Mustard Seed Society

The Mustard Seed Society, an initiative of the Christian School Foundation (Canada) Inc., is a listing of those who have indicated that they arranged a planned gift in support of one (or more) of the Christian School Foundation’s member schools.

Why is this called the Mustard Seed Society?

We chose this name because we believe that just as God multiplied the blessing of the loaves and fish (Luke 9), and just as God takes the tiniest evidence of faith in Him (Matthew 17) and turns it into a transformational force, so God can take whatever gifts we offer in support of Christian education and turn them into something of great impact! We may bring a gift as tiny as a mustard seed, but when God adds His blessing, it can have a positive influence out of all proportion to its original size.

Why create a Mustard Seed Society listing?

There are three key reasons.

First, if you are a Christian school supporter, you have probably had this kind of experience. You contact your friends and say, “You know we love and support our local Christian school. That’s why my husband and I are going to their upcoming fundraiser. Won’t you come and join us?” Just as you use your example of support to encourage others to do likewise, we believe others will be inspired to arrange for a planned gift – often an Estate Gift – if they see that you have done this already. People in communities urge each other on to do good things. Your name on this list will act as an encouragement to others to put a planned gift in place. It will also show others that all kinds of people, with all kinds of capacity, are making planned gifts. It isn’t the size of the gift that matters, because God will collect all these gifts – big and small – and multiply their effect.

Second, this listing will allow those connected with your local Christian school to see how we are advancing toward our goal of having fifty planned gifts in place for each of our member Christian schools. Why have we set this goal for each school? Read on to understand our motivation.

Third, we believe it influences a Christian school’s leadership in a very positive way when they approach the future not with a fear of scarcity, but with a confidence in God’s provision. This Mustard Seed Society listing will be a tangible place that school leaders can go to be reassured that God is going on ahead of them, and that through His people, God is making provision for these schools that honour His name.

Where is the actual listing?

As we gather information and identify the existence of planned gifts, we are compiling the information under each member school’s name. Click here to see a sample of what the listing will look like. When we launch our first tentative listing in September of 2018, you will find the listing here.

What if we have a gift arranged, but we want to remain anonymous?

We envision that The Mustard Seed Society listing will include a number of anonymous gifts under many of the schools’ names. We are grateful for every single planned gift, whether it is given anonymously or if it has a donor name attached! We do hope that many donors will find it only natural to allow their name to appear on this list, because doing so is really just a public acknowledgement that they love and support the vision of their local Christian school. This is not done in an individually prideful way, but simply as one way that supporters can stand up and be counted as part of a community that believes in the power of Christian education. We also see this as a more effective encouragement to friends and acquaintances as they consider making such a gift.