Look what God did!
By Michael Roop
“God is good, and generosity is so much fun!”
These were the words I texted to someone as I updated them on the results of this year’s Generosity Sunday. As many of you know, we’ve taken a Sunday each year to remind us that material possessions give us far more joy in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35). And to put our money where our mouth is, we’ve given away that Sunday’s offering each year.
Last Sunday was no different. On Sunday, we raised over $43,000! And because we couldn’t contain our excitement, the funds were given away 48 hours after they were received.
On Monday, I got to hand Chipper Flaniken (lead pastor at City Church) a check for their City Roots campaign. Earlier this year, City Church closed on their building, which is located less than a block off the intersection of University and Main, right in the heart of our city. With the right renovations, this building will serve as a long-term investment in City Church’s kingdom presence for our city. When Chipper saw the check, he repeatedly said how he found this gift “outrageously encouraging.”
On Tuesday, Tammi handed another check to the staff at Gainesville Community Ministry. GCM is a longtime partner with Creekside, providing help and hope to those in crisis and lacking the basic necessities of life. Those in crisis not only receive material support and connection to existing social programs, but they are given the opportunity to pray with a volunteer, some of whom attend Creekside!
Personally, I want to thank all of you for your incredible generosity. While you weren’t able to see their faces when they received these gifts, I hope you can taste a little of the joy that can be found in a life of generosity. I also hope this experience will inspire us to greater degrees of generosity in our personal lives, within our homes and in our families.
And finally, I hope that we can see how much we are capable of doing together. Most of us, with some exceptions, are not able to write checks of that size. And yet, when we come together as a body and give generously in response to the gospel, we can greatly bless our neighbors together! God is wise in organizing us into local churches. Let’s press in together.
See you Sunday to launch our Advent series. If you’ve got family and friends in town, bring them along!
“God is good, and generosity is so much fun!”
These were the words I texted to someone as I updated them on the results of this year’s Generosity Sunday. As many of you know, we’ve taken a Sunday each year to remind us that material possessions give us far more joy in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35). And to put our money where our mouth is, we’ve given away that Sunday’s offering each year.
Last Sunday was no different. On Sunday, we raised over $43,000! And because we couldn’t contain our excitement, the funds were given away 48 hours after they were received.
On Monday, I got to hand Chipper Flaniken (lead pastor at City Church) a check for their City Roots campaign. Earlier this year, City Church closed on their building, which is located less than a block off the intersection of University and Main, right in the heart of our city. With the right renovations, this building will serve as a long-term investment in City Church’s kingdom presence for our city. When Chipper saw the check, he repeatedly said how he found this gift “outrageously encouraging.”
On Tuesday, Tammi handed another check to the staff at Gainesville Community Ministry. GCM is a longtime partner with Creekside, providing help and hope to those in crisis and lacking the basic necessities of life. Those in crisis not only receive material support and connection to existing social programs, but they are given the opportunity to pray with a volunteer, some of whom attend Creekside!
Personally, I want to thank all of you for your incredible generosity. While you weren’t able to see their faces when they received these gifts, I hope you can taste a little of the joy that can be found in a life of generosity. I also hope this experience will inspire us to greater degrees of generosity in our personal lives, within our homes and in our families.
And finally, I hope that we can see how much we are capable of doing together. Most of us, with some exceptions, are not able to write checks of that size. And yet, when we come together as a body and give generously in response to the gospel, we can greatly bless our neighbors together! God is wise in organizing us into local churches. Let’s press in together.
See you Sunday to launch our Advent series. If you’ve got family and friends in town, bring them along!