Why we gave away £10,000 to another church

(I wrote this in response to a number of people contacting me to ask why we had done this today. This is not meant to be a boast, but we pray it would challenge and inspire. If you feel it's boastful then please forgive me and leave a comment and I'll pull the article )

 This morning my colleagues and I dropped into the staff meeting at All Nations church to take a £10k gift from our church to theirs. Our church Meeting (we are Baptists remember...) had talked it through and felt that this was the level of gift we should give.

Are we awash with cash? No.

Are we planning our own rebuilding programme soon? Yes.

Would it have been easier to hold onto that cash as we build up our own reserves to rebuild? Undoubtedly, yes!

So, why did we do it?

Firstly, we are aware that as we enter our own programme of rebuilding there is a strong temptation to focus solely on our own need. In giving away first we remind ourselves that we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Our rebuilding will not be done just because of our own abilities, but because God guides us and provides for us.

Simon Pearce, our Finance Manager,
hands a cheque to Pastor Steve Uppal
Secondly, we worship a God of incredible generosity. He held nothing back in coming to earth, living as a human, demonstrating how to live, how to love, how to serve, how to win the victory over sin and death. He gave everything for us, and continues to provide all we have, all we need. Our decision to give is a reflection of the generous nature of the one we follow.

Thirdly, we were very keen to express something of what it means to build God's Kingdom, rather than establishing our own empires. In giving this gift we want to demonstrate that competition has no place in the family Jesus is building, that the success of one congregation is a success for all churches in the city. 

Finally, we love the folks at All Nations, and we honour them for pursuing a big vision of what God can do in the city. There is simply no way that they will see the fulfilment of their vision without the Church across the whole city being blessed.

Today was a good day for them, but also a good day for us, and a very good day for the work of Jesus in the city of Wolverhampton.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

Comments

Sue said…
Well said Jonathan, we are all God's children.
17/11/15 19:25
jerseygirl said…
Bless you all at your church and your leadership. Yes, God has given all to us and as we bless others He will always bless us a hundred fold, maybe not in like manner with funds but it will be what He thiinks we need at the time. I have no doubt that you are all extremely sensitive to the Holly Spirit there hence your amazing gift to All Nations Church so I know that in your conversations with the Lord about your own building program you will hear His voice, do His will and He will bless you as you continue to obey Him. Thanks so much for this wonderful post. You are such a wonderful and much needed example within the body of Christ today! I pray that more churches will follow this Christ-like love which you have demonstrated and realize that we have a responsability to one another in the Lord and not just to ourselves.
In the Strong Name of Jesus, Alicia Renkema
17/11/15 20:47
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World Book Night, One million Book Giveaway

Image
So, it's the first World Book Night tonight, and the organisation aims to give away one million books. There are 25 titles being given away, and folks wanted to be part of the process were invited to make contact a few months ago, indicating which book they'd like to give away and why. I applied, and asked to distribute the book "One Day" by David Nicholls. I'd picked up a copy whilst on holiday a couple of months ago, a friend had suggested it, and said there would be a particular reason I'd like it. It's a book that is set on July 15th, St Swithin's Day, my birthday, and follows the relationship of two very different kind of people. It wasn't the usual kind of book I'd read, but I found it terrifically moving, very funny, and quite insightful about human relationships, life, and slowly growing older. Here's the blurb from the World Book Night site: I can imagine you at forty,’ she said, a hint of malice in her voice. ‘I can pictur
Read more

An outpouring on outpourings

I guess many of us will have been looking with a mix of interest, curiosity, hope, bewilderment and maybe amusement at the events taking place in a conference centre in Lakeland, Florida, USA. For a few of weeks now, nightly “Revival” meetings have been taking place there, led by Todd Bentley. A google or youtube search on “Florida Outpouring” will give you a flavour of what's been happening. There are now reports of a “Dudley Outpouring” as well as others around the globe as leaders who have seen what’s been happening (normally on godtv.com or the God Channel on satellite) go to Florida and bring back what they have “caught”, and impart it to the folks at home. So, what to make of this? I’ve been asked for my reflections by a few folks, possibly because when the Toronto Blessing movement was at its height in the UK I was involved with a ministry (that I deeply appreciate and love) that sought to introduce people to what God might have been doing in that time. As I reflect on those
Read more

Should you sign the Coalition for Marriage Petition?

I’m someone who likes to thrash ideas out in a conversation. It’s in the cut and thrust of a good challenging discussion that I best formulate ideas and opinions. I like to test aloud how something sounds, hold an idea in the midst of the debate and examine it from many angles. The writer of Proverbs says, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. So, blogging can be an unusual way to express opinions for folks like me. Yes, sometimes it can lead to a good conversation in the comments section, but often it hangs in the ether, like a written statement, instead of an invitation to conversation. With those thoughts in mind, I want to share some of my thinking around the current debate regarding marriage for same-sex couples, and how the church could respond. My first comment is that I don’t think it is the role of the state to dictate to communities of faith the meaning of a sacrament.  We would be rightfully outraged if the government sought to dictate to the Church how w
Read more