Georgia Baptist Foundation launches initiative allowing church members to tithe with trees
The Georgia Baptist Foundation has launched an initiative to help church members donate timber to support the work of local churches.
“The concept of selling the land that has been in your family for decades may be unsettling, but there are many other ways to steward the land resources that God has blessed you with by supporting your church,” said Johnathan Gray, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer. “Many Christians would make gifts of timber if they had an organization to help them do so — especially in Georgia with its 24 million acres of timberland, 92% of which is owned by private landowners.”
That, Gray said, is why the foundation created Christian Timber Reserve.
“When your heart is moved to support the ministry work of your church, you can use the resources God has given you in timber to do so,” he said.
Gray said people with timber tracts can tithe through timber with income generated from a cutting or
thinning, from pine straw sales, hunting leases, or by donating all or a portion of property to be managed by
Christian Timber Reserve.
“By doing this, you can support your church for years to come in the name
of your family,” Gray said. “Gifts of timber not only can be held in perpetuity to support ministry work, but they can also generate income for your retirement and other needs throughout your life.”
The good news, Gray said, is that you can make an impact without extensive acreage — depending on the density and quality of the timber, gifts as small as 50 acres are sufficient to begin, or as large as 1000 or more acres.
“Whether you own a smaller or larger track of timberland, Christian Timber Reserve can empower you to make a difference for God’s kingdom with what He has entrusted to you,” he said. “When you work with the Christian Timber Reserve, you can trust that we will manage God’s creation utilizing the best forest management practices in the industry, just as we have stewarded more than $500 million in assets for Baptist institutions, churches, organizations, and families throughout the state for nearly 40 years.”