You honor God with your finances through giving–through excelling at each giving stage and learning to live an open-handed life. As you make your climb up the generosity ladder, five big stones need to be in place in your financial life. These stones will give you solidarity and grounding as you move through the stages–or up the rungs–toward a life of blessing.

Stone #1: Determine Your Priorities

Financial peace has nothing to do with how much you make; it has to do with how much you spend. When you put God first by honoring him with the tithe and by choosing to live within your means, you have your financial priorities in order.

Stone #2: Decide to Get Out of Debt

Getting out of debt is a process that begins with a decision. Decide that you are going to stop increasing your debt right now. Don’t buy anything else you can’t pay for, and put together a plan for paying down the debt you already have.

Stone #3: Discipline Yourself in Small Financial Ways

You need to begin to discipline yourself in small ways. Make the decision to get out of debt, and stay out. Decide to cut back on something in your life and put that money toward gaining financial peace.

Stone #4: Discover the Joy of Generosity

Generosity is a way of life. You don’t have to wait until you reach the peak level of the generosity ladder to adopt the attitude of a generous giver. Practice living an openhanded life each and every day, not just with your finances but in all areas.

Stone #5: Adopt the Habit of Now

Take your next step today. There’s always a reason to wait, but procrastination is dangerous. The only way to break a habit is to do something now! I can guarantee that if you don’t start giving today, a year from today you’ll wish you had; if you do start today, a year from now you’ll be glad you did.

–Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson

The above excerpt is from pgs. 103-105 of The Generosity Ladder: Your Next Step to Financial Peace.

Help your people find financial peace with my best-selling book, The Generosity Ladder. Imagine a life in which you don’t struggle to make ends meet each month–a life with no debt, a healthy savings account, and solid plans for retirement. Imagine being able to help people in need and give to causes much bigger than your own concerns. This is how God wants everyone to live. And it is attainable. With the help of this practical and insightful book, your people will uncover their true level of financial health and discover a step-by-step plan to save, spend, and invest money in a responsible, godly way. Click here for more information on ordering in bulk for your church.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.