Gatekeepers

Video Transcript:
Redefining Stewardship: A Wealth Advisor’s Faith-Driven Journey

My name is Kevin Thomas. I'm a Wealth Advisor with Ignite Wealth Planning and we help clients build and protect their wealth for the future and build a financial plan and navigate through key, pivotal, life decisions.

The stewardship group, to me personally, has, has honestly meant the world, um it's it's completely changed  my heart when it comes to stewardship, and and what that actually means. Going into the group, you know, when people talk about generosity and stewardship people think of it as a money thing but it's it's so much more. It's it's really a heart change and it's not just with money, it's every aspect of my life has been changed by that, and just through the group and collaboration I've been able to take that, and also help, help with my clients and, and discussing different money matters and stewardship and help my clients navigate through it, and I think  having that conviction on a personal level has helped me to guide, and encourage, and speak truth over my clients and um just helping them in their relationship with money and thinking beyond just dollars and cents but but really discussing what's on their heart. What God is doing in their heart, with their money, and what he ultimately wants them and um how he wants to steward their assets through them.

So there's been a few different ideas and topics that we discussed as some main themes in our stewardship group and um the top two things are number one, our identity in Christ, and then number two, a responsive stewardship and just to kind of hit on our identity, um that's that's the foundation to everything. I think so much of when it comes to money and and how we view money, um it's so easy to put your worth in in the dollars and cents, whether it be how much money you have in your bank account, how much money you make, but um but really our identity isn't in any of those things and whether you are a spend thrift and you spend money unwisely, or whether you are hoarding money in your bank account and are trying to protect it, and keep it um both those things are are essentially idolatry and I think um really anchoring our identity in Christ, and and who we are in Christ, that's what changes everything, that changes how we do money, um how we how we steward those assets, and that's just been a complete mind shift change for me, first and foremost, and then like I said that's that's helped change my heart over time with with how I viewed my relationship with money is number one looking at my identity in Christ, and um then that flows through how how I handle my assets and then how I can also counsel clients, and then number two um again I, I've always looked at money and giving as more of like a tie than more of checking the box some a religious aspect but um just after going through the group and wrestling with these different topics with with the other group members and other advisers it's, it's really from a responsive standpoint and responsive stewardship, it's not just checking a box, or giving 10% it's so much more than than that it's it's really looking at what does God want me to do with what I have ,and then what does God want others to do with with their assets that they've been blessed with and um just really having a heart posture for what he's calling us to do and and how we're being responsive and listening to the Holy Spirit and how he guides us, um in our giving and and how he those assets to bless other people.

I would absolutely encourage other financial advisers to, to build community, and and to have community, in a group setting like the stewardship group that that I'm in. I think as believers in Christ we're called to community and to walk through these these different struggles and different things that we're going through together and I think having other um brothers to lean on and to wrestle through things and to talk with things um it's just been so encouraging to me personally and I would absolutely encourage other advisers um who are trying to to really be responsive and um to help their clients not just again plan for the future, so to speak, but but to really look at what's important to them and what money means to them and ultimately what what God wants us to do with our our money and our assets that he's blessed us with. So, I would absolutely encourage any other advisor to to join a group, to be a part of a group because again it's it's what the Bible says and it wants us to be you know, God wants us to be in community with one another and encourage each other and I think it's something that I definitely would not be able to do alone.

I just want to thank the South Carolina Christian Foundation for um hosting these groups, and just equipping us with resources, and um more importantly discipleship, and so much more than than just the money and cents and dollars, it it truly is discipling hearts, and I'm just so thankful to have the opportunity to partner with them and to have them in my life to to walk through hard times and not just things when it comes to money but also just just life and circumstances and just a discipleship that that's had on my family has just been so impactful and I'm just so thankful.