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<\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chet and Diana say their kids all serve the Lord and love to give. \u201cAnd they do it joyfully,\u201d Diana says. \u201cWe think that\u2019s why they have joy,\u201d Chet says. \u201cBecause they give.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Chet and Diana were both raised in families that emphasized generosity, mostly by giving their \u201cfirstfruits\u201d to God. Diana says that when her father started dating her mother, one of the first questions he asked was, \u201cAre you a tither?\u201d It was the middle of the Great Depression, so he was thankful she was. Otherwise, Diana says, she and her siblings may not be here today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Chet and Diana remember bringing their offerings to church each Sunday to put in the offering plate, they also grew up believing generosity was a private matter. \u201cI knew that my parents were generous,\u201d Chet says. \u201cBut they never told us what they gave because that would be like bragging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Possibly more impactful than their upbringing, however, is their line of work. After finishing college and serving in the military, Chet moved to Albuquerque to become a partner in his grandfather\u2019s funeral home business. While learning the ropes of the business and working on earning his license, Chet met a beautiful University of New Mexico student. \u201cDiana was the only girl I ever dated that I thought I might marry,\u201d Chet says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he was right. Chet and Diana got married. They bought a third interest in the family funeral home business. Then, three days after announcing their partnership in the local newspaper, Chet\u2019s grandfather passed away suddenly, leaving Chet, then only 26, to run the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur work has affected how we view what God has given us,\u201d Chet says. \u201cI learned early on that you aren\u2019t really ready to live until you\u2019re prepared to die. And if you\u2019re ready to die, your living is going to be much more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While raising their three sons, Chet and Diana carried on the generosity impressed upon them when they were young. They tithed regularly and looked for ways to be generous in their community. They added another member to their family \u2013 a young man who had come to play football at the University of New Mexico. But it wasn\u2019t until about 20 years ago that the journey toward a deeper understanding of giving began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Chet tells it, four events occurred in the span of a couple months that gave them a greater understanding of giving from a biblical perspective. God was trying to get their attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chet and Diana were making the three-hour drive from their home in Albuquerque to Silver City, New Mexico, to see Diana\u2019s parents. A friend had given them a sermon on a cassette tape by John Ortberg entitled, \u201cWho\u2019s the Owner?\u201d They played the tape as they embarked on their journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they arrived back in Albuquerque, they had listened to the sermon three times. Through John Ortberg\u2019s talk on biblical generosity, God was challenging Chet and Diana to reimagine the role of giving in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second event came when, shortly after their trip to Silver City, Chet and Diana were invited to an event hosted by the Albuquerque Community Foundation. The speaker, Peter Ueberroth (the former director of the 1984 Olympics and then Major League Baseball Commissioner), had come to spark philanthropy in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diana remembers him saying, \u201cIf you want to have a powerful impact on your kids, don\u2019t give them money they can spend on themselves. Give them money they have to give away. Trust me, it\u2019ll change their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diana and Chet nudged each other, asking, \u201cCan we really do that?\u201d Not only was God challenging them to redefine their own generosity, he was sparking a desire to spread the joy of generosity to others, beginning with their family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there was any doubt in Chet and Diana\u2019s mind about the message God was sending in these pivotal weeks, it vanished when they were invited to a special screening of the movie The Ultimate Gift<\/em>. Based on the book by the same title, the movie centers around an adult grandson who, instead of getting a hefty inheritance of millions of dollars when his very wealthy grandfather passes away, is given a series of tasks that teach him the gift of generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the most significant moment arrived when a friend asked Chet to help recruit local pastors to attend a Journey of Generosity<\/a> in Dallas. Having worked in the funeral home business for 30 years, Chet had a lot of pastor contacts, but he had never heard of Generous Giving, the organization that created the experience. He agreed to send letters inviting local pastors and ended up taking more than 50 pastors to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After attending the event, Chet came home, told Diana all about it, and they booked their travel for Generous Giving\u2019s next Celebration of Generosity in Portland. This is when they were introduced to the National Christian Foundation (NCF) and learned how to make their giving more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA foundation of faith and giving<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Altering the course of giving<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Spreading the gift of generosity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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