But We Can’t Add a Zero… — Brad and Lynn Jankowski
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My wife and I have served as missionaries with Cru since the 1980s. Like many staff members, raising the financial support needed for our ministry has often been challenging. This was especially true in the 1990s and early 2000s while we were raising three children.
Our full salary through Cru was only paid if we raised enough support each month. If the donations that came in were insufficient, our paycheck would be reduced to match the amount received. As a result, many years brought short paychecks—some only slightly short, others significantly so. At times we had to borrow money just to pay our bills. Yet through it all, the Lord faithfully saw us through. Somehow, we always had enough.
During that time, one of my ministry roles was serving with The Jesus Film Project, where I helped schedule, organize, and run donor briefing conferences that raised much of the funding needed for the global ministry. One of the unexpected blessings of running the program was getting to hear many inspiring speakers, including some of the project’s key patrons. Their perspective and passion for generosity helped shape my own views.
At one conference in the fall, a speaker named Ed Thomas challenged donors to consider adding a zero to whatever amount they were planning to give. In other words, a $1,000 gift could become $10,000.
I remember thinking, That’s a great challenge—for wealthy people. My goodness, we were struggling just to tithe at the basic 10% level!
In early January, as I was working through our family budget for the new year, I calculated our normal 10% giving figure. In that moment, I sensed the Lord nudging me to increase our giving by 1%. It wasn’t adding a zero—but even that small increase felt like a big step of faith with our very tight budget. I talked it through with my wife, and together we decided to trust the Lord and increase our giving to 11%.
That decision started an unexpected journey. Each January afterward, I would revisit the question with the Lord. Year by year, we sensed Him leading us to increase our giving another 1%. Over the next twelve years, our giving gradually grew until we were giving away 23% of our income.
During those thirteen years, we saw God prove His faithfulness repeatedly. Short paychecks became less frequent and eventually disappeared. Interestingly, we weren’t spending any more time raising support than we had before—if anything, we had less time because of additional ministry responsibilities. On paper, our monthly support level didn’t seem to change dramatically, and it looked like not much had changed.
But something else began to happen. Every year, God seemed to provide through unexpected, large one-time gifts—often from people who had previously given little or nothing. The individuals we least expected were sometimes the ones who blessed us most significantly. And each year it seemed God raised up someone different. To this day we continue to live by faith, never fully knowing who God will use or how He will provide.
Most years we could clearly see the ways God provided through generous people. A few years, however, there was no obvious large gift that explained how everything worked out. Yet somehow, we still had more than enough to keep giving.
One year I found myself trying to do the math, attempting to figure out how our finances had balanced out. As I wrestled with it, I sensed the Lord impress something in my heart: “Brad, you know I’m not bound by numbers. I can make 2 + 2 equal 1,000 if I need to. Don’t try to figure out how I did it—just rest in the fact that I am providing for you.” That was the moment I stopped trying to solve the equation.
God has taken us on a remarkable journey—one where we’ve seen Him work in ways we never could have predicted. Along the way, we’ve had the joy of supporting our church more generously, investing in many missionaries around the world, and giving to organizations advancing God’s work. What a joy this has been!
For that, we are deeply grateful.
We may never have been able to add a zero like Ed Thomas suggested. But his challenge helped us begin thinking bigger and trusting God to give more generously.
And for that, we are grateful too.
