I was so touched a iTown church last night in Noblesville. They took an offering at the Christmas service and said this, "if there is anyone in need feel free to take money from the bucket. If there is not enough money in the bucket for your need, please talk to one of the pastors of this church - they have money that they are ready to give to those in need this Christmas."
I have been in ministry for years and have never seen this before.
Thoughts?????
@sinbach what an amazing thing 💕
@bethany i thought so. i was so shocked when they explained it. it sounded strange at first. For those that give - put money in. For those in need - take money out.
they didn't say much about it, because it was obviously apart of the church culture, but i was curious to hear more. there were several thousand people there last night and they broadcast their xmas service LIVE in every prison in the state of Indiana and did a special service for those that were incarcerated. it was so powerful.
@bethany i have invited the pastor to join us on the podcast. we will see if he is able to. hope so, because i would like to hear more about where the idea came from and how it has played out since they implemented it.
@sinbach right. Generosity without conditions. I LOVE that
@sinbach That's great. So simple, why have I never seen it done that way before?
@StevenBerry that was my thought. why have i never thought of this before? is there a side to this that i am not seeing? is this robbing God? or is this blessing people as the Church is supposed to? I am not sure of the theological implications, BUT i do know that i like the lack of fear in this process. no one is worried about going without. no one is worried about people abusing the system. i saw a joy in the giving last night - a joy that lacked fear. a joy that lacked caution. a joy that gave like God's grace knows no bounds. a joy of living life and giving to others without reservation. ....and i liked it
@sinbach Yeah, no fear about people abusing the system. That can be such a problem, some people tend to not give money unless they know precisely what it is going to be spent on and that it's absolutely necessary. But that's missing the point of giving.
@sinbach Wonderful!
@sinbach Hope Church in Hazelwood, MO, a suburb of St Louis MO does this also in their service. The Pastor says during the Offering time that if anyone has a need they can take from the offering bucket. Pretty amazing!
Here's their website: https://www.hopechurch.org/
@sinbach Obedience. I don't think Ppl will do this type of thing without the promoting of the Holy Spirit. We can't out give God. I would've love to have been there!!!
Makes me cry, God never ceases to humble me! Hallelujah ❤️
@sinbach Brother Eugene, I experienced that when I was at a Christmas service in Nashville in 1995. I couldn’t believe the generosity and joy when people gave their offerings. Only 4x people were willing to come up at the end of the service but I can tell you this, the Holy Spirit was alive in that place. Bethel Chapel in Franklin TN if I recall. I’ll never forget that morning.