Generosity
Profit With Purpose: Building Generosity Into the Model
You may never preach to a stadium. But your business can pay for the stage — and someone has to. God chose business owners to fund what He is doing.
Generosity · By Daniel Ziedins · · Updated · 4 minute read
Scripture never shames the earner. It warns the man who forgets Who gave him the ability to earn. Profit is not the enemy of faith — hoarding is, and so is the anxious grip that treats money as a fortress instead of a tool.
What Scripture actually says about wealth
The Bible is more nuanced about money than either the prosperity preacher or the cynic allows. It honours diligent work and warns against laziness. It also insists, over and over, that the ability to earn is itself a gift — and gifts come with a purpose attached.
Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 8:18
Paul gives business owners a clear assignment rather than a guilt trip: do not be arrogant, do not put your hope in wealth, and be rich in good deeds — generous and willing to share (1 Timothy 6:17–18). The goal is not to earn less. It is to hold what you earn with an open hand.
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.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Decide generosity before the money arrives
Generosity decided in advance survives a hard quarter. Generosity decided in the moment almost never does. That is why in the Lions Den Alliance, giving is not an afterthought once a business finally 'makes it' — it is written into the model from the start.
- Set a percentage, not a feeling. A fixed share of profit removes the monthly negotiation with yourself.
- Give where you can see the fruit. Proximity to impact keeps generosity joyful instead of abstract.
- Tell your team. Employees who know their work funds Gospel work carry it differently.
A simple generosity model you can start this month
- Open a separate giving account so Kingdom money never gets mistaken for operating cash.
- Pick a fixed percentage of net profit and transfer it on the same day each month — automate it if you can.
- Review it quarterly. If the business grew, ask whether the percentage should grow with it.
- Plan one stretch gift each year, decided in advance and prayed over with your spouse or partners.
- Keep a simple record of where it went, and share the stories with your team.
When cash is tight
A percentage scales down as easily as it scales up, which is exactly why it works in a lean season. Jesus pointed to a widow dropping two small coins into the offering and said she had given more than all the wealthy donors, because she gave out of her poverty (Mark 12:41–44). The size of the gift was never the point; the posture was.
And money is not the only currency a business holds. You can give products, professional services, equipment, meeting space, or staff hours to ministries that could never afford them. In-kind generosity is still generosity.
You may never preach to a stadium — but you can fund the stage
That is not a lesser calling. Someone has to pay for the worship night in the field, the relief team on the worst day of a family's life, the training that sends a nervous believer out unafraid. God chose business owners to do a great deal of that work.
Fund the frontline, not just the building
Some of the most strategic generosity in the Kingdom never makes a headline. It is the monthly support that keeps an evangelist on the streets, a missionary in a city, or a trainer in front of a church. Paul's question still stands: how can anyone preach unless they are sent? Business owners are uniquely placed to be senders.
How can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
Romans 10:15
If you want a place to start, read about Daniel & Katie Ziedins — on the streets of Hamilton since 2014, serving with e3 Canada — and how business owners can partner with them.
Meet the frontline:
- Plunder Hell, Populate Heaven — How business owners can stand behind Daniel & Katie Ziedins' frontline evangelism with e3 Canada.
Where Kingdom generosity actually lands:
- Thy Kingdom Network — The engine behind dozens of Gospel initiatives — and the Alliance's flagship cause.
- JesusFestival.ca — Worship and evangelism festivals bringing churches together across Canada.
- JesusFestivalMovement.com — The wider movement: how a city-wide Jesus Festival actually gets built.
- JesusFestival.app — The festival in your pocket — schedule, news, and next steps for every attendee.
- KingdomResponse.com — Church-led disaster relief — the Body of Christ showing up when it is hardest.
Questions to talk through with your partners
- If our profit doubled next year, what would we want to be true about our giving?
- Which ministries can we actually see the fruit of — and which are we supporting out of habit?
- What do our employees know about where our generosity goes?
- What could we give besides money: skills, products, space, or time?
Keep reading
- Don't Build Alone: Why Christian Entrepreneurs Need an Alliance — A lion alone gets picked off. A pride is untouchable. You were never meant to carry a business by yourself.
- The Kingdom Network Behind the Alliance — The Alliance does not stand alone. Here is the whole family of Gospel initiatives, tools, and businesses your generosity and participation help carry forward.
- Stewardship and Systems: Why Order Is Spiritual — God did not create in a panic. He worked in order, named what He made, and rested. If order reflects His nature, then the chaos in our businesses is not a badge of honour.