“Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” Episode 47: Creating a Pipeline for Purpose with Your Family and Finances
For nearly 15 years, Blue Trust has had the privilege of walking alongside Lora and Mark Batterson in their financial stewardship journey. The couple founded and leads National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and Mark is a speaker and New York Times bestselling author. Together, they have built their lives around four core family values: gratitude, humility, generosity, and courage.
In this episode of “Wisdom for Wealth. For Life,” Blue Trust senior partner and senior private wealth advisor David Campaigne talked with the Battersons to explore how these values shape their approach to money, giving, and legacy. Their conversation offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to align their financial decisions with their faith.
Building a Foundation of Values
The Battersons didn’t start their marriage with a clearly defined set of family values. Instead, these principles emerged organically during a year of discipleship when their oldest son turned 12. This process led them to think deeply about what “success” really means for their family.
“If you don’t define success for yourself, you’ll probably adopt a cultural definition, and I’m not sure that’s what you want to do,” Mark said. “I think success is when those who know you best respect you most, and that would be my wife and kids.”
Lora emphasized that their four core values remain aspirational rather than achieved. “Instead of choosing them, they surfaced,” she reflected. “It was more like mining what we were seeing in our family, or what we felt like was important to us.”
This honest assessment reflects the Battersons’ understanding that stewardship is a journey, not a destination—and the journey requires continuous growth along the way.
Early Steps in Generosity
The Battersons’ commitment to generosity began well before National Community Church was financially self-supporting. Eight months into the church’s existence, they felt prompted that the church should give its first missions check: a $50 donation when the church’s monthly giving was only $2,000.
“We stood on a promise: ‘Give and it will be given unto you,” Mark said. “Plus, good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over—will be poured into your lap.” The next month, their giving tripled.
Mark clarified his perspective on this increase. “I just don’t think you can out-give God. And I would also say the purpose of giving is not to get something back. It’s the pure joy found on the giving side of life.”
Twenty-nine years later, National Community Church has given approximately $30 million to causes furthering God’s kingdom. But it all started with that first $50 check and a decision the couple made early in their marriage that tithing was not optional.
Legacy Giving
The couple has developed a structured yet flexible approach to their personal giving. “We have a giving line item in our budget,” Lora explains. “But we actually have two sub-categories. One is tithe, which is just a flat amount. And then we have a second one called legacy giving. We feel like it’s our legacy to be generous, because our parents were very generous.”
This legacy giving category includes both tax-deductible charitable contributions and non-deductible acts of generosity, from making lunches for friends experiencing homelessness to responding when the Lord shows them someone with a need.
Generosity as a Family Value
Generosity is a family affair for the Battersons. During their children’s younger years, they would anonymously drop off gifts at neighbors’ homes during Christmas, turning the experience into an exciting family adventure.
“We would drop it at their door and run—kind of a ding-dong-ditch thing,” Lora said. “That was just one little way that we tried to make giving fun for the kids.”
The generosity extends far beyond Christmas gifts. “It’s just to love and care for anybody and everybody we encounter,” Mark said. “It really comes down to the image of God in me greets the image of God in you, and it comes from genuine care and compassion.”
Finding Purpose Through Prison Fellowship
Lora’s recent involvement with Prison Fellowship Ministries illustrates how the Battersons continue to discover new avenues for generosity and service. Her position on the organization’s board grew out of National Community Church’s desire to engage more intentionally with incarcerated individuals.
“It’s life changing to have the privilege to go behind bars and encounter people that know Jesus in such a powerful way,” Lora said. “Pretty much every time they go into a new prison, they discover there is a thriving faith there.”
Mark described a recent prison visit in Houston. “I was choking back tears the entire time as the guys at our table shared their story,” he said. “I’ve rarely encountered a more genuine, authentic worship than that moment.”
Courage Through Health Challenges
The Battersons have remained faithful givers even through their own challenges. Lora has faced two battles with breast cancer, and Mark survived a ruptured intestine that required months of recovery.
Lora approached her cancer diagnosis with curious faith. She remembered reading a poem about illness that asked, “What have you come to teach me?” That question became her guiding principle.
“It became an opportunity,” Lora reflects. “I learned so, so much through it. I could even say I’m grateful for it.”
These experiences taught the couple to “take a lot less for granted” and become more intentional about practices like keeping gratitude journals and prioritizing laughter in their relationship.
A Pipeline, Not a Reservoir
Lora’s parents served as a model for giving for the Battersons. To them, “money was a pipeline,” Lora said. “It didn’t stop. It always flowed through them to others. We wanted to make sure money didn’t stop with us.”
This pipeline approach recognizes that financial resources come from God and should flow through believers to bless others. It requires viewing oneself as a steward rather than an owner, a fundamental shift that opens up possibilities for greater generosity and reduced financial anxiety.
The Battersons’ story demonstrates that financial stewardship is ultimately about much more than money management. It’s about aligning every aspect of life—time, talents, and treasures—with God’s purposes. Their example reminds us that intentionally choosing gratitude, humility, generosity, and courage allows us to write a story that honors God and blesses others for generations to come.
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