Transforming the Lives of the Poor with Kelly Miller

This faith and finance podcast is underwritten in part by Cross International. Among the poorest of the poor in countries like Malawi, Uganda and Zambia, the needs are enormous and children are among the most vulnerable. But when you partner with Cross International, you can make an eternal impact one child at a time. Find local in-country ministries to help kids and communities thrive. Share the love of Jesus with an impoverished child today at CrossInternational.org slash faith, or call 866-843-9500 I'm Rob West.

Do you have a bountiful eye, meaning you look for opportunities to bless others, especially the poor? Kelly Miller joins us today to talk about a way you can help the poor around the world, but not just help to also transform their lives. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, it's a pleasure to welcome Kelly Miller to the program for the first time. He's president and CEO of Cross International, a brand new underwriter of this program. And Kelly, it is great to have you with us. Hey, Rob, it's great to be with you and all the listeners of faith and finance. It's a joy and a pleasure for us to partner with you. Well, thank you. We're honored as well.

Cross International is an amazing operation that is truly transforming the lives of thousands of poor individuals and families around the world. And we're going to talk about that here in just a moment with Kelly. But first, Kelly, tell us about the challenges that you're seeing around the globe. Sure. Well, thanks.

I mean, there are many, as you can imagine. We serve in over a dozen low-income countries around the globe. But we really focus on highlighting the critical needs like access to enough food, safe water, and other resources to help lift impoverished communities. And just as a way of looking at one snapshot of just food in general and a lack of access to food. Today, here we are in 2025. Every day, over 800 million people still go hungry.

Amazing to hear that. You know, over 50% of child deaths are linked to hunger issues. And then they have little clean waters and safe water. Over 700 million people every day lack access to safe and clean water. So, you know, there's still a lot of work to do out there in terms of meeting both the physical and the spiritual needs for folks around the globe. It's hard to wrap your head around those numbers, but the need is, of course, massive. Kelly, give us a sense of the global scope of Cross International for those who are not familiar with the ministry.

Sure. Well, again, thank you for that. Cross began in 2001, so we are in our 24th year. And God's called us to serve in over a dozen countries, primarily in Latin America and in the eastern and southern regions in Africa. And what a privilege it is, as we were talking before, we get up every day and say, look what we get to do. And so with that, our mission is really meeting the critical needs of impoverished children and families and communities. And we partner with local Christian ministries to do that, so that our vision hopefully can, at the end of the day, that those vulnerable children and families and communities, they're transformed through Christ's love. Yeah. Well, that transformation through Christ's love is where I want to go next.

You're, of course, a humanitarian and development organization, but it's more than just providing food and shelter, and those things are critical. You all go beyond that. Tell us more.

Yeah, so much more. Thank you for asking. We look at the world through the eyes of a child. We call it our Thriving Kids Initiative. And I could real briefly tell you the story of a young man whose American name is Kenny, lives in very rural Malawi. And Kenny grew up in an incredibly impoverished community. And across, we step in with a local partner to provide schooling for young children like Kenny, and their only meal of the day. Can you believe that?

They really don't get it, but we provide that nutritious meal of the day. And Kenny is now a late teenager, and he's been with us for the last number of years in our work there. And through that intervention, that daily meal, that daily fellowship time for these kids, the tutoring, the growth in their ability to learn, Kenny's now moved to university in a larger town in Malawi. And his hope is that he'll be able to come back to his village area, start a small business, and help others around them. That's just a brief snapshot of how Cross intervenes in the lives of children and families and communities to help them for the long run. It's incredible.

We're about out of time. How can our listeners be a part of this? Well, I'll tell you, in immense ways. For every $62, just $62 provides a child with life-saving resources like food and that safe water, and especially that knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ.

In places like Malawi and Zambia and Uganda and all the countries where we work, it's $62 a child. Excellent. Folks, we want you to consider being a thriving kids ambassador as a giving partner.

It's easy to do. Crossinternational.org slash faith. That's Crossinternational.org slash faith.

Every gift of $62 provides a child with life-saving resources. Kelly, thanks for stopping by. You bet, Rob.

Thanks so much. I'm Rob West, and you're listening to Faith and Finance. We'll be right back after this break. We'll be right back after this break.

Our children are still waiting. Make an eternal impact on a child now with a $62 gift at Crossinternational.org slash faith. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance.

I'm Rob West. We're going to be taking your calls and questions here in just a moment, so if you'd like to get in on the conversation, you can call right now, 800-525-7000. Again, that number 800-525-7000.

We'll be tackling whatever is on your mind and your financial life today, helping you process through the lens of biblical wisdom and see if we can help you move forward with some confidence. Again, that number 800-525-7000. You can call right now.

Let's start in New Mexico today. Hi, Teresa. Go ahead. Hi. Thank you, Rob, for taking my call.

Yes, ma'am. Yeah, so as I was telling the people who took my call, I just found myself in a financial...like a rock-bottom financial position, basically, and my problem isn't necessarily with the credit cards. I do have one credit card I hold a balance on. It's about $4500, but I have... This year alone, I financed three fairly large items, and I feel like that I have a problem that goes deeper just than spending money, because I think it's just a deeper situation, and I'm actually currently in a recovery group, like a Celebrate Recovery group through my church. But what I did... One of the purchases I made was a used RV, and I financed $17,000 at 10.99 interest rates for 15 years. I tried to work with the company, like, the very next day, but, you know, when you sign on the dotted line, like, I didn't read all of the interest compounded daily, all of that stuff on there. And so how it will come about, I think, if I waited for 15 years to pay this off, it's going to triple the price, or maybe even more than that, because I think I saw the bottom line as being, like, $60,000. And so I'm looking to see how I can, with the resources I have left, maybe get that paid off, or I don't know what to do. Well, Teresa, I appreciate your call very much, and I appreciate your transparency just about kind of the underlying issues here.

We'll talk about the RV here in a moment. But I think what you hit on is really key. You know, financial issues are symptomatic of ultimately spiritual issues, and, you know, they tend to be much deeper. The finances, the way you work out kind of what you value and what's going on beneath the surface, often the money is just the symptom of that.

It's the most tangible demonstration of what we're dealing with emotionally and spiritually and otherwise, relationally. And that's really where the root issue is, and we need to tap into that and help you move forward and really overcome the addiction if that's what it is. And, you know, I think that can mean professional help, whether that's a counselor or a therapist who specializes in financial behaviors that help you address emotional roots of overspending. It could be alongside that a financial coach, and I'd be happy to help with that if we offer one of our certified Christian financial counselors to come alongside you for a few sessions and help with providing some guidance and some encouragement, a plan.

And we'd be happy to cover the cost of that. I think, you know, getting help from your church is also great, and I'm delighted to hear you're in a program there. Beyond that, I think it's really important once you recognize the issue and identify the triggers, you know, what tends to cause you to overspend, whether that's boredom or stress or whatever it might be. And then the emotional patterns, because often they're linked to emotions when you kind of make these decisions to spend beyond your means, you know, that's really essential. But then on the heels of that, as you're addressing that, having a really clear budget is critical, because you need to track your spending, see where your money's going, you need to have spending limits. I would say the envelope method, perhaps even a physical envelope with cash in it, where, you know, you avoid overspending because when the money's gone, it's gone. And then, you know, helping yourself to avoid temptation. So unsubscribing from promotional emails or, you know, cutting up the credit cards, staying away from shopping environments, getting some accountability, whether that's through our coach initially, but longer term, maybe a trusted friend or a support group. So I think these are key ideas that you need to really lean into and then certainly make this a matter of prayer.

I think above everything, you need to invite God into your financial life. In terms of the RV, what about just selling it? I mean, it sounds like something that you truly can't afford, at least at this point. Maybe you can in the future. But have you considered just putting it up for sale? Yes, I am considering, I have considered doing that and I really feel like the Holy Spirit has been prompting me. And part of the whole situation has just been, I've been walking with the Lord a good bit, but it's sheer disobedience.

Yeah. Well, I think that's perhaps where you need to head. Let's start with your visit with one of our financial coaches. Stay on the line. We're going to pay for one of our certified Christian financial counselors to come alongside you, help you put a budget together and let you move forward from there. Hang on the line. Let's go to Florida and welcome Rebecca. Go ahead.

Hi, yes. I moved out by faith. God would call me, even though I have no money to my name. So I'm kind of starting from scratch and I have debt that is just weighing heavy on me that I've been debating whether or not to do bankruptcy. But then I have zero money to my name and my car is literally on its last limb and I'm like, well, I don't think I'd be able to get a loan and I don't want to get in more debt, but it's just so frustrating. So, I mean, is that a wise decision to do or should I just keep trying to plug on and praying that God will provide in this is what he told me to do?

Yeah. Well, I certainly appreciate that question. I know you want to honor the Lord with what you have. I would try to avoid bankruptcy at all costs if you can, even though you won't find the word bankruptcy in the Bible. You will find that we need to have, as Christ followers, an absolute commitment to repay. But if through a variety of circumstances or something unforeseen that just created a financial challenge for you, you found yourself in a position where you can't pay and you're forced into bankruptcy.

I don't think that's the focal point. The focal point should be we ultimately want to try to pay it back when you're able to do that. Now, if you could keep it out of bankruptcy, you'll skip the real significant impact to your credit score, not to mention the additional costs that will go into that.

So I'd love for you to do that if you can. Give me just a quick rundown of the debts that you have. I got rid of my credit card debt, all credit cards, not debt, credit cards last year. I cut them up.

I did Trinity base, which is the faith based holiday and bring it down to 10 to 12%, which was better than 29%. I was never paying it off. But I still have it. And now that I'm living on my own, I'm just like trying to pay bills month by month. And I'm like, how am I going to ever, you know, pour more money into paying it off and put savings aside? I can't even put money aside to save for $1,000.

Like, it's just, I'm really struggling. And I'm like, well, what do I do, God? I want to honor you. I'm still paying tithes. That's the first thing I do.

I want to be able to save for my future because I'm 30. You know, it's just a lot of, you know, oh my gosh. Yeah.

Yeah, I get it. Well, here's what I'd love to do for you, Rebecca. If you'd be willing to do it, I'd love to connect one of our Certified Christian Financial Counselors with you. We're going to pay for this for you if you'll use it and give you a couple of sessions with a Certified Christian Financial Counselor to help you work through your budget, evaluate your debts, get you on a plan, hopefully help you think creatively about maybe some things you've been missing on where you might be able to cut back and see if we can get you pointed in the right direction to get on track.

And ahead of things without bankruptcy. Does that sound good? I love that. Absolutely. All right.

That's great. So listen, you stay on the line. We'll get your information. We'll get somebody in touch with you and there won't be a penny of cost to you. Just as long as you promise to call me and tell me the rest of the story after the fact. We'll be right back.

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Soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. You can call right now. Let's head back to the phones.

Pennsylvania is where we're headed next. Carolyn, how can I help you? Hi. I am interested in knowing the advantages and disadvantages of creating a trust with money that we have after the passing of a loved one as opposed to just investing the money in mutual funds. Hmm. Yeah.

Well, first of all, I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your loved one. And you know, when it comes to a trust, that's really just the legal structure that will house the money. And you can have investments inside that trust. So you could put it into mutual funds or stocks or any kind of investment that you choose. And then at that point, you would decide whether those mutual funds or stocks sit in just a taxable brokerage account, or whether you want to place them inside of a trust.

Now, why would you do that? Well, it could ensure perhaps the long term purposes that you have earmarked for the funds, offering control and flexibility beyond your life. So one of the primary reasons folks will use what's called a revocable trust, meaning you can change it at any time, you're not, you know, giving away that asset permanently because of the revocable nature of it is that those funds pass outside of probate. So they're not going to go through the probate court, they're not going to be a part of the public record could be distributed privately, and there can be structured distribution.

So depending on how you want this money to be distributed over time, that trust would ensure based on the trust documents and the the role of the trustee, the person or the institution that would be named to manage the trust would distribute those assets, according to the specific rules about how they would be distributed. And that can go well beyond your life or your life and your husband. There can be some tax advantages, that type of thing. But that would be the primary reason that you would do it. So for instance, if you had charitable intentions, and you wanted to honor this loved one's memory through charitable giving, you know, either through a regular revocable trust or a charitable trust, it could be there to be distributed. You know, either through a regular revocable trust or a charitable trust.

It could be there to then distribute to causes or organizations meaningful to your loved one, again, even well beyond your life. So that would be the primary reason that you would want to do it. Does that make sense, though? Yeah, I think so.

Yeah. So I think the question, well, let me ask, what are your intentions? How you said you want to invest in and how do you ultimately see using these funds?

And do you have specific thoughts about the use of these funds just given kind of where they originated? At this point, we don't really I guess that's something we just need to keep praying about. Yeah, I think so. And perhaps this becomes a part of your bigger estate plan. A lot of folks with a fairly simple estate in terms of that wealth transfer decision, determining who will be the next steward is that steward chosen and prepared. And when I say prepared, I mean, you know, we want to make sure that whoever's receiving it, if it's, let's say, an heir, you know, has, you know, the their wisdom with regard to handling it outpace this wealth that we're now going to drop in their lap.

What about spiritual and financial maturity? Do you want it to go to ministries? I mean, really charitable causes and heirs are the only two places it can go, other than the US government. And that's not a factor for most folks, until you get above an estate of $13 million. So do you want to just handle that with a will where it all be distributed according to your wishes at death? Or with the trust? Do you want any portion of your estate, including these insurance proceeds, to be able to be distributed over time, based on certain triggering events, things like that? That would be why you would want to put a trust in place, or just because you want to avoid probate. You know, there is some costs there would probably run you several thousand dollars to put it in place.

But it can be a very effective tool if that's ultimately what you're looking for. Okay. All right. Carolyn, thank you for your call. All the best to you. Let us know if we can help further. God bless you. Nashville, Tennessee. Jerry, go ahead.

Yes. I had a question about my rental property. I wanted to know, so I'm 60 and my wife is 63.

She hadn't worked in several years. She is collecting retirement. On my rental property, I collect about $1,800.

Now it's worth about $400,000. And I owe about $60,000 on my current home that I live in. So I was wondering, would it be good to sell the rental and be debt-free, pay off a car or owe about $26,000 and pay off the house? Or should I go ahead and continue to rent the property until I'm 65?

Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, it sounds like a phenomenal investment. I mean, if you were to take that, pay it off, pay off the debt and you were to invest that $340,000 that remained, you'd probably, you know, we would typically think about you being able to pull a withdrawal rate of about 4% a year on that, where when invested properly, you could maintain the $340,000 balance. The challenge is, you know, that's only $13,600 a year. And right now, you know, you're pulling in quite a bit more than that, about $22,000 a year on the $400,000 investment. So unless you just have a real conviction, Jerry, to be out of debt as soon as possible, and if you do, I'd say, do whatever you have to do to pay it off. But apart from that, if you're comfortable just continuing to pay off this $60,000 mortgage on your primary residence out of existing current cash flow, and just maybe setting a goal to have it paid off by the time you enter retirement, assuming you're not there yet. Then, you know, having this home that's throwing off, you know, good rental income, as long as it's not a burden on you to kind of maintain it and keep up with it.

I think it's a great way to diversify your investments among, you know, multiple asset classes, including real estate, which, you know, heeds the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 11.2 around diversification, and gives you a nice rental, you know, income stream, perhaps more than you might reasonably expect if that same money was invested in the stock market. Do you follow all that, though? Yes, I do.

I do. So right now, it's a fairly new home, so I don't foresee any cost to maintain it, and so I think I will just continue to rent it. Yeah, I think that makes sense.

Again, unless there was any kind of unnecessary burden you were experiencing, or you were just saying, listen, I just don't have the energy to kind of keep up with this, make sure it stays rented, deal with the maintenance issues if somebody moves out, or you just really felt like the Lord was leading you to be debt-free ASAP, apart from that, this sounds like a great option for you, and you can always sell it down the road. Okay, well, I appreciate your advice. All right, absolutely, sir. Lord bless you. Thanks for being on the program today. We appreciate it.

Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today. I'm so thankful for your encouragement. You guys are the best, and we love hearing your stories, being invited into those stories, being able to journey with you and help you find God's heart for the resources He's entrusted to you. We also appreciate, as always, your kind remarks about the program today. We certainly couldn't do this without our amazing team that helps us make this happen today, our call screeners, as well as our producer, Devin Patrick, and our researcher today, Taylor Stanrich, plus everybody here at Faithfi. May the Lord bless you. Thanks for being with us today. Faith in Finance is provided by ThinkFi and listeners like you.