Dear Friends,
Once a year, I sit with the other directors of a foundation and make decisions about where the
money we steward should be given. Because of the nature of the foundation, there are only two ministries we consider and support: Desiring God and Bethlehem College & Seminary.
The foundation was formed to own and steward my intellectual property, and, therefore, to receive and disburse all the royalties received by the books I have written. I don’t receive any royalties personally because I do not own any of the copyrights.
The reason for forming the foundation was to keep the money moving into ministry that comes in from the book royalties. In other words, I did not want my own bank account to become the beneficiary of this income—I have always been paid a sufficient salary by the church and, since the transition, by Desiring God.
Rather, I wanted all the income to go back into the institutions that are most clearly dedicated to advancing the vision embodied in the books. For years, this was only Desiring God. But in recent years, since the founding of the college and seminary, it has been the school as well.
I am sharing this with you so that you can taste the joy of my commitment to this school. In my mind, both ministries are essential for a movement of seriously joyful Reformed Christian Hedonists. Desiring God’s ministry is anchored in the web as we seek to spread as broadly, immediately, and publicly as possible the depths of the riches of Christ. We hope to influence, inspire, and shape leaders of all ages in all places.
The ministry of Bethlehem College & Seminary is anchored in the classroom as we invest formally, personally, and deeply in a small group of students during the formative years of their lives. Our aim is to build lifelong leaders through a full, well-rounded education in serious joy. We hope to impact these students at such a depth that year after year we are turning out pastors and other life-shapers whose influence on the life of God’s people and the world is significant.
So if you love this vision of focused, long-term impact, and the sending out of strategically-trained, spiritually-shaped, and seriously-joyful Reformed Christian Hedonists, I invite you to join me personally, and the foundation corporately, in giving generously and gladly to our fiscal year-end financial need by June 30.
If you want to talk to someone at the school about how to give a substantial gift or asset, please contact Rick Segal, our Vice President for Advancement ([email protected]). His own vision for funding this enterprise is expressed in part in a recent letter he wrote.
Thank you for your partnership in spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.
John Piper
Chancellor
