Paying it Forward

The recipient of radical generosity as a kid, one man makes generosity a key part of his family and business

Micah Lacher didn’t grow up with money to spare. He watched his mother work hard to keep the family afloat and trust God to provide the things she couldn’t control—like a safe neighborhood and quality school district. An act of providential generosity did just that, setting Micah on a path of education and business success that he sees as a gift he must now steward wisely.

Micah and Brit Lacher at the 2025 Generous Giving Conference / Video screenshot

It’s part of the foundation Micah and his wife, Brit, have laid for their family. “One thing we have done is establish family values,” said Micah when the couple shared their story at the 2025 Celebration of Generosity in Austin, Texas, in April.

Family legacy

Brit, who grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta and is a graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up watching generosity modeled for her by her parents.

“They were very generous, not just with their finances, but also with their home,” she said. “There were always people in and out of our house, whether they were friends or missionaries who were traveling.”

As a mom now with four children of her own, Brit wrestles with the tension of being present with her family while also being intentional about serving outside the home.

“I realized that my mission field is our home, raising our kids and being there for them day in and day out,” Brit said. “So we decided that whatever I was going to be involved with needed to be something I could include our kids in so we could serve together.”

Two organizations they have become involved with are Camp Wonderfully Made, a ministry that provides after-school care and summer camp for inner-city at-risk youth in the Nashville area, and Young Lives, which supports teenage mothers.

“We want to teach our kids that being generous isn’t something that, as Christians, we can do. It is something we are required to do,” Brit said.

The couple, who now live in Brentwood, Tennessee, are constantly reminded of their shared priority of stewarding their resources for God’s glory by sharing it with others.

“It has been very impactful for our kids to talk about our family values, how they saw it represented in one of their siblings or a friend,” said Micah. “We would love to ask what you did when you had young children to instill generosity and Biblical values in their lives.”

When the ‘math ain’t mathing’

While Brit’s parents modeled financial generosity, Micah grew up on the receiving end of such gifts. “Brit and my story growing up couldn’t be more different,” said Micah. “I grew up in Memphis, and while my parents were married, my dad could never hold down a job. My mom provided for us five kids by working nights so she could be home during the day. “

But what his mom lacked in finances, she made up for in faith.

“By the time I was 10 years old, the neighborhood we lived in had become rough and dangerous. My mom began to pray that God would get us out of there before someone got hurt.”

Micah recalled an area in Memphis called Germantown that had some of the best public schools.

“But there was a huge math problem,” said Micah. “There was no way we could afford a house in that area. My mom looked in the classified section of the newspaper every weekend. She figured if they sold the house we were living in, they could afford a home with a $90,000 mortgage.”

Micah remembers being loaded into the car with his siblings and grandmother to view a home they thought might be the answer to his mother’s fervent prayers, only to realize the home was beyond repair—a total disappointment. After taking a wrong turn, they passed a house with a “For Sale by Owner” sign in front of it.

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“My grandmother wrote down the number and told my mom to call. ‘There is no way we can afford that,’ my mom responded. My grandmother slipped the piece of paper with the number into my mom’s jacket pocket,” Micah said. “About a week later, my mom, wearing the same jacket, pulled out the phone number and decided to call.”

The woman on the other end explained that she owed $90,000 on the house, but with her husband’s job loss, they had gotten behind on several bills. She said if they could pick up the payments, she would give them the house—with one request.

The homeowner’s husband had finally secured a job in Alaska, but she couldn’t afford the tickets to get there. She just wanted enough money from the house sale to make the trip.

“Only in God’s economy could it have worked out that my mom was currently working at Delta Airlines answering phones at night,” said Micah. “My mom went to her boss and explained the situation, so he gave her two free plane tickets to give to the homeowner. Only God could do that!”

Paying it forward

“That lady has no idea the effect her decision had on me and my four siblings,” Micah said. “We have all gone to college and gotten jobs. She didn’t know that what was put in her heart to do was going to change our lives forever.”

After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Micah entered the commercial real estate business. But in 2009 he felt called in a different direction and founded Anchor Investments and Mission Hotels.

Through Anchor Investments, he donates more than 50% of profits from its three Nashville hotels to organizations such as Nashville Rescue Mission, Room in the Inn, ShowerUp and People Loving Nashville.

Micah credits his successful business model to the guidance of mentors, a strong team, and the support of the Halftime Institute, a faith-based organization that helped him see his business as a ministry opportunity.

“Whether it is at work, volunteering, helping friends, raising kids,” Micah continued. “God calls us to be good stewards. I want to encourage you as you do things with your finances and time, that you may never see the impact your generosity has on the life of someone else.”

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