Kristen Welch Raising Grateful Kids Mercy House Global Rhinestone Jesus Finish Line Podcast
Finish Line Podcast Episode 175

Kristen Welch, Founder of Mercy House Global, on Intimacy with God Amidst Fruitful Ministry

A life filled with meaningful ministry and generosity can keep your days focused on good work while quietly crowding out the relationship with God that gave the work meaning in the first place.

How do you keep saying yes to what God has entrusted to you without letting service, responsibility, or productivity replace simply being with Him?


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Meet your guide

Kristen Welch, founder and CEO of Mercy House Global and author of books including Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, has spent more than fifteen years serving vulnerable women and families through job creation, orphan prevention, and discipleship. A 2010 Compassion International trip to Kenya redirected her writing platform toward ministry and eventually led to maternity homes in Kenya, Local Hope in Houston, and other initiatives serving vulnerable families.

But sustained ministry also exposed a quieter danger. After years of responding to urgent needs, Kristen realized she had become skilled at doing things for God while drifting from intimacy with Him. A necessary sabbatical helped her confront an identity tied to productivity and rediscover what it means to receive her identity as God’s child before accomplishing anything for Him. She now approaches leadership, fundraising, parenting, and generosity from a deeper commitment to prayer, presence, and dependence.

By the end, you may reconsider whether faithfulness is measured only by what you accomplish and feel greater freedom to let intimacy with God shape the work He has given you.

What you’ll gain

  • How to recognize when serving God is replacing being with God
  • Why meaningful ministry can still lead to spiritual drift
  • How to separate your identity from productivity and usefulness
  • Why slowing down can become an act of faithful stewardship
  • How parents can model generosity and intimacy with God
  • What small acts of obedience can become over a lifetime

Inspired? Take your next step

Try the Game of Life Simulator

Step into a four-minute interactive experience and see what unfolds as you decide how to manage your resources.

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Inspired? Learn how to partner with ministries well.

A compelling ministry story can inspire you to respond. But wise partnership often begins with better questions.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Focus

What is the ministry really seeking to restore?

Learn to look beyond visible needs toward people, context, relationships, and flourishing.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Fruitfulness

How do you recognize meaningful impact?

Consider how ministries learn, evaluate their work, and pursue lasting change.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Faithfulness

What does genuine ministry partnership look like?

Explore how to foster trust, alignment, and shared mission in your giving.

In our Intervention Series on the Applied Generosity Podcast, we’ll help you become a more thoughtful, discerning, and faithful partner.

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Quotes to Remember

  • “Just do the next right thing.”
  • “We were always looking for ways to use what we had for the gospel of hospitality.”
  • “The opportunity to use the writing skill and the blog platform for God’s glory really became a sweet spot for me and it changed my life.”
  • “I will spend the rest of my life answering the question, ‘what am I doing to help the vulnerable in our communities and in our world?’”
  • “God used the poor to help me find Him in a new way.”
  • “God doesn’t need us to do any of this, He invites us to do it.”
  • “Being with God is the best use of our time.”
  • “It is not a waste of time to spend time with God.”
  • “When we live as generous people, our kids will too.”

Links from the Show

Bible References from the Show

Revelation 3:20 | Christ’s Invitation to Intimacy

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Hebrews 2:1 | Drifting from Jesus

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 | Gratitude amid Hardship

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Philippians 4:11–13 | Contentment in All Circumstances

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

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Use Our
Free Guide

Have you considered the ways you are uniquely called into generosity? We’re not all called into the same adventure.
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Enter your information below and we’ll send you our free PDF guide to explore the specific adventure you were called into.
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