Go Green for Good

An excerpt from...

Go Green for Good

Love Jesus AND the Planet!
By Rachel Elwood, Support Staff
October-December 2013

There are lots of reasons to “go green.” Here’s a new spin: let’s make eco-friendly choices in order to have more financial resources to give to missions.

Without question, many green practices will save money. But what do we do with the money we’ve saved? What if we used our energy savings and frugal measures as a way to have more money to give back to the Lord?

Here are a few things you can do to have more money to give to missions—and you’ll be doing your part to help the planet as well.

First, two practically no-brainer ideas:

• Set a goal of a week to refrain from spending money on nonessentials. Drive less. Use up items in your pantry and freezer instead of running to the store. Use your things longer before you replace them. Resist advertising that tells you your life will be fulfilled if you just buy this one thing for $39.99. (Trust me, it won’t.)
• Switch out your incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent. These bulbs come in a range of light shades besides office-glare bright. Because they use about 75 percent less energy, last up to 10 times longer, and emit less heat, one bulb will save you up to $80 over the life of the bulb.

These next items take a little more time and effort, but are very worthwhile:

• Change your car habits. Get your car tuned up. Make sure the tires are fully inflated. Combine errands around town and carpool to events and work. 
• Get your kids involved. Train them to turn off the water when they brush their teeth, turn off lights when they leave a room, and play outside instead of watching TV.
• Do an energy audit of your home. Think creatively about changes you can do to make your house more energy efficient. Get your furnace and air-conditioning checked out. 

Then, pick a missionary or a project to donate your saved “green” to! That $80 from changing your light bulbs will buy eight Bibles in Kenya, give school supplies to 11 kids in Uganda, or send six teens to youth camp in Peru.

MORE: Need more ideas? Check out www.wgm.org/catalog orwww.wgm.org/missionaries.