By Gary Montgomery
Executive Director – North America – Compass-finances God’s way
Imagine a world where students learn to handle money based on the Principles of the Bible and not based on the ways of the world. Imagine if they handled money in a manner that recognized the Lord as the Owner and gave Him Glory. Imagine what it could be like if we developed a school culture that not only taught our children financial literacy but encouraged them to be financial disciples. Disciples that would learn and apply God’s ways of handling money and then share what they have learned with their friends. That culture does exist, and it is called the Kingdom of God.
In the Gospels, Jesus talked about money and possessions more than any other topic, except the Kingdom of God. Jesus demonstrated to those around Him that financial decisions were actually spiritual decisions. In today’s society, it seems to be a foreign concept. But what if we began to make a change, starting with one family within our school and then another, developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ by living our lives as scripture describes — including the money part. Imagine how strong our schools could become if we cast a wide net so that the entire school family would faithfully learn and apply God’s ways of handling money. Surveys show we would witness improved financial health, increased generosity and people falling more in love with Jesus. Your school’s students, teachers, administrators, parents, donors, and partners would all benefit, and the Lord would be glorified in the process. So where do we begin?
At Compass Financial Ministry, we have developed a five point “Prescription for Financial Discipleship” using the acronym MEDIC that will outline some places to start the process.
Motivate – This is where you get others excited about the initiative. Fifteen percent of everything Jesus said had to do with handling money. Wow! If it was that important to Jesus to share this message frequently, it should be equally important for us to get others excited about it as well.
As motivation, consider providing incentives for students, teachers, parents, donors, and partners to engage in a financial discipleship study.
Educate – Disciple your students and school family to handle money God’s ways. Ron Blue has said, “God’s Word is right, relevant and never changes, so we can act with confidence, credibility and consistency in every decision we make based on its contents.” As a Christ follower, it is important to run all our decisions, including financial ones, through the filter of the Bible, and prayerfully ask the Lord what He wants us to do. In so doing, we learn more about God’s character and are drawn into a more intimate relationship with Him.
Teach the content to leaders first, then teachers and staff, students, parents, and donors.
Demonstrate – People are always watching us, so we need to be careful that we do not send a confusing message. That is why it is so important that school administration has a full understanding of, and are intentionally living out, God’s financial principles, personally and professionally. Not surprisingly, it seems when living by Biblical principles we are made “uniquely attractive” to others, which gives us an opportunity to give witness to what God is doing in our lives.
Integrate – Practically apply God’s Word in the finances of the school. The value of applying God’s financial principles in our personal life is easy to recognize, but doing so in the life of the school is important as well. Frequently, however, it seems that schools default to handling school business in the ways of the world. Just because a secular standard “works” in the business world does not mean it should be utilized in Christian school operations. By integrating God’s financial principles faithfully in a Christian school, it allows us to conduct school business in a manner that glorifies the Lord.
Celebrate – Testify what God has done through the faithfulness of each participant. Testimonies give glory, honor and praise to God and demonstrate our gratitude for what He has done in our lives. Simultaneously, it provides encouragement to others as they see how God worked through us and helps keep them on track in their own faith walk.
Please be intentional to celebrate the participants and their testimonies in your school, with mini or mega celebrations. Testimonies are “standing stones” that tell the story of our Christian and family heritage.
At Compass Financial Ministry, we have some terrific resources to help your school on this journey of developing a culture of financial discipleship. For adults, consider reading Your Money Counts or completing the Building Your Finances God’s Way Study with a group of adults. For High School Juniors and Seniors, implementing The Curriculum Financial Discipleship Study (Student ebook is FREE) is a great God honoring high school offering to satisfy financial literacy requirements and has been taught on the campus of Asbury University for over 10 years. A new financial discipleship study for the classroom meeting the needs of 11–15-year-olds will be available later in 2025. To learn more about MEDIC and implementing it at your school, contact us at info@compassfinancialministry.org or visit our website at compassfinancialministry.org
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Gary Montgomery
Executive Director – North America – Compass-finances God’s way
By God’s grace, Gary has been serving in full-time financial discipleship ministry since 2002. He joined Compass-finances God’s way at its founding in 2010, by serving people and churches as Executive Director of Compass-Kentucky. In the summer of 2023, Gary was named Executive Director – North America for Compass. He has a heart for making financial disciples and helping people grow in their faith and multiplying the Kingdom of God. Gary has been married to his loving wife, Teresa, since 1985. They are the parents of two adult children and raise three lively dachshunds.