What is the Heavenly Economy?
The world’s economy thrives on scarcity: the more I have, the less you do. If I take your phone, I gain at your expense. But in God’s economy, the opposite is true. The more I give, the richer I become, not because I’m left with less, but because God entrusts me with more as I steward His gifts.
In the heavenly economy, blessing multiplies as it is shared. When we freely pass on what the Lord has given, we are not diminished. Instead, both giver and receiver are made richer. This is why Jesus could say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
Principles of the Heavenly Economy
The heavenly economy is woven through the Scriptures. Unlike the world’s way of grasping and keeping, God calls us to a way of giving and multiplying.
- Freely Give What You Have Received (Matthew 10:8)
Jesus’ command to His disciples was simple: “Freely you have received; freely give.” In God’s economy, nothing we hold is truly ours. The grace, gifts, and resources we’ve been entrusted with are meant to flow outward, blessing others as freely as we were blessed. - God Multiplies What We Offer (John 6:1-14)
When a boy gave his small lunch to Jesus, it became food for thousands. In the same way, when we surrender our limited resources to God, He multiplies them far beyond what we could imagine. In the heavenly economy, the little we release becomes abundance in His hands. - Giving Invites Overflow (Luke 6:38)
Jesus promised that those who give will receive back in overflowing measure, “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be put into your lap.” In God’s economy, generosity doesn’t lead to lack but to an increase that cannot be contained. - Sowing Generously Reaps Abundantly (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Paul reminds us that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. The heavenly economy is built on this principle of sowing: investing in others, trusting God to provide sufficiency in all things so that we can abound in every good work. - Give with Joy and Simplicity (Romans 12:8)
In Paul’s call to the Body of Christ, those who are gifted to give should do so “with generosity.” The heavenly economy is not just about the act of giving but the spirit behind it, cheerful, eager, and free from reluctance or compulsion.
Together these principles show us that the heavenly economy is not a system of scarcity but of abundance. What we release in obedience to God is never lost, it is multiplied, overflowing, and transformed into fruitfulness for His Kingdom.
How This Shapes Gospel Ambition
This principle is not just a belief, it’s a way of working. For us, the heavenly economy drives how we design, build, and release everything we do.
- We experiment in our own contexts, test what works, and then give it away so others can benefit.
- We build open: instead of keeping resources hidden on our shelves or servers or locked behind paywalls, we make them open-source, free, and accessible.
- We remove barriers, financial, technical, cultural, and linguistic, so that every part of the Body of Christ has access to tools and training that fit their needs.
An example of this is with translation. A major barrier to fulfilling the Great Commission is the shortage of discipleship tools and resources in many languages. That’s why we place a strong emphasis on translatability. To truly reach all nations, every disciple maker should have access to tools and training in their language. While we may not be able to translate the material ourselves, we prioritize it by pooling resources from other organizations to make translation possible. For example, Zúme Training is available in 50+ languages.
This way of operating often feels counterintuitive. It’s not the normal business practice. Sometimes it slows us down, because it takes more effort to build something in a way others can adopt. But we have seen the fruit. The Lord has consistently blessed us with opportunities and growth that come in unexpected ways when we choose to freely give.
We’ve also seen ripple effects we never planned. Reports sometimes come back years later from people we’ve never met. One group in Kenya started 400 house churches using Zúme Training, fruit far downstream from our original work. These testimonies remind us that God multiplies what we release into His Kingdom.
How It Shows Up in Our Projects and Team
The heavenly economy is embedded into the very DNA of our projects:
- Zúme Training and Kingdom Training are completely free, available to anyone who wants to grow in disciple-making.
- Disciple.Tools is open-source; anyone can host it, customize it, and own it fully for their ministry.
- Prayer.Tools and Prayer.Global are designed so anyone can launch prayer campaigns or join global movements of prayer simply and without barriers.
Even the way we work as a team reflects this value. We consciously “go overboard” in giving away what we have learned, experienced, and built. When there is a need, we create resources that help the whole Body of Christ move toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Closing
The heavenly economy is not about loss, but abundance. The more we give, the more God entrusts us. By living this way, obeying, sharing, and stewarding, we become a people who embody the generosity of the Gospel itself. And as a team, we are committed to modeling this value in everything we create and release.