How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing in 7 Simple Steps (Even If You’re New to Finance)


Most Christians who hear the phrase “biblically responsible investing” immediately think of stock portfolios, mutual funds, and retirement accounts. They picture themselves hiring a financial advisor, analyzing ESG scores, and carefully screening companies for abortion involvement or LGBTQ activism. While those steps matter, they overlook the most immediate and controllable opportunity to align your finances with your faith: how your business spends money right now.

The easiest way to start biblically responsible investing is to redirect existing business expenses—especially payment processing—to pro-life, Christ-honoring partners such as Pro-Life Payments so that obedience begins with money already being spent. Before you ever buy a “Christian fund,” you can start by switching to a pro-life, faith-aligned processor, thereby turning every sale into an investment in the pro-life movement.

Biblically Responsible Investing

Step 1: Understand What Biblically Responsible Investing Really Means

Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) is an investment strategy that aligns financial decisions with biblical principles and values. At its core, BRI operates on the foundational truth found in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This means that how we handle money—every dollar we earn, spend, invest, or donate—must reflect our commitment to honor Christ.

Traditional BRI focuses on three key approaches: avoiding harm by screening out companies involved in abortion, pornography, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco; affirming good by investing in companies that promote justice, ethical labor practices, and human dignity; and advocating for change through shareholder engagement to encourage corporate responsibility.

Yet most discussions about BRI start with investment portfolios—money you’ve already set aside for the future. This creates a high barrier to entry for business owners who feel they lack the expertise or resources to begin. The truth is simpler: biblical stewardship begins with the money flowing through your business today, not just the surplus you hope to invest tomorrow.

Proverbs 3:9 instructs believers to “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” This principle applies directly to operational expenses. When your business processes customer payments, pays vendors, or handles payroll, you are actively stewarding resources God has entrusted to you. Every transaction either honors Him or subtly funds agendas that oppose His values.

Must See Also: From Wall Street to the Womb: Practical Pro-Life Investing Opportunities for Everyday Believers

Biblically Responsible Investing

Step 2: Audit Your Current Business Expenses for Values Alignment

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 teaches that God expects His people to be faithful stewards who actively multiply what has been entrusted to them. The servants who doubled their master’s money were commended not for playing it safe, but for making strategic decisions that produced Kingdom results. Similarly, Christian business owners must examine whether their current spending partners are multiplying Kingdom impact or funding opposition to biblical values.

Start by listing your recurring monthly business expenses: payment processing fees, banking services, software subscriptions, vendor contracts, insurance premiums, and office supplies. Among these, payment processing represents the single most immediate and impactful opportunity to practice biblically responsible investing. Why? Because processing fees are non-negotiable, transaction-based, and flow to companies with documented track records of funding causes that directly oppose Christian convictions.

According to research on payment industry values, major processors like PayPal (owner of Venmo), Block (owner of Square and CashApp), and Stripe openly support abortion access, LGBTQ advocacy, and progressive political causes through corporate donations, employee benefits, and lobbying efforts. PayPal is a signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which supports ensuring that “50 million more adolescent girls and women…can access safe and legal abortion by 2026.” Block explicitly covers “voluntary abortion services” in its corporate benefits package. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo—the financial institutions behind Zelle—all offer abortion travel benefits to U.S. workers.

When a Christian business owner processes $10,000 in monthly transactions through one of these platforms at a standard 2.9% fee, they’re sending $290 per month—$3,480 per year—to companies that turn around and donate portions of that revenue to Planned Parenthood, ACLU, and organizations lobbying for expanded abortion access. Over ten years, that’s $34,800 in fees funneled to the culture of death, simply because the business owner never audited this “neutral” expense.

Must See Also: Tithing to Planned Parenthood with Every Swipe: How Your Payment Processor Funds Abortion

Step 3: Calculate Your Hidden Contribution to Causes You Oppose

Understanding the mechanics of merchant fees reveals just how significant your unintentional contribution to anti-Christian causes might be. Every time a customer swipes, dips, or taps a card at your business, a processing fee is deducted—typically between 2% and 4% of the transaction amount, plus a small flat fee (often $0.10 to $0.30). For e-commerce transactions, these fees can be even higher.

These fees don’t disappear into a neutral financial void. They become revenue for payment processors, which they use to fund corporate priorities. As documented extensively, mainstream processors openly allocate portions of this revenue to:

  • Direct corporate donations to Planned Parenthood and abortion rights advocacy groups

  • Matching gift programs that funnel employee donations to pro-abortion organizations

  • Political lobbying for abortion expansion and LGBTQ legislation

  • Corporate benefits that pay for employees’ abortion procedures and travel

  • “Social impact” grants to progressive NGOs and activist campaigns

Consider a mid-sized Christian bookstore processing $500,000 in annual sales. At a 2.9% processing rate, they pay $14,500 in annual fees. If that processor donates even 1% of its revenue to abortion-supporting causes (a conservative estimate given public disclosures), this bookstore has indirectly contributed $145 per year to the abortion industry—without ever intending to do so.

For a growing church processing $2 million in annual tithes and donations at 2.5%, the processing fees total $50,000. Even a fraction of that—redirected by the processor to anti-Christian activism—represents thousands of dollars that could have been stewarded for Kingdom purposes instead.

The cognitive dissonance is staggering: churches preach against abortion on Sunday while their Monday-through-Saturday payment systems quietly fund the very organizations expanding abortion access. Christian business owners who would never donate a dollar to Planned Parenthood are unknowingly subsidizing its operations through the “neutral” act of processing customer payments.

Must See Also: Non-Christian Values of Major Payment Industry Providers

Step 4: Switch to a Pro-Life Payment Processor—How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing Today

The good news is that Christian business owners are not trapped. Faith-aligned payment processors now exist specifically to ensure that transaction fees fund life, not death. Pro-Life Payments represents the most direct and immediate way to start biblically responsible investing because it transforms a mandatory business expense into a Kingdom investment engine.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Pro-Life Payments is a Christian merchant services company that donates 15% of its gross revenue—not profit, but total revenue—to pro-life organizations that protect the unborn and support women in crisis pregnancies. This commitment is grounded in biblical stewardship principles, specifically Exodus 23:19: “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.”

By switching to Pro-Life Payments, Christian businesses convert every customer transaction into a micro-donation to the pro-life movement. A coffee shop processing $10,000 in monthly sales doesn’t just avoid funding abortion—it actively generates approximately $1,500 per year in pro-life funding through Pro-Life Payments’ 15% revenue-sharing model (calculated as 15% of the processing fees collected). Over a decade, that single business decision results in $15,000 directed to pregnancy resource centers, adoption services, and life-affirming ministries.

Pro-Life Payments offers comprehensive merchant services that compete directly with mainstream processors:

  • In-person terminals and mobile card readers for brick-and-mortar retail and service businesses

  • E-commerce integrations for online stores and subscription services

  • Virtual terminals for phone and mail orders

  • Recurring billing for membership and subscription-based models

  • Donation management software (Pro-Life Prosper) for churches and nonprofits

  • Next-day or same-day funding to ensure cash flow continuity

  • Month-to-month contracts with no early termination fees

  • Competitive pricing designed to match or beat mainstream processor rates

  • Free equipment options to eliminate upfront costs

The switch itself is straightforward. Pro-Life Payments provides personal onboarding support to migrate businesses from their current processor, handle equipment setup, and integrate with existing e-commerce platforms. For churches and nonprofits, Pro-Life Prosper offers a dedicated donation platform with customizable campaigns, real-time analytics, and donor-paid fee options that ensure 100% of gifts reach the ministry.

Must See Also: A Viable Faith-Based Alternative to Stripe

Step 5: Use the Baby Saving Calculator to See Your Kingdom Impact—A Practical Tool for How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing

One of the most powerful aspects of switching to Pro-Life Payments is the ability to quantify your Kingdom impact. The company provides a Baby Saving Calculator that shows business owners exactly how many lives their payment processing volume helps save each year.

The calculator works by analyzing your annual processing volume and calculating the portion that Pro-Life Payments donates to pro-life organizations. These organizations—pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies—use the funding to provide ultrasounds, counseling, material assistance, and medical care to women in crisis pregnancies. Research consistently shows that when women receive this kind of holistic support, they are significantly more likely to choose life for their babies.

For example, a construction company processing $1 million in annual sales generates approximately $29,000 in processing fees (at 2.9%). Pro-Life Payments donates 15% of its gross revenue from those fees to pro-life ministries. While the exact calculation depends on Pro-Life Payments’ revenue structure, the company provides transparency through the calculator, showing business owners the tangible life-saving impact of their decision.

This is where biblical stewardship meets Kingdom multiplication. The Parable of the Talents teaches that faithful stewards don’t bury what they’ve been given—they put it to work to multiply the master’s assets. When you switch to Pro-Life Payments, you’re not just avoiding harm; you’re actively multiplying Kingdom impact with money you were already spending.

Proverbs 13:11 says, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” This principle applies perfectly to operational BRI. Each transaction, though small, compounds over time into substantial Kingdom investment. A local service business might only process a few hundred dollars per day, but over years, those “little by little” transactions become tens of thousands of dollars redirected from abortion-funding processors to life-saving ministries.

Must See Also: Discover the Baby Saving Calculator for Christian Businesses

Step 6: Expand Your BRI Strategy to Other Business Expenses Beyond Payment Processing

Once you’ve aligned your payment processing with your faith, you’ve established a framework for auditing other business expenses through a BRI lens. This is where the concept of “how to start biblically responsible investing” expands from operational expenses to comprehensive financial stewardship.

Banking relationships represent another significant opportunity. Just as payment processors have values, so do banks. Research which financial institutions support abortion travel benefits, fund LGBTQ activism, or implement ESG policies that discriminate against Christian businesses. Consider moving your business checking, savings, and credit lines to community banks or credit unions that don’t engage in social activism contrary to biblical values.

Vendor and supplier contracts also matter. When selecting vendors for office supplies, software subscriptions, insurance, and professional services, ask whether those companies publicly support causes opposed to your Christian convictions. While you may not always find perfect alignment, the act of asking signals to vendors that Christian business owners care about values, not just price.

Investment portfolios are where traditional BRI focuses. If your business has accumulated retained earnings or you’re planning for retirement, work with a Christian financial advisor who specializes in BRI. They can help you select mutual funds, ETFs, and individual stocks that screen out companies involved in abortion, pornography, gambling, and anti-Christian activism while investing in businesses that create genuine value and uphold human dignity.

Organizations like Inspire InvestingTimothy Plan, and the Biblically Responsible Investing Institute provide screening tools and investment products specifically designed for Christian investors. These resources allow you to apply Ephesians 5:11—”Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them”—to your entire financial life.

Charitable giving should be integrated into your BRI strategy. Pro-Life Payments’ model demonstrates that businesses can structure giving directly into operations rather than treating it as an afterthought. Consider whether your business could adopt a “first fruits” giving policy, automatically donating a percentage of gross revenue to Kingdom-advancing ministries before any other expenses are paid.

Must See Also: How Christian Business Owners Can Make a Difference in the New Year

Step 7: Join a Faith-Driven Business Community and Help Others Learn How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing

Biblical stewardship is not meant to be practiced in isolation. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” When Christian business owners make the decision to align their payment processing and other expenses with Kingdom values, they become part of a growing movement of believers who refuse to separate faith from finance.

Pro-Life Payments positions itself as “the for-profit arm of the pro-life movement,” inviting Christian merchants to see their businesses as tools for Kingdom impact rather than mere profit centers. This reframes business ownership as a calling, not just a career. Every decision—from which payment processor you use to which vendors you hire to how you price your products—becomes an opportunity to advance Christ’s Kingdom and protect the vulnerable.

As more Christian businesses switch to faith-aligned processors, the cumulative impact grows exponentially. A single coffee shop switching to Pro-Life Payments might help save one baby per year through the funding it generates. But when 100 businesses switch, that’s potentially 100 babies saved. When 1,000 businesses switch, entire pregnancy resource centers can be funded, staffed, and equipped to serve hundreds of women in crisis.

This is the “body of Christ” principle applied to commerce. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 teaches that believers are members of one another, each with different gifts and callings, but all working together for God’s purposes. When business owners use their unique position to redirect financial flows toward life-affirming causes, they’re exercising their spiritual gift of stewardship in service to the whole body.

Beyond payment processing, faith-driven business communities offer:

  • Mentorship and accountability from other Christian entrepreneurs who share your values

  • Networking opportunities to find values-aligned vendors, suppliers, and service providers

  • Educational resources on topics like biblical business ethics, Christian leadership, and Kingdom-focused growth strategies

  • Collective advocacy to push back against corporate cancel culture and deplatforming of Christian businesses

  • Encouragement and prayer during the challenges that come with running a business

Organizations like Convene, Christian business networking groups, and church-based entrepreneur fellowships provide spaces where business owners can discuss these issues openly, share best practices, and hold each other accountable to Kingdom standards.

Must See Also: Speak Up for What You Believe In and Align Your Business Practices with Your Morals and Values

Protect Your Business from Cancel Culture—Another Key Reason for How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing

One often-overlooked benefit of switching to faith-aligned service providers is protection from ideological deplatforming. Stories of Christian ministries and conservative businesses losing payment processing overnight are no longer rare. Stripe cancelled the American Family Association, a Christian nonprofit, because the organization opposed “pernicious practices of deplatforming and/or debanking Christian and conservative customers.” PayPal and Stripe both cancelled Gab.com after the platform refused to censor speech. Stripe stopped processing for the Trump campaign following January 6, 2021.

These cancellations weren’t due to fraud, chargebacks, or financial risk. They were ideological decisions—punishment for beliefs and speech that contradicted the processors’ progressive values. For Christian businesses, this creates existential risk. If your ministry preaches biblical sexuality and a mainstream processor decides your views constitute “hate speech,” they can freeze your funds, close your account, and cut off your ability to accept donations or process sales—often with little notice and no recourse.

Pro-Life Payments openly rejects ideological deplatforming and commits to serving customers who uphold biblical, pro-life values. This commitment provides operational security. When you know your payment processor shares your convictions rather than viewing them as liability, you can speak biblical truth boldly without fear that tomorrow’s cultural controversy will become tomorrow’s financial shutdown.

This is defensive BRI—investing in partners who won’t betray you when the culture demands it. Just as Proverbs 27:23 instructs business owners to “know well the condition of your flocks,” Christian entrepreneurs must carefully evaluate whether their financial infrastructure is held by allies or adversaries.

Must See Also: Ensuring Security and Trust with Conservative Payment Processing

Conclusion: How to Start Biblically Responsible Investing Right Now

The journey of biblically responsible investing doesn’t begin with complex portfolio analysis or high-priced financial advisors. It starts with a simple, actionable decision: audit the business expenses you’re paying right now and redirect them toward partners who share your Kingdom values.

Payment processing is the single most immediate opportunity because it’s non-negotiable, transaction-based, and flows to companies with documented histories of funding abortion and anti-Christian causes. By switching to Pro-Life Payments, Christian business owners transform this “neutral” expense into an automatic, continuous stream of pro-life funding—turning every sale into an investment in the protection of the unborn.

This is how to start biblically responsible investing: not someday, not when you have surplus capital, but today with the money already flowing through your business. Stewardship, as Jesus taught in Matthew 25:14-30, means taking what has been entrusted to you and putting it to work for the master’s purposes. Faithful stewards don’t bury their resources or wait for perfect conditions—they act with what they have, where they are, right now.

The call is clear: examine your tools, repent where needed, and intentionally choose partners that turn every transaction into a testimony that Jesus is Lord over life, over money, and over the systems that move it. Your conscience, your calling, and your cash flow can finally align.

Visit Pro-Life Payments today to begin your switch and use the Baby Saving Calculator to see how many lives your business can help save simply by changing where you process payments. Obedience begins with money already being spent.

Must See Also: The Top 5 Reasons Christians Should Switch to Pro-Life Payments