The Finish Line Podcast Renée Rinehart, CoFounder of Gospel Patrons, on Risky Generosity and Trusting God’s Provision (Ep. 171)
Renée Rinehart, co-founder of Gospel Patrons, understands the grace and surrender that generosity requires from both sides of the equation. Raised in a family shaped by missions, hospitality, and entrepreneurial generosity, Renée learned early on that generous, open-handed obedience often requires risk. As she and her husband, John, built careers in business, God invited them to ask deeper questions about purpose, wealth, and their role in the Kingdom.
That questioning led to a season of radical trust, including a 132-day journey across 22 countries where they relied on God daily for their bed and bread provision. Through uncertainty, sickness, and unexpected grace, they exercised their faith, and came to know God as their provider on a deeper and more extreme level than they ever thought possible. Along the way, Renée and John were introduced to many inspiring stories of how God has used patrons with the gift of giving throughout history for the advancement of the Gospel, and those stories became John’s first book, Gospel Patrons.
The Rineharts have now carried the message of Gospel Patrons around the world, inspiring stewards of wealth to know the vitality of their role in the Kingdom, and to experience the beauty and joy of Kingdom impact from patron-proclaimer partnerships.
If you are seeking a faith-shaped vision of generosity marked by surrender, partnership, and trust, this episode is for you.
Major topics include:
- A journey of extreme faith
- The necessary partnership of gospel patrons and proclaimers
- Trusting God to meet your needs so you can be radically generous
- Experiencing both the giving and receiving sides of a patronage partnership
- Generosity is more about relationship than result
- Inspiring patrons all over the world through story
- Empowering women to step into role as gospel patrons
- Stewarding your story of risk and generosity
- “My grandparents as missionaries didn’t think of themselves as poor, but they just thought of God as being abundant and they lived from that place of faith and abundance.”
- “It felt like God was giving back my dream, but so much bigger than I had ever imagined it.”
- “What can we do to discover what God’s doing around the world and how people are in relationship with Him all over?”
- “In country after country, place after place, God opened doors and introduced us to people, and we saw how people worshiped Him throughout 22 different countries.”
- “I think we so often want to see God move and we want to see miracles, but we don’t want to be in a place of need and discomfort. But those are the two halves of the coin, you have to be in the place where you need a miracle before you’re ready to see one.”
- “I came home with a totally different sense that I am loved by the God of the universe. Seeing that He could take me into my worst fears and bring good out of it and I would be okay, I was ready to surrender everything knowing that He’s good, He’s with us, and everything else was just details.”
- “God always raises up both people with a vision to see the Gospel advance and people who are going to partner deeply financially and in friendship. And it’s when the Body of Christ comes together with different giftings, both patrons and proclaimers, that the Gospel advances.”
- “We were so captivated by this idea that business people were a vital part of the Body of Christ.”
- “We’re making friends for eternity by sort of wildly spreading wealth around and allowing God to plant His seeds of love and goodness all over the place.”
- “There’s risk on both sides, and faith and humility needed on both sides of the equation.”
- “God is raising up a tidal wave of generosity to fuel the Great Commission, and there is so much momentum happening.”
- “When we’re really looking for God’s hand, He gives us the ability to tell our stories differently.”
- Gospel Patrons by John Rinehart
- Gospel Patrons (see our interview with founder John Rinehart)
- IllumiNations Bible Translation Alliance (see our interview with Todd Peterson or John Chesnut)
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
2 Corinthians 5:7 | Walk by Faith
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebookand LinkedIn.