GOD'S ECONOMY

Overcoming $80,000 of Debt

By Rob Hull
The 700 Club

CBN.com - Nevan Hooker has long had a passion and calling for children’s ministry.  So he was excited to land a full-time position out of college.  But on his salary, paying down $80,000 of student loans and personal debt seemed impossible.

“I would start the day praying ‘God please help me to pay off this debt,’” Nevan says. “And every day had this hopeless feeling like, ‘Am I ever going to be able to pay this off?’”

He picked up some side jobs, but they weren’t much help. Then he realized he needed to tithe a full ten percent off the top of his paycheck. But shortly after, he found out he was losing his job.

“I was praying for a miracle,” says Nevan, “Because it was that feeling like there was no other option. I was, you know, facing this insurmountable thing of losing my job and having all this debt and not knowing what to do.”

As his last day of work approached, Nevan says God gave him an idea.

“I was producing children’s ministry resources. And I thought well, I might as well put all these resources on this website and sell children’s ministry resources for church leaders,” Nevan said.  “I paid a guy $50 to put a website up for me really fast and launched it my last day on my job.”

He called his new business ChildrensMinistryDeals.com.  He was amazed at how quickly people responded.

“In the first 24 hours, I did over $17,000. And by the end of the first week, it had done over $130,000 in sales, which is just—that’s a miracle,” says Nevan. “That’s unbelievable.”

Then shortly after he called his mom, who is a CBN partner, to share the news.

“And she said, ‘You know, this is really crazy, but The 700 Club called me on your last day of work and said how can I pray for you?’’” Nevan says.  “And she said ‘Well, I’d really love to pray for my son who’s really discouraged right now and is just trying to find something to do.’ And so she said ‘We prayed for you’. The 700 Club was a part of that success. They were there from day one.”

Nevan became a CBN partner. He says he’s happy to give to a ministry that meets people’s needs around the world.

“I can’t physically go to some of these countries and help widows and orphans and help with the disaster relief and things like that, but I know I can support The 700 Club and their work in doing that. So that really is, I think, helpful for me to be able to be a part of that.”

As his business grew, Nevan increased his giving to CBN.

“This past year, I decided to more than double my monthly support to The 700 Club.  I’ve been blessed so much with the teachings I received, the prayer ministry that happens there - have been such a blessing to me.  I really wanted to up my giving.  Right after doing that, I just saw a dramatic increase in the success of our business. Our sales went through the roof.  And I’m just blown away at how faithful God has been when you decide to give and you decide to tithe.”

Nevan soon paid off his debt. Today, churches from around the world are using his resources. With his business thriving, Nevan is convinced it’s because of following Biblical principles.

“This is God showing up in a big way, and for me it was a miracle,” says Nevan. “There’s no other way to explain that success. Just to have the freedom of not being held captive by all that debt is really good.”

Being obedient to God's truth made an incredible difference for Nevan. He made himself available for God's love to flow through him to others, and he is reaping a blessing himself as well. Join him in partnering with CBN. You will make a difference in lives around the world, through medical missions, food and clothing programs, humanitarian outreaches and so much—all in the name of Jesus. Please join today.

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