Week 8 of our
Heroes series was one of the more interesting services that we had - we did something that most churches don't typically do - a reverse offering. As we switched the focus today, we talked about how the church as a group of people who have engraved on their hearts "In God WE Trust," just like the average piece of US currency. And as we trust in God, we step forward into areas where God is leading us, and God desires for His church to take on areas of leadership within its community. So we discussed that as a church, for us to lead we must:
- Evaluate - know what's at stake.
- Participate - seek to solve problems.
- Renovate - embrace change.
- Innovate - keep learning.
I believe God wants the Journey to be a community leader, something that might take years to become. But just because it takes years doesn't mean that we shouldn't start making small impacts now - using the little resources we have to punch holes in the darkness. So we did a reverse offering, handing out $10 to every family that wanted to participate. The goal - give the $10 away as a blessing to someone in our communities. Here were the stipulations:
- You will not pocket the money.
- You won’t give the money to someone you know – family or friends.
- You will use the money locally.
- You will pray that God will show you where you can invest the money back into our community somewhere – if someone needs some groceries or a winter coat or a tank of gas – there are a 100 different ways. Use it for a need – don’t let someone buy a box of cigarettes with it. This is for a need.
- You will only mention the church if someone asks you about it.
- You will write down/record your story and give it to me - or visit www.614project.blogspot.com
- Challenge – I invite you to double it and give it. See what God will do when we start living out “In God WE Trust.”
I am anxious to see what this produces, but I wanted to do this as a step forward as we think outside ourselves. I was inspired to do this while watching a Erwin McManus sermon on the risks involved with visionary leadership.
Beyond the message, the music was good and the spirit of the people was interesting - they seemed unsure about the whole "Reverse offering" concept, but I pray that God uses it to mobilize us. For attendance we had 152...
