So, what is the Jabez Initiative Charitable Company?
The Jabez Initiative is a Charitable Company set up under the umbrella of TPBC and the NZ Baptist Union.
The Directors are Amy Cumming (Team Leader), Cam Martin, Airdrie Grylls, and Leyton Dowman.
This Company is empowered to run this project. It has donee status, meaning that any donations toward this can be claimed against for a tax rebate.
After much research & advice from experts, we have formed a charitable company named The Jabez Initiative.
This is the Charitable Company that Evergreen House will be built under.
Our long term plan is not to sell any or all of the units. That is not actually an option in the legal and organizational set up we have.
We want to reduce debt as fast as possible and then leverage to be able to do this again on another building site in Te Puke.
We see Evergreen House as the first of many such projects.
Where does our Company name come from?
‘The prayer of Jabez’ is a simple one: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,
'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain. '
So God granted him what he requested." 1 Chronicles 4:10
Jabez was a man who called on God, unashamedly asking for his blessing, then leaving God to determine how this blessing would come about, desiring only what God wanted for him. He prayed “God, bless me and enlarge my territory,” take all that I have and use it for your glory. ‘Let me do more for you, everything you have put under my care, Lord – take it and enlarge it.’
We need God’s hand on us – he invites us as his sons and daughters to exercise our faith, dream big, and attempt things that are beyond our capacity, but allow us to trust that God will step in.
It would be unwise to pray for an enlargement of territory (in the words of Jabez) without asking for God’s blessing and hand upon us. He desires us to remain dependent on him and not our own circumstances!
Initiative is a powerful word!
It is the ability to judge what needs to be done and take action.
It involves a new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem.
Our Prayer is that God would Bless The Jabez Initiative Charitable Company and enlarge our territory
for His glory, beginning with Evergreen House.
We ask daily that his hand would be upon us, inclining our hearts & minds towards him.
Our belief is that we are “Blessed to be a Blessing” and as such,
We strive to give our time, expertise & resources for the glory of God.