The Finish Line Podcast Aaron and Miran Cho on Committing to Give More Than You Can Budget For (Ep. 37)
Aaron and Miran Cho took some of their earliest steps of faith when they first met each other. And right from the beginning, God began challenging them in the area of generosity. On the podcast, we have heard all sorts of strategies for deciding how much to give and how to give it. But Aaron and Miran have one of the most Spirit-led strategies we’ve heard so far.
Every year, Aaron and Miran set aside 2 days where they each separately spend a day in prayer. During that time, they ask God how much he would have them give away the following year. Afterwards, they come back together to discern how he might be leading them. As that process has grown over the years, they now often find themselves committing to more than they can actually budget for, yet God continues to provide for them in radical ways.
We were deeply inspired by the Cho’s personal story, as well as their wisdom on topics like impact investing, giving together as a couple, and choosing what to give to. Listen now to hear all they had to share!
QUOTES TO REMEMBER- “There’s gotta be more to life than tithing our 10% to our local church.”
- “There are many [spiritual] teachers, but not a lot of [spiritual] fathers.”
- “Every year we pray for the forthcoming year, saying, ‘God, what do you want us to give over and above our tithe?'”
- “When you’re debt free, you can just ask God, ‘What do you want me to do? Who do I give to? What do I give to?'”
- “We fund our kingdom fund before we fund anything else.”
- “We commit to a number that we feel like God is telling us to commit to for the next year, even if it doesn’t make sense for our budget.”
- “God provides the money for his bank account. All he wants from us is the yes that we’ll do it. If the money shows up, we will put it aside in another bank account. That’s all he wants from us.”
- “I would rather plan on working for the rest of my life and be extravagant givers along the way.”
- “You can’t out-give God.”
- “At the end of the year every year, we set aside two days and go to a prayer mountain separately. And then we spend all day praying and spending time with God. And during that time we ask God how much we should give away the following year for the kingdom fund.”
- “That’s how we do everything. We pray separately and then come together and see if we are in agreement.”
- “We’re always praying for God to open up doors to new ministries and to identify needs.”
- “Investing in people is the model of Jesus.”
- “God, here’s my treasure
- Impact Foundation
- Faith Driven Investor
- Ambassadors Impact Network
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan
- Doulos Partners (see our interview with CEO David Johnson)
- Neverthirst (see our interview with CEO Matt Letourneau)
- Generous Giving (see our interviews with cofounders Todd Harper and David Wills and CEO, April Chapman)
- Journey of Generosity (JOG) experience through Generous Giving
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
Matt. 6:33 | Seek First the Kingdom
33 Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:21 | Two Masters
21 You cannot serve God and money.
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