lasting imprint in our lives that we still refer back to almost 20 years later.
Our parents told us that it has been a tremendous blessing for them to see how we are making such an impact without their involvement. They have also noticed how it has united us, rather than divided, as it pertains to the transfer of wealth. Occasionally, we will ask them for input, but we are contributing to it and managing it ourselves.
Following Jesus’ Model
If you are still reading, we congratulate you and we hope this last point will encourage you. As we discussed the impact generosity had in our lives, we were reminded of a passage in Mark 6. Most of you probably know the story of how Jesus feeds the 5,000. It is a great illustration of how God can do more than we can imagine with what we give him. But we want to touch on a point that we feel is overlooked in this story.
In verse 41, Jesus gave the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. Afterward, they picked up the leftovers. In this story, we noticed this small detail: Jesus incorporated his followers in his ministry. The disciples didn’t just watch Jesus perform miracles and preach to the masses, they participated. In the same way, we feel like this is how our parents raised us up to embrace generous giving fully.
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Aaron McDaniel serves with Pioneers on the Advancement Team. The mission of Pioneers is to mobilize teams to glorify God among unreached peoples by initiating church-planting movements in partnership with local churches. He graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s in business management from the University of North Florida. Olivia Peebles serves at Bayside Community Church as the Social Media Coordinator. She works to help support the church’s vision and share the Lord’s work on an outward platform.