Journey of Tithing to Radical Generosity — John and Betty Addink
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When Betty and I were first married, our finances were anything but secure. Through our college years and several failed business ventures, we made a simple commitment: we would give the first 10% of our income to the Lord. We never viewed it as losing money. It was our way of acknowledging that everything we had belonged to Him.
In our thirties, God began to bless our sod farming business in ways we never imagined. As our income increased, so did our opportunity to give. Yet, like many business owners, I believed the best use of extra income was to invest it back into new ventures. After putting a substantial amount of money into two large business failures, I came to a sobering realization. The money we had lost could have been invested in eternity. Businesses can fail, but what is given to God’s kingdom never loses its value.
That lesson changed our lives.
We increased our giving to 15–20% of our personal income. As God continued to prosper the business, we reached another turning point and committed to giving away more than 60% of our sod business profits. Over the past twenty years, we also reduced our real estate holdings so we could release even more resources for God’s work. Eventually our giving exceeded the maximum tax deduction allowed. Looking back, one of our few regrets is that we did not learn the joy of generous giving much earlier.
We wanted to be wise stewards, so we asked where our gifts could make the greatest eternal difference. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to “make disciples of all nations” became our guide. We learned that 3.4 billion people remain unreached with the gospel, many living in the 10/40 Window where Western missionaries often cannot serve openly.
What encouraged us most was discovering that God had already raised up believers in every nation through the faithful work of earlier missionaries. Today, many organizations are equipping national pastors and church planters to reach their own people. Because they know the language, culture, and customs, they can often multiply disciples and churches far more effectively and at much lower cost.
It has been our privilege to partner with ministries such as The Timothy Initiative, Multiplication Network, The Finishing Fund, Global Assist, and One Body One Hope. We have learned that generosity is not about giving away money—it is about investing in God’s eternal harvest. We have never regretted a single gift given to His kingdom, and if we could begin again, we would start giving more, much sooner.
-John and Betty Addink
