What God Can Do With Very Little.
The testimony behind Xerish, in the founder’s own words.
In 2023, I found myself on my face before my Creator.
I had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army several months prior, after spending the final year and a half of my contract facing ostracization and persecution for my religious beliefs. My refusal to receive an experimental treatment had branded me untrustworthy in the eyes of my own community. On the same day I received that verdict, my home church refused to advocate on my behalf. I felt betrayed, abandoned, and rejected — and on top of all of that, I had received threats of dishonorable discharge, imprisonment, and a direct threat against my life from a superior officer.
By God’s grace, I endured. I clung to the Rock, Jesus Christ, as everything built on sand was washed away. I moved back to Seattle. I took a dangerous job on wind turbines and spent three months traveling the countryside, working with my hands, rebuilding from nothing. I left that job when I realized that no money was worth the prolonged separation from those whom I loved.
In March of 2023, I had an encounter with God that changed me from the inside out. All of hell couldn’t stop me from sharing the good news — and because of that eagerness, I didn’t last long at my next job either. I took that as an invitation into full-time evangelism. My days were full of Bible study, prayer, worship, and waiting. I didn’t have a plan, I only knew to obey.
My wife Kalei was pregnant with our daughter Samantha. Our savings were gone.
It was in that hour that the Lord gave me a vision. A social media network for charities and churches. A platform that enabled people like me to give, regardless of amount. Through a familiar double-tap, someone could give whatever was within their means — two pennies or ten thousand dollars. A simple application, positioned just in time to help steward the generosity of a revival.
With man this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
Three meanings, one heart.
Out of that hour came a word. Xerish — pronounced like “cherish” — is how I name the calling the Lord placed on my life. It holds three meanings.
pronounced like “cherish” — but measured by what God holds dear.
- To hold dear what God holds dear — to align your heart with what matters to the Father: the poor, the lost, the church, the nations.
- To invest where God invests — to put your resources, however small, into the work He is already doing in the world.
- To cultivate with care and affection — to tend the soil of generosity with patience, love, and faithfulness, knowing the harvest belongs to God.
“I am seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness by xerishing those whom God has placed on my heart.”
Marcus · founder of Xerish