Have you ever had an idea that challenged you?
More than a decade ago, our team at WatersEdge felt called to set a God-sized goal: to distribute $25 million annually to ministry by the year 2025. A snappy name — “25×25” — gave us a clear objective, but it didn’t remove the trepidation we felt.
At the time, the most the Foundation had ever distributed in a calendar year was $12 million. The vision we’d set for ourselves seemed impossible, but we felt that God was behind it.
In 2023, we distributed $35.2 million, a record-breaking number for our ministry. It’s the fifth year that we’ve met or exceeded the $25 million distribution goal, and the first time we’ve met that goal three years straight. God has been faithful to us through bad markets, rising interest rates and inflation. He guided us to a place we could never have anticipated.
It’s because of His grace, and your giving, that we continue to be able to accomplish our mission: financially empowering donors and ministries to transform lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our commitment to Oklahoma Baptist life shines through in this distribution, as $13.7 million of the funds we distributed went directly towards four Oklahoma Baptist entities: Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children, Baptist Village Communities and Oklahoma Baptists. Through your giving, lives are being changed with a Christ-centered education, children are being given a home, seniors are receiving quality care and the Gospel is being preached throughout the state. And this number doesn’t even include the millions of dollars distributed throughout the year in support of the local church, another testament to the faithfulness of the individuals and families who give with WatersEdge.
I hope, as we embark upon another year of ministry together, that God gives you a few challenging ideas, too. It’s often in those moments, stepping off the ledge into an unknown future, that you can see God work most clearly.
We’ve certainly experienced that here at WatersEdge, and we’re honored to share the goodness of the Lord with the churches and ministries we support. I’m privileged to serve an organization with a heart for equipping ministers to grow the Kingdom, and it’s a pleasure to see the incredible generosity that our donors have. It is because of their faithful giving that God has allowed us to meet this goal.
Thank you for partnering with us.
