When the Church Gives

This post is part of a synchroblog concerning "Money and the Church". On the topic of “Money and the Church,” I wanted to share how our family has been blessed over the past four months through the church giving. When we decided in July to move from Wake Forest, NC to San Francisco, CA, we knew there would be a lot of expenses involved. What we didn’t expect was how generous our church family would be in sharing these expenses with us. As our family left town, three different families gave us an encouraging card and a check to help us on our way. We were definitely blessed, both by the money and by the encouragement. When the church gives, we feel love for our brothers. Our church family continued to stay in contact with us, despite the distance. After being in San Francisco for about two months, my husband Ed was laid off from his job at UPS. That same week, a card and a check came in the mail from some friends in Wake Forest. What a blessing, indeed! That was the first time I had experienced God’s providence in such a tangible way. When the church gives, we can see God’s hand at work. Just this past week, we received two more checks in the mail – this time just as my husband and I were deciding to pack up and move once again to Chicago. This time we have decided to pass on the monetary gifts God has given us to be a blessing to someone else. When the church gives, it spurs us on to love and good deeds.
As I shared with Ed that I would be contributing to the Synchroblog this week, he reminded me of many other instances in which we saw the church give over the past year. Foremost in our minds was the way the church paid for a huge car repair for a woman in our church body last summer. The bill was around $900 when all was said and done. We saw this woman blessed by the church giving what she did not have. When the church gives, we learn humility and gratitude. “Money and the Church” can be about a lot of things, but for my family, it has been in a very real way all about what happens when the church gives.

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The November Synchroblog is on the topic "Money and the Church". Take the time to check out the contributions of the other bloggers who are taking part in this synchroblog:

The Check That Controls at Igneous Quill
Pushing The Camel: Why there might be more rich people in Heaven than in your local Church at Fernando's desk
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz at Hello Said Jenelle
Zaque at Johnny Beloved
Walking with the Camels at Calacirian
Greed and Bitterness: Why Nobody's Got it Right About Money and The Church at Phil Wyman's Square No More
Wealth Amidst Powers at Theocity
Money and the Church: A Fulltime Story at The Pursuit
But I Gave at Church at The Assembling of the Church
Moving Out of Jesus Neighborhood at Be the Revolution
Money and the Church: why the big fuss? at Mike's Musings
Coffee Hour Morality at One Hand Clapping
Bling Bling in the Holy of Holies at In Reba's World
Magazinial Outreach at Decompressing Faith
Money's too tight to mention at Out of the Cocoon
Bulls*** at The Agent B Files
The Bourgeois Elephant in the Missional/Emergent Living Room at Headspace
When the Church Gives at Payneful Memories
Who, or What, Do You Worship at at Charis Shalom
Greed at Hollow Again
Silver and Gold Have We - Oops! at Subversive Influence
The Church and Money at Khanya