Freed Up Financial Living

Willow Creek Association -

This biblical money management course refreshes and expands on their time-tested Good $ense Budget Course (used in more than 5,000 churches). The updated version features revised participant materials, new videos, and all of the teaching on DVD conducted by seasoned financial ministry leaders Dick Towner, John Tofilon, and Shannon Plate.

Strengths:

The biggest and most notable improvement in the Freed Up series is the DVD, which contains all of the teaching and updated supporting drama videos in a simple plug-and-play format that allows the content to be experienced without the need for an up-front teacher. The original Good $ense course, by comparison, required churches to recruit a facilitator to guide participants through the lessons.

Another unique feature of the Freed Up course that sets it apart from similar biblical stewardship courses is the recurring theme of Foolish versus Faithful use of money. Specifically, participants are continually challenged to see how "the pull of the culture" is at odds with "the mind and heart of God" when it comes to how we use and think about money.

The Freed Up course contains an excellent "pre-work" section that participants are asked to complete before they come to the "live" event. The pre-work is designed to help participants maximize the impact of the course by guiding them through important (and often overlooked) considerations such as:

  • Financial goals they want to achieve in the coming year
  • A detailed list of what they owe with balances
  • A summary version of what they own (net worth)
  • All of the individuals that they buy gifts for in a year with estimated dollar amounts
  • Monthly spending averages by category
  • A "Money Motivation Quiz" and "Money Autobiography" to understand spending behaviors


The 154-page Participant's Workbook is a practical guide designed to be used with the six-session teaching DVD. The curriculum walks participants through the biblical essentials on earning, giving, saving, spending and reducing debt.

The Freed-Up Financial Living “Leader's Kit” contains the teaching DVD curriculum, a Quick-Start Guide, promotional materials, as well as resources to develop leaders and volunteers to help you build your stewardship ministry.

Freed Up does a nice job of engaging people with several interactive elements such as video teaching, group discussion, individual exercises, and more. But in the end, the aim is clear: to help people put together a God-honoring spending plan.

Things to be Aware of:

The “Pre-Work” section is a great idea with excellent material, but may be intimidating for the casual user to work through all seven sections before they show up for a seminar.

Available at:  GoodSenseMinistry