我为什么要给：16岁的杰克和17岁的安德莉亚·罗伊斯顿

If you chat with Jack ’16 and Andrea ’17 Roylston for even a short while, you’ll notice that they exude gratitude. Originally from Greenville, SC, Jack and Andrea became friends in high school, dated at 威尼斯人平台, and married in 2016. With a shared call to ministry, the Roylstons moved to Nairobi, Kenya in 2019 to work with Serge. Even while giving their time, energy, and resources to others, Jack and Andrea’s hearts and minds are focused on how God has provided for them throughout their lives.

Jack and Andrea were members of Mitchell Road Presbyterian in high school and served with the youth group. 他们就是在这里听说威尼斯人平台的。 When Jack came to Lookout Mountain, he was a new believer, having been called by Jesus halfway through high school. Covenant built a strong foundation for his and Andrea’s faith, and the lessons they learned in college have carried them through their missionary work. “Covenant has completely shaped the way I think and see the world,” Jack says, while Andrea’s experience transformed how she views worship. She hadn’t thought of her academics as a way to worship God before college, but at Covenant, she experienced the full integration of worship and academic work.

For Jack especially (as a new believer), being exposed to theology in an academic setting at Covenant was new and exciting. Jack and Andrea tell stories of many Covenant professors who poured into them, not only as students but also as alumni and fellow believers. 教授们敞开家门，投资杰克和安德里亚。 Some of their closest friends are from Covenant, and they treasure many heartwarming memories made here on the mountain.

While in Kenya, Jack trained Kenyan pastors and church leaders in Chronological Bible Storying and taught at New City Fellowship Church. Andrea coached youth and adult soccer with Ambassadors Football Kenya. Currently, the couple lives in Charlotte, NC. Andrea is still on staff with Serge, helping missionaries with language learning and teaching 英语 as a second language, and Jack is attending Reformed Theological Seminary.

他们对神信实的感恩，激发了罗伊斯顿一家奉献的生活方式。 Even through their current season of support raising and paying for seminary, the two give their time, money, and resources in an overflow of thankfulness for what God has given to them. “When you’ve been impacted by generosity, it breeds more generosity,” Jack says. 在他们结婚的早期，两人祈祷并讨论快乐的奉献。 “If we are the next generation of ministers and leaders, that doesn’t start at a certain age or income bracket,” Andrea says. Though they do not give from abundance, they give from hearts abundant with the joy of Christ.

Living on missionary support has made the couple acutely aware that their money is not their own. “Our money is never our own,” they say, but being supported by family and friends further showed the Roylstons that everything they have is a gift from God. 他们也敏锐地意识到，上帝可以用慷慨的小举动来做多少事情。 We may never see the effects of our giving, but the Roylstons know that God can do amazing things with what we perceive as a small gift.

杰克和安德里亚认为向圣约会捐款是支持教会的延伸。 They want to make it easier for more students to come to Covenant by bridging the financial gap, and they firmly believe in the ways that Covenant is impacting people’s lives. They see the work being done at the college as kingdom work, and by giving, they are part of the mission of 威尼斯人平台.

杰克和安德里亚说，威尼斯人平台动机会影响威尼斯人平台行动。 Some people may hesitate to give because they don’t feel that their heart is in the right place, but the Roylstons encourage believers to just start giving while intentionally asking God for discernment and a cheerful heart of gratitude.

It is clear that the Roylston’s lives are an outpouring of gratitude for the gifts God has given in their work, their marriage, and their faith. Above all, their gratitude comes from recognition of the ultimate gift, Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross.