A Legacy Approach to Giving: “Being a part of what God is doing in our world with ALL we have”
By Robert and Janice Adams
Little did we know that Robert’s sabbatical from Colorado State University that placed us in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1976 would change our perspective of our walk with God. It was in Saskatoon that we met Henry and Marilynn Blackaby and their family and became involved with Faith Baptist Church. We were only there 3 months but then we returned several years after that and helped with the first Saskatchewan Baptist Youth camp attended by Richard, Mel, Thomas, Norman and Carrie Blackaby.
In 1990 when Experiencing God, Knowing and Doing the Will of God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King was first published, we immediately began to lead groups in our church(es) through the study. God used the study to change our perspective for our Christian life as well as many others. We were no longer just trying to find ways to serve God, but we were watching to see where God was at work and joining Him in what He was doing. Between the two of us, we have probably led the study 20-25 times in churches in Texas, Utah, a seminary in Zambia, and partnership trips to New Zealand.
The following is a quote from Experiencing God on investing in the future:
“Begin orienting your life to God’s will. His purposes go far beyond time and eternity. Make sure you are investing your life, time and resources in things that last, not in things that will pass away. If you don’t recognize that God created you for eternity, you will invest in the wrong priorities. You need to store up treasures in heaven.”
We decided we wanted to make sure we were investing in things that are lasting. This included not only our time but our finances as well. We realized that there is more to life than just accumulating stuff. God has richly blessed us financially so we decided we wanted to invest in things that would outlast us.
God put it on our heart to invest in various ministries including Blackaby Ministries, Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary, International Mission Board and Texas Baptist Men. We established several charitable remainder unitrusts with these ministries as beneficiaries which provides income for us but will benefit these ministries after we are gone.
We have decided that toward the end of each year we would look at our finances and make special offerings to various ministries. It has been such a blessing to see how God has used our finances to benefit others. We just want to make sure that we are investing our lives, time and resources in things that will last. This includes investing our lives and time in people’s lives as we are a part of what God is doing here in St. George, Utah—whether it is Red Rock’s Boys Club, Young Men of Integrity, English classes for Hispanics or a Burmese mother, citizenship classes, leading Bible studies, sharing talents in music, leading studies of Experiencing God or The Seven Realities for Experiencing God, or serving on an associate pastor search committee. Investing our financial resources in what God is doing wherever we are has become very important to us. God continues to bless our lives and use our financial resources to bless others.