Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries
Are you looking for a way to serve God in your everyday—an opportunity to grow God’s kingdom from the comfort of your living room?
What if there was a way for you to play an integral role in an exciting new ministry without changing out of your pj’s or putting makeup on?
Would you be interested?
If so, grab a cup of coffee and let’s chat a while. I’m still in my pj’s too. So don’t worry about fixing yourself up for this conversation.
If we’ve never met before, my name is Sarah Koontz, and I’m sure we have a lot in common.
I love my family and I love Jesus. So much it hurts!
I live in a relatively small town and live a relatively small life. My days start with coffee and end with Netflix. I’m always on my Iphone, except for Sundays, when I turn it off. I homeschool my kids during the week and love to read novels on the weekend. I’ve got a few close friends and whole bunch of online friends. Oh, and I write free Bible studies.
I guess that’s one thing that you and I might not have in common. But that is exactly why we are having this conversation.
You see, we all have different gifts and different callings. That’s what makes serving alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ so exciting!
We all have different gifts and different callings. That's what makes serving alongside our sisters in Christ so exciting!Lately, I’ve been thinking a whole lot about how God created us for community. How we are all different on purpose, and how our differences should unite us, rather than divide us.
Romans 12:4-5 highlights this truth so beautifully, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Photography by Kristi Foreman of Picture Perfect Portraits.
For some reason, God called and equipped me to write Bible studies. It’s my function in the body.
I’ve written two so far, and plan to release three more in 2018.
And I believe I am supposed to offer these online Bible studies for free.
But they aren’t really free.
I estimate my last “free” online Bible study cost more than $5,000 to develop and distribute (and that’s not including the value of all the digital products donated by my generous creative partners).
So, with that in mind, let’s get back to this idea of how we are all gifted uniquely and given a specific job to perform within the body of Christ.
God wouldn’t ask me to write free Bible studies if He wasn’t also going to financially provide for this ministry. Right?
Simply stated, this is not a one-person assignment and God knows that.
And God has made one thing painfully clear to me recently: In order to fulfill my assigned task, I must ask others to join me in the work.
That is why I have recently changed our website URL from SarahKoontz.com to LivingbyDesign.org and obtained 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the government.
So I can invite people like you to join me in the work of delivering free Bible studies to inboxes around the world.
Will you join us in the work of delivering free Bible studies to inboxes around the world?
An Invitation to “GIVE ‣ PRAY ‣ GROW” with Living by Design Ministries
Below you will see a three-fold challenge for all who are willing to take a step in our direction and say, “Yes, I want to be part of the Living by Design Support Team!”
Yes, we are hoping this challenge inspires many people to donate a small amount to our ministry each month.
But we also want people who cannot help financially to know there are other vital ways they can support the mission and vision of Living by Design Ministries.
As a Support Team member, you can participate in one aspect of the challenge or all three. It’s up to you.
And, as promised, this three-fold Support Team challenge can be completed in your pj’s (no hair and makeup required).
Challenge # 1 – GIVE
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” -2 Cor. 9:7 NIV
In order to continue to freely give our Bible studies away, we have to faithfully ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to financially support the mission and vision of Living by Design Ministries.
We hope to build a Support Team that is largely comprised of individuals who consistently give $5, $10, or $15 per month to support Living by Design Ministries.
In short, we’d rather have thousands of small donors than hundreds of large donors. Why?
Because we are raising people, not money!
When we give to a ministry we believe in, we are transferring a small amount of our earthly treasure to our heavenly bank account.
Paul drives home this point in Philippians 4:17, “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. “
We invite you to experience the eternal blessing that comes from giving. And from an earthly perspective, we want you to know even the smallest donations help!
In order to freely give, we must learn to faithfully ask.
Challenge # 2 – PRAY
“In everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” -Philippians 4:6b
As a member of our Support Team, you will be regularly challenged to pray for this ministry.
Prayer support is vital for all kingdom work!
Don’t worry if your prayers aren’t eloquent or polished, God sees through our words and straight to our heart.
First, we ask you to consistently pray for the women going through our Bible studies.
Some are reading these powerful biblical truths for the first time, and the enemy will be doing everything in His power to distract and discourage them from continuing with Bible study.
Our job is to make it easier than ever for women to open their Bibles, and in order to do this, we need your help in praying a hedge of protection around all our study participants.
We also ask you to pray for our staff and volunteers.
We’ll be facing attacks too, and we all need an extra dose of God’s strength, wisdom, and protection every day!
Prayer support is vital for all kingdom work!
Challenge #3 – GROW
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” -2 Peter 3:18
This is the third, and final, request we make of our Support Team members.
Grow with us and do what you can to help us grow!
Sign up for our SOULfood e-mails, register for one of our online Bible studies, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Think of ways to regularly share our free Bible studies within your local and online community. There are individuals who will never know about our free resources unless you tell them.
People are desperate for biblical truth, they just don’t know it until they experience it! We ask you to become an ambassador for this ministry, not only in word but also in deed.
People are desperate for biblical truth, they just don't know it until they experience it!
Limited Time Offer – No Longer Available
**This offer has expired.**
For a limited time, everyone who makes a minimum $15 one-time donation will have the opportunity to request this exclusive “Feed My Sheep” mug as a thank you gift.
This is a “Mug on a Mission” to remind you to actively participate in our efforts to feed God’s sheep by giving, praying, and growing with us.
I love this uplifting Feed My Sheep mug from Living by Design Ministries. Get yours before they are gone!This mug costs us $16.50 to produce and ship to you, but we decided to keep the minimum donation request at $15 for a few reasons.
First, we just really want you to have this mug and $15 shipped is super affordable.
And second, we are asking you to prayerfully consider making your $15 donation a monthly recurring gift. This, of course is not a requirement, just a humble request.
By making a small one-time donation to Living by Design and requesting a mug, you are telling us you are on our team and you support the work we are doing!
In return, we will add you to a special “Support Team” e-mail list, and share quarterly ministry updates and prayer requests with you.
Because we are a registered 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Ministry, everything you give above and beyond the value of the mug is tax-deductible and will help cover the costs of our next free online Bible study.
Well, there you have it! Isn’t it awesome how we can participate in Kingdom work from the comfort of our own homes?
Take right now, for instance. It’s 6:25 am in the morning. My family is sleeping. I’m in my red fuzzy robe, drinking coffee from my favorite new coffee mug (any guesses which one???) and sharing my heart with you. What a gift!
I hope this challenge to give, pray, and grow with us has inspired you to take action and join our support team.
Because there’s nothing better than giving, praying, and growing together!
