Act 28/40 #PRAYER

Giving away your best might feel risky, but it’s an act of faith that God honours. Just as sowing generously leads to an abundant harvest, over-the-top generosity brings transformation and blessing far beyond what we imagine. What step of faith could you take today to reflect God’s abundant generosity?
 

My old boss Bishop Sandy Millar, who was vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton Church (HTB), always said you should give away your best: the best leaders, the best team, generous funds. It’s something I’ve tried to model in my own life and ministry.

A few years after my wife and I had led a church plant in St Paul’s Shadwell in East London, there was an opportunity to plant two more churches. With Sandy’s words resounding in my mind, we went for it! In an act of faith, we gave away our best leaders to two churches, with teams and funding.

That year we sent 20% of our congregation with the planting teams and 40% of the church’s income went to church planting. It was hugely costly at the time. We wondered if we were being foolish and over-the-top. But we did it anyway, and within a year, God had actually grown the church 25% bigger than before we had sent the two teams! And those churches have grown and gone on to plant more churches, reaching even more people with the good news of Jesus Christ and bringing transformation to their communities. Our act of faith was overshadowed by God’s extraordinary faithfulness!

St Paul talks about having a generous posture as he writes to the churches he has planted in Philippi, Berea and Thessalonica, and Corinth. He asks them to express their love for God in generous, ‘over-the-top’ giving.

And he uses a planting analogy to explain what he means: a person who sows sparingly, reaps sparingly. It’s like using a small old seed packet in a sparse garden and expecting the grass to grow back. Instead, you get a sad-looking bare patch.

In contrast, if you sow generously, you will reap generously and that’s the heart posture we’re invited to adopt. Paul says of a generous giver that God is able to bless you abundantly; that you will have all that you need and finally, that you will abound in every good work.

I have seen this first hand in church planting. Time and time again, I’ve seen God’s abundant blessings when people have generously given in faith. And we see it in the work of the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication, that God blesses us when we take that step of faith, giving away our best.

What might ‘over-the-top’ generosity look like for you today?
 

Ric Thorpe, Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication  

Reflect

"Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NIV)

Pray

Pray that God would form a generous heart in us, helping us to sow generously and be outrageous in our giving, so that others can encounter His love.

Act

Acts for you to consider today:

			Give your best prayer: who could you be praying for to encounter the gift of Jesus today?
			Give your best invitation: who could you invite to church for the first time, or to an Easter celebration or gathering? Could you host something yourself?
			Give your best: is there something that brings you huge joy or comfort that could be a blessing to others? Think of the ‘best’ thing you could give this Lent – time, funds or fellowship – and give it generously!

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About The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX)

The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) is one of the leading centres for church multiplication in the UK.

It works with those in frontline ministry and at a strategic level, creating environments that enable church growth. Its vision is to see a thriving church in every community, reaching every person with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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