BRACCIANTIEDILIZIA

We had $2,100 in savings when we moved to plant Hope Chapel. Our weekly salary that first month? Fifteen dollars. For context, our rent was $225. Do the math—it doesn’t work. Ruby sold Avon cosmetics door-to-door. I delivered gospel literature on foot because we couldn’t afford postage. Someone gave us money to give away 20,000…

Jeff MacKay showed up at our Hermosa Beach church looking like the last guy you’d tap for leadership. Blond surfer hair falling in his face, wire-rimmed glasses sliding down his nose, mild dyslexia. We hired him to run our print shop. We fired him for sloppy work. Two weeks later, he asked if he could…

My dentist had me pinned in the chair, mouth propped open, when he delivered the line that would name a book I eventually wrote, “You’ll never let go of the ring, Frodo. They never do.” Ken was right to be skeptical. I was leaving a church of 2,000 people—during a time when the Associated Press…

Why Do People Give? It sounds like a simple question, but the truth is, the answer is different for everyone. Some give to make a difference. Others, to feel connected to something bigger. Many give because they believe in a mission, a person, or a vision of a better future. Whatever the reason, giving is…