Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
God Provides™ in Romania
Doug shared about his experience with using the God Provides™ Film Learning Experience at an orphanage in Romania. Doug's relationship with Crown goes back a long, long way. He moved to Atlanta in 1968 to take a job with Dupont. Not long after, he met Larry Burkett and went to a Bible study that Larry was leading at the time. Larry motivated Doug to memorize Scripture and apply it to his life, especially in the area of money. Doug remembers praying for Larry's efforts to found Christian Financial Concepts, one of the parent ministries of Crown Financial Ministries.
Doug and his wife began financially supporting the orphanage his mother visited. They made a trip there and saw the money they had been sending was used properly. They also saw the children, bonded with them, and assessed their needs. Children had dental needs and God connected him with a dentist who had just sold his practice and wanted to help. Doug made 13 trips to Romania to minister at the orphanage. Doug also applied for and received a $30,000 grant from a charitable foundation to support the orphanage. He woug went back to the orphanage to administer the grant money, which was used to expand medical care, increase dental care, and provide therapy for an 8-year-old autistic girl. Doug wanted to take with him to Romania something to use with the children for a devotional time. A couple of months ago, Doug was in a group invited to see a preview of one of Crown's God Provides™ films. Doug wanted to take the films with them to share with the children. We were able to work that out and Doug got an an advance copy of the film set. Doug was able to have the God Provides™ study guide translated into Romanian so the children could ask each other the suggested questions about the film, so they learned from the film and discussion.
One of the children told her teacher about the films. The teacher asked her to share the story she had watched, so the child told the class about the Widow and Oil. She pointed her classmates to the Scripture it's based on. Later the teacher wanted to meet the man who had brought the films. Doug showed the teacher the films along with more kids from the class. As it happens, that teacher also had the responsibility for teaching the Bible to students at the government-run school. He wanted to make the films part of the curriculum for his class. That means over 200 children will see the films. Doug will next take the films on a mission trip to Africa. We have a great need to get the films translated into other languages and want to invite you to support this. This translation needs to be done as quickly as possible. You can become part of the effort to translate the God Provides™ films into other languages by making a gift online or by calling 800-722-1976. Thank you! |
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Effectual GivingIt is not the amount of money given that concerns God, because He owns it all; it’s how the money is being used that’s important. |
Responding to God's MandateSometimes generous givers are tempted to think that all they have to give is money. |
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Bottom Line DiscipleshipYou can’t serve the Savior and all that stuff on an equal footing. One has to take precedence. |
Setting Dreams in MotionWhen it becomes clear that God is redirecting our efforts, what can we do so our natural determination does not become a liability? |
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Other Resources: |
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Our guest today is Doug Hanson, a long time friend of Crown who recently spoke at our weekly staff devotion.
Doug's mother, a 79-year-old widow, was the first to go over to Romania and minister to children at one needy orphanage.
She was seeking to change the world and God used her witness to change her son.
God can use you no matter how old you are, especially in your family.
Doug’s mom is now 93 years old and still mentors Doug.
She has funded mission trips for Doug and his wife.
She has a heart for missions.
When he got over to Romania, the first film Doug showed (at a stadium during a soccar game) was the 
Doug took the children camping the next weekend and found a way to hook up the equipment and show another film from his truck at a campsite in the woods. The children were spellbound.
