The Jesus Savings Plan
CBN.com “If we felt like doing something we couldn’t afford, we’d just charge it. ‘Yeah, yeah, just put it on the credit card.’ Or we’d think we only got $50 left in the checking account. So, let’s go do this and put it on the credit card. Charge $5,000 on the credit card… that’s only going to cost you about $100 a month. We can afford that and then we’ll deal with the circumstances later.”
Instead of living from paycheck to paycheck, Gerald and Angie Bartell of Redding, California, were caught up living from one charge card to the next. The credit card companies were more than willing to oblige.
“You know how it is,” Gerald says. “You get one card and they send you more. We buried ourselves before we realized it.”
With the cost of a family vacation, frivolous spending and then Gerald unexpectedly out of work for four months, the Bartells found themselves with over $40,000 in credit card debt.
Angie explains, “We’d get a paycheck. We’d send the bills off and couldn’t afford groceries.”
Gerald adds, “We’d have $50 left every two weeks out of our paychecks. We were sending a $1,000 a month, of that, $500 was going to interest. It made me sick.”
Angie picked up a book about debt elimination. She discovered that one key to financial freedom is giving to worthy charities. Angie took it to heart and began giving.
“I was afraid we wouldn’t have enough for ourselves if we gave to somebody else. But, we were provided for,” Gerald says. “It just turned out every time we had money to tithe, we would and there was always something extra. Like a job would come up where I would have an opportunity to make a little more money. I thought, keep giving because it’s working so far.”
As the Bartells disciplined themselves and committed to getting rid of the debt, Angie started searching for answers to her spiritual questions. She also started watching The 700 Club. It wasn’t long before Angie gave her life to Christ. Gerald followed soon after. They also became 700 Club partners and then, in a short time, increased their giving level.
“I was learning where the money was going. It made me feel, all the more, like it was so worthwhile," Angie says. "When everybody else has gone back to normal life, Operation Blessing is still there, and they’ll stay until everything’s taken care of.”
The debt was slowly disappearing. But, interest on the cards was making it difficult to pay off the principal. The Bartells needed something to get over this financial hump. Angie believed that God was leading her to give $400 to a Christian ministry. She obeyed.
It wasn’t too long before the Bartells were completely financially free.
“I did it over the computer and I hit the enter button. It was so freeing,” Angie says. “I went to the phone and called him immediately because I had to spread the news. I called my mom and told her, ‘We’re out of debt.’
“We looked back later in our records and found that our debt leveled off and started going down the same month she started tithing," Gerald says. "That was amazing to me to see that blessing took hold on us at that very moment.”
The Bartells have stepped out in faith again and raised their 700 Club giving level.
Gerald says, “How we could have gone from being non-believers to just having so much blessing poured upon us? It’s amazing. We say thank you everyday. ‘Lord, thank you for everything we have.’”
Gerald and Angie saw the rewards of applying the Law of Reciprocity -- "Give and it shall be given to you" -- by giving to CBN. Here is your chance to give to the Lord and see your dollars bring truth to hurting people, feed and clothe needy children, keep The 700 Club Prayer Counseling Center phone lines operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide medical care to those who need a tangible touch of God's love. Become a CBN partner today!
