Hello. My name is Linton Manier. I happily serve the Lord in Planned Giving and Trust Services at the Southern California Conference. 

We’ve been exploring our core values here at the conference, and today, I want to talk to you about one of our core values entitled, “Stewardship.” The description is as follows: “We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers. The church does not exist just for us; we exist for the world. We will give and manage our resources with excellence for this mission.”  

I’m sure you have heard the old expression, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Well, it’s been rephrased by many nowadays who say, “Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.” 

Yes, it would be nice to be mentioned in someone’s will. However, it is much more important to have your own will in place.  

A few years ago, a young married couple came to me, and they wanted to have an estate plan in place before they started a family. They both had good jobs and had just moved into their first home. Well, guess what? I just received a letter yesterday requesting to update their estate plan, because now they have not only two houses, but they have also increased the size of their family with two adorable children. So, being good stewards of all of God’s blessing, they want to make sure the children, as well as their assets, are included and protected with the correct estate planning documents. 

In the Bible, James 4:13-16 says, “You should know better than to say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!’ What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. You should say, ‘If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things.’”

Here, God is reminding us that we are finite beings who cannot predict the future, and that each day of our lives is a gift from the Lord. Because of this, it is important to make choices today that can have a lasting impact on future generations long after we’re gone. Our poor choices can lead to destitution, and our smart choices can bring about prosperity and opportunity. When we remember that we are “nothing more than mist,” we can prioritize the things that will make a true difference and leave a legacy of love through our actions. 

Now, if you are one of those members out there who does not yet have his or her will set up, then you will be happy to know that Planned Giving and Trust Services of our conference is here to take care of that need for you and every member of all of our churches, at no cost to you.  

With the help of trained, experienced, and certified estate planning Christian consultants, your conference will provide a will, a living trust and powers of attorney documents for any and all of the members at no charge. 

When you have put your own estate plan in place, and then keep it updated, you will then be able to have confidence and peace of mind as a faithful manager of all of the blessings that God has entrusted you with.  

I invite you to call us for information or to ask questions you may have about how this could work for you. Planned Giving and Trust Services is here to assist you in putting together your own Christian estate plan.

Thank you for watching. We hope you’ve enjoyed this video. Please like and subscribe, and we’ll see you in the next video.