Welcome to NGS!

Igniting Faith-Fueled Practical Stewardship for Your Financial Future

Welcome to NGS (NextGenSteward)! I’m Chris Cagle.

What about the name, you may ask? Well. . .

NextGen = the next generation of Christians (Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Gen Whatever);

Steward = one who oversees and cares for the material goods entrusted to them by another (in this case, us, for God—see 1 Peter 4:10 and 1 Corinthians 4:1).

This site is designed primarily for college students, young adults, and young married couples who have recently entered the workforce and are just beginning the journey of Christian financial stewardship.

Through a series of articles on this site (quite a few), I hope to share decades of life experience and wisdom—including some of my own financial missteps—for your benefit.

I based this on a weekend seminar I had the privilege of presenting to the young adult professionals in my church in 2024.

Click the “start here” button below to see the list of published articles (new ones are being added regularly) and start reading sequentially:

I want to build a community of learners/stewards and educate and inspire the next generation of young Christian adults to become wise and faithful stewards of God's material resources.

I can help you because I've studied these topics for many years, have a lot of experience (since I'm pretty old), and have made my share of mistakes.

I've also counseled and coached others on stewardship and personal finance, written a retirement stewardship blog, and published several books on the subject (check them out if you're interested; of the three, Reimagine Retirement would be my recommendation to most of you).

I am not a self-proclaimed (or anyone else's, as far as I know) guru or financial/retirement "expert.” I don’t have formal training in personal finance or hold any licenses or certifications in this area. I'm just an average, financially conservative guy who writes about personal finance from a Christian stewardship perspective because I want to help others.

If you have a specific question you’d like to ask or a topic you’d like me to cover (if I haven’t already), you can:

My basic views on personal finance are that I value simplicity over complexity and pragmatism over sophistication. I try to take a balanced approach to controversial topics, and I believe money is a gift from God and a means to an end, not an end in itself.

But my core message to you is simple yet powerful: Everything you have belongs to God, and your early financial decisions matter greatly. Approaching this subject with wisdom, humility, and discipline can alter your financial trajectory.