On 9/8/13 we gave our congregation money to go and be generous. We called it a “reverse offering” and our goal was to jumpstart generosity in our community. One-time generosity takes courage and becoming generous requires a change of heart, so we thought we would break down the primary barrier to generosity – feeling like you have money and allow a generous act to change people’s hearts toward generosity. Here are some of the stories that are coming in:

1. I opened my envelope and was a little bummed to see that it was only $5. I was hoping that I’d get a $20 because I thought I’d be able to do more with it. $5 didn’t really seem like much. One of my favorite things is a warm sweet Starbucks drink, so I bought one with the $5 and brought it to a friend of mine. It was so fun to see her face light up. I realized that often I hold so tightly to what God has given me – just giving my 10% tithe and then thinking that the other 90% is all mine. It felt so good to just give so freely – expecting nothing in return. God has blessed my family in amazing ways, and He’s challenging me through His Word to be a GIVER. Thank you for speaking boldly from His Word and for such a creative and practical way of teaching us the JOY of giving.

2. We have been thinking and praying about what to do with our reverse offering and have found a genuine need. A co-worker’s family lost their home in the flood this month. I had been in contact with her throughout the flooding as they were stranded. My co-worker couldn’t get home to her son, they had to sleep in her car, etc. They are physically safe now but need a lot of help. The family didn’t have flood insurance and does not have much money. So, we have decided that we are going to use the reverse offering to go towards a King Sooper’s gift card for their family.

3. We gave $5 at Starbucks to pay for the coffee for the people in the car behind us. They were then handed the card saying God loves them…I trust & pray that for some reason they needed to hear that just then. Also a lesson for me – trusting that I don’t need to know the follow up – its to Gods glory, not mine!