By Heather M. Day
Editor’s Note: As the gift giving holiday season approaches, may you consider how your gifts to your grandchildren can be leveraged into something that will endure. This blog will focus on one such idea. May this blog help Christian grandparents pass on a legacy of faith through intentional generosity.
Grandparenting is one of God’s most profound callings, a sacred opportunity to influence the next generation with faith, wisdom and love. Psalm 145:4 reminds us, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”
Christian grandparents have a unique opportunity to pass on more than financial resources. By modeling biblical stewardship, involving grandchildren in charitable giving, and sharing the stories behind their generosity, grandparents can nurture faith and create a lasting Kingdom-focused legacy.
For Christian grandparents, this calling goes far beyond the present. As faithful grandparents who live with “A Heart for Eternity,” we invest not only in what is seen, but in what will last forever. This, of course, shapes how we spend our time and our talents with our grandchildren—but it should also inform how we invest our treasures.
Intentional, Faith-Driven Stewardship
Scripture consistently calls believers to view their resources as entrusted gifts from God. Psalm 24:1 declares, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” This perspective reframes our financial decisions as spiritual ones, and it presents us with a profound opportunity.
As with all other areas of discipleship, our words and actions today can influence the next generation’s understanding of intentional, faith-driven stewardship.
Making Charitable Giving More Effective
Modeling godly stewardship begins with understanding how best to manage the resources God has already entrusted to us. Many Christians have taken great strides in this regard by faithfully budgeting, saving, investing, and giving as the Spirit leads them. What some may not realize is that there are tools and tactics for giving most effectively.
Just as there are techniques for savvy spending and investing, there are smart and powerful ways to stretch the value of your charitable dollars. By knowing the options available, you can give for greater Kingdom impact, often while benefiting your family, too!
Using Non-Cash Assets to Support Kingdom Work
For example, most people give to charity in the form of cash because it is so familiar. However, this may not be the most cost-effective way for you to give. You can increase your potential impact — and experience significant tax savings — by giving non-cash assets.
Examples of non-cash assets:
- Stock or marketable securities
- Real estate
- Business interests
- Farm commodities
- Cryptocurrency
Barnabas Foundation’s Stewards Fund (a Christian donor-advised fund) makes it simple to give all sorts of assets to support your church and other favorite ministries.
The Stewards Fund functions like a charitable giving account: you can give cash, stock, real estate or other non-cash assets into one fund and then recommend grants to the ministries closest to your heart. You’ll receive an immediate tax deduction when you make a gift. Then, at your convenience, advise Barnabas Foundation to send funds to the charities you wish to support.
What’s more, because the Stewards Fund’s distribution policies are guided by biblical principles, you can be confident your gifts will always be stewarded in ways that reflect your Christian faith and values.
Engaging Your Grandchildren in Generosity
Perhaps one of the most significant concerns grandparents face today is not simply how to transfer assets, but how to transfer values. Financial inheritance alone cannot shape a child’s spiritual life, but intentional modeling and discipleship can.
No matter their age, you can tell and show your grandchildren that giving to God’s Kingdom is an act of worship, an outpouring of thanksgiving to the One who gives so abundantly.
The Stewards Fund creates a natural and meaningful context for these conversations. Here are a few ideas of what that might look like…
- Share Your Story. Tell your family why you give and the reasons you give to certain ministries. Share each ministry’s mission statement and how it furthers God’s Kingdom. Explain why you choose to give to them through the Stewards Fund.
- Expand the mission. Involve your loved ones in adding ministries to your distribution list. Research the ministries together and examine how their work advances Christian values. Together, pray about how your family can be actively involved in Kingdom work.
- Give to remember. Use your Stewards Fund account to make gifts to organizations in memory of a loved one who has gone to be with the Lord.
- Grow generosity. Provide your loved ones with the initial funds to open their very own Stewards Fund by gifting cash, stocks, or assets to an account in their name.
- Pass the baton. Name a grandchild as the successor advisor of your Stewards Fund account, so they can continue to give to Kingdom-building ministries when you go to be with the Lord.
Building A Heart for Eternity
The Legacy Coalition’s theme, “A Heart for Eternity,” challenges grandparents to lift their eyes beyond the immediate and invest in what truly matters. The Stewards Fund offers a tangible way to live out that calling.
It invites grandparents to:
- Align their resources with God’s purposes
- Extend their generosity beyond their lifetime
- Intentionally disciple their grandchildren through giving
The Stewards Fund declares to future generations: God has been faithful, and we trust Him with all that He has given us.
This kind of legacy speaks long after words are forgotten. It shapes how grandchildren think about God, money, and their role within His Kingdom.
Your grandchildren may not remember every conversation or every gift, but they will remember the example you set. And through that example, God can shape their hearts for eternity.
