The check is no longer blank

Well, I'm still reflecting on yesterday's big announcement at church that our "blank check" for the world now had a number attached to it. Yesterday, I was honored to stand with our Finance Pastor, Mark Zimmerman and reveal that we were giving away $467,000. We had been praying about this for four months and God moved in an incredible way. The video helped explain that we were giving this money away to our global partners in India, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Haiti and Morocco for the kingdom needs in that place. I'm still processing the ramifications of this gift, but here are the lessons I think God is teaching us: 1. God's generosity should be displayed in our generosity. The giving of the people in the church allows for giving in the name of God, but His provision allows for us to give in the first place. He always goes first with giving. For God so loved the world..HE GAVE. And so should we. 2. God's money is multiplied in the church. There are many causes who would love half a million dollars (trust me, I get requests all the time....all the time), but we believe that God's mission is the church - so our partnerships are with churches. Churches rescue orphans, feed poor people, preach good news, give hope, provide daily essentials, and change the society in which they are planted. So, we give to the greatest organization in the world - the Church of Jesus. By training, equipping and encouraging preachers and church planters with these funds, we are investing 25 years into the future. I'm blessed to think that in the year 2035 someone may come to Christ as a result of our gift! 3. God's money will not run out. The obvious dilemma for any church is that expenses never decrease for ministry. That means we will need even more money to accomplish our mission next year than what we needed this year. We could have saved the money. But giving it away is an intentional faith step. With this gift we say: "Father, you provided more than we needed for last year's budget and you can do it again. We don't trust savings for our future we trust God." 4. God's has more in store. I never get to the place in church leadership where I think that God is done. God is not done until he comes back to take us home...so He is going to keep doing miracles, healing, forgiving and maturing in our midst. Get ready. The blank check was awesome, but he has more in store.