A Greater Future

Texas couple chooses to invest in church growth over their children’s college fund

Leslie White recalls the moment she and her husband Jason chose to cash in their children’s college funds to invest in their church’s expansion efforts. “Sometimes you just have to stop and listen to the Holy Spirit and ask, ‘God, what do you want to talk about? What do you want me to hear?’” she said.

Jason and Leslie White / Video screenshot

Starting out

Jason White was at Stanford playing football when Leslie, a freshman, caught his attention. He made a point to meet her, and it wasn’t long before the two started dating.

Leslie had grown up in church, but it was through relationships she made at Stanford that her faith solidified. “We were with all of these Stanford PhDs and professors who were able to help close the gap on some of my areas of doubt—such as, how do you integrate science with what is in the Bible?” she said.

After graduation the couple were married and shifted their focus to careers and financial stability. They found a California church that hosted a Crown Financial Ministry class—a huge plus for Leslie, who was a self-proclaimed math nerd and loved talking about numbers.

“Reading the Bible through the lens of an economist was fascinating,” said Leslie.

When the couple had their first child, they quickly realized they wanted to be closer to extended family. After working at Google for seven years, Jason moved his growing family back to their home state of Texas. He had racked up a decent amount of company stock by that point, and earmarked it for two purposes—a down payment, and college funds for their kids.

Finding their village

After settling into their new home, the couple’s next priority was finding a solid church. They prayed for God’s guidance, and it wasn’t long before He answered.

“We got a flier on the door,” Leslie said. “They were meeting in a hotel and it felt like an underground secret church.”

Jason laughed as he recalled those early years.

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Leslie remembered the sermon from the first Sunday they attended—it was part of a stewardship series called “Seekonomics.” They felt at home instantly, and soon joined.

By 2010, the church — One Community Church in Plano — had grown from one service to three with an additional service on Sunday evenings. One thing was obvious—they were outgrowing their space and needed expansion plans.

They had to clarify their mission. “It really caused us to ask ourselves “What are we doing?’” Leslie said. “It’s not just a building. We are making space for lives to change.”

“They asked us to come with a number of what you could contribute over the next few years,” Jason said. “Needless to say, the number that I had written down was significantly lower than the number Leslie had in mind.”

For Leslie, it was more than a financial commitment, it was a physical way of connecting to God, knowing He has a plan and path for her children beyond what she and Jason could provide.

“I am not sure when the college fund came up, but there was a strong impression on my heart: this needs to be used now,” said Leslie. “We could trust in Google stock, trust in our bank account, and trust the provision we had for our kids, or let go of control and turn it over to the Lord.”

The Whites took the radical step to drain their children’s college fund, and put that money toward the church expansion instead.

“Now I’m dependent on the one who knows and loves my babies more than I could even imagine,” said Leslie. “He knows exactly where they need to be and what they need to get there.”

All in

The church now has over 10,000 members across five different campuses.

But that’s not the only growth the White’s have seen.

“We’re seeing growth in our own marriage,” said Jason. “We’re seeing our kids get poured into, and we see all the things happening to the people around us. People [who] went through some pretty tough times and they’re on the other side now.”

“When you plant the seed, you don’t know who will reap the benefit,” said Leslie.

When asked if they ever wonder what the Google stock would be worth now, the Whites laugh, saying the payoff for investing in people was worth every penny.

This story is based on an interview Jason and Leslie White did as part of the 2023 Generous Giving Conference.

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