By Daniel Peter Wickham, Evangelical Focus.
The story of Sir John Laing, a British engineer who had a great impact on business and missionary work.
At a time when business success is measured by profit and expansion, the life of Sir John Laing offers a radically different model.
He was a leader who put his company at the service of God, channelling hundreds of millions into discreet donations, boosting global evangelical work, and leaving a legacy of integrity, generosity, and Christian vision.
Providing resources
If there is one thing that all Christian entities lack, it is sufficient resources to carry out the mission and vision they have received from the Lord adequately.
This is a sensitive issue, as there are many prejudices, especially in predominantly Catholic societies, regarding the resources churches possess and how they are used (or misused). These prejudices, whether right or wrong, prevent many people who wish to support God’s work from giving donations.
Catholic culture has reduced giving to churches to mere almsgiving, and that affects the Protestant world as well.
The gospel urges us to see our financial resources as something that belongs to the King of Kings, not to us, and that we are mere stewards. Many books and articles have already been written about tithing, so there is no need for me to insist on it as it is a well-known topic.
We are all stewards of God’s grace and must broaden our perspective beyond our borders, imitating not only those who have come before us in the faith in our midst, but also believers in countries where the gospel was established much earlier and whose influence has left a powerful legacy.
I would like to mention one person as an example among the many we already know. This is an unjustly unknown faithful steward (at least in the context where I live, Spain) who, as I will explain later, was not only a provider of abundant resources, but also a giant of the faith in many ways.
Sir John W. Laing was born in the north of England (Carlisle) and lived from 1879 to 1978.
An extraordinary Christian entrepreneur in the Free Brethren movement, he developed a small family building business into an internationally renowned civil engineering and construction firm from modest beginnings.