Was talking to my friend the other day who happened to see our latest church newsletter... JOYLINE. He saw the article about the year end numbers and how positive they are. In fact, it is the first year since becoming a congregation that we ended with a giving surplus as compared to budget! Usually we end in the black as we never fully expend our budget, but this year, we had more given than we budgeted for in both the general fund and the building fund and had over $13,000 in extra giving to special efforts as well! That is awesome!
But even more awesome than that is the story that those numbers tell! I've known this for years, but my friend reminded me that these numbers tell a spiritual story... they tell a story of a group of people who are spiritually connected enough to be giving sacrificially to the Lord. They tell the story of a group of people who love serving the Lord and give so that mission can be accomplished! That's a GREAT story!
I've also said for years, that if every Christ Follower would tithe (give 10%) of their income to the ministries of the church, ALL CHURCHES WOULD HAVE TO HOLD A MEETING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEY.... you know how it usually is... churches meet to decide where to cut... but that would NOT be the case if all of us gave a minimum of a tithe!
I've been tithing for years and actually Sharon and I give more than a tithe (13-14%) most years. And while we don't have the latest and greatest of everything, and we sometimes need to wrestle with how to spend our resources... we don't lack a thing! You see, I believe that we are most like God when we give... generously and sacrificially!
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