Referenced in: Giving and Financial Stewardship
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Crown Financial Ministries is perhaps the most widely known and trusted organization of its kind. Founded by Howard Dayton in 1985, it merged in 2000 with Larry Burkett?s organization, Christian Financial Concepts. Burkett was the CEO until his death in 2003. The CEO is now Chuck Bentley, and Howard Dayton continues to serve Crown as a writer and advisor.
Crown?s mission is ?equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God?s financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission.? Their ministry has reached more than 50 million people in over 80 nations, with locations in the United States, Canada, Latin America, South America, and Africa, with current expansions into Europe, India, Asia, and Australia. Crown has 250 employees and over 10,000 volunteers worldwide.
Crown produces a number of excellent materials for individuals and churches, with unique tools geared to specific age groups. Their website has one page addressed to church leaders on how to get started using their material for stewardship education, http://www.crown.org/ForChurch/default.aspx. Here you can learn how to start Crown in your church, review their teaching materials, and access a number of articles on church administration, minister?s finances, teaching biblical principles, etc. One of the most comprehensive resources on their website is the Crown Church Manual, a series of free, downloadable digital (.pdf) documents describing all of Crown?s products for churches. The range of resources is too numerous to list here, so go to Crown online, and browse their site.
Some of the more popular Crown curricula:
- Road to Financial Freedom
- Discovering God?s Way of Handling Money
- The Treasure Principle Workshop
- Business by the Book Workshop
- Biblical Financial Study
Stewardship education materials for children and teens:
- The ABCs of Handling Money Well (for ages 5-7)
- The Secret of Handling Money God?s Way (for ages 8-12)
- Discovering God?s Way of Handling Money Teen Pack (for ages 13-17)
Resources by Howard Dayton
Howard Dayton also has written a number of books on the subject of finances. Each is listed below followed by the Publisher?s Description:
Your Money Counts: The Biblical Guide to Earning, Spending, Saving, Investing, Giving, and Getting Out of Debt. Tyndale, 1997. – Suffocating materialism is robbing people of their spiritual vitality. This book addresses the profound impact that handling money has on a person?s relationship with God.
Free and Clear: God?s Roadmap to Debt-Free Living. Moody Publishers, 2006. – Overwhelmed with debt? There is hope and freedom for you no matter how big your problem. Skyrocketing debt has crippled and divided millions in this age of rampant credit, interest-only mortgages, and record loan defaults. The way out from under debt burdens is not a declaration of bankruptcy, but surrender to the Word of God. Becoming debt-free may seem an impossible dream for many, but it is actually an attainable goal according to Howard Dayton, president of Crown Financial Ministries. He overcame his own struggle with debt by applying God?s principles to managing his finances, principles he lays out in this practical, encouraging, never-give-up book.
Your Money Map: A Proven 7-Step Guide to True Financial Freedom. Moody Publishers, 2009. – Millions of people are lost in debt and teetering on the brink of financial insecurity – and all they really need is a good map. By revealing key biblical principles of finance, Your Money Map steers readers toward wise money management through seven financial destinations anyone can reach. It describes each destination, from saving $1,000 and creating a spending plan, to reducing debt and making wise, long-term investments. No matter how distant the final destination may seem, Your Money Map provides realistic steps and all the necessary tools to achieve them. The end result? True freedom to invest your time and resources in furthering the Great Commission.
The path to financial freedom may seem too steep to climb, but this book will help you achieve the summit, one destination at a time. Set your sights on the biblical principles that will help you reach your destination!
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
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