Giving 'In', Sunday Baptisms

"Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven."
- Jesus in Matthew 6:1

Ahoy Church,

While only a few made the wet journey to the beach, I hope you had a wonderful Sunday wherever you spent it!

As often is the case, there were people with us who'd never been to church before, so it was another reminder to open our lives to whomever God brings across our paths - wet or dry!

As you'll know, aside from inviting people into our lives (as many are doing), this year we're looking at giving (Term 1), praying (Term 2) and fasting (Term 3). Currently, we're in a series of posts encouraging us all to embrace a life marked by the generosity of Jesus.

We encourage those in our church to think through giving up, in, and out. To get some big-picture context on what we believe about money, read our first email in our series on giving up, in, and out.

What do we mean by giving "in"?

For our church

The most obvious purpose of collecting funds together in the first Christian churches was to meet the needs of those within the church family. Whether it was meeting the unexpected needs of the many or the daily needs of the poor, the first followers of Jesus lived out their saviour's model of sacrificing their own resources for those around them.

In an effort to value what Jesus valued, we regularly meet the financial needs of those in our church. We have paid or contributed to medical, psychological or educational expenses, sponsorships, rent, fuel and more. This is part of our $5,000 Giving Kitty! If you're aware of a need that you can't afford to meet alone, you are very welcome to contact us so we can consider meeting it as a church. NOTE: We are currently upgrading our policy on how we manage our giving to ensure it's transparent and wise.

Another part of our church giving "in" is my wage. While the first Christians had no "professionals", most churches saw benefit in providing for one or more people to set aside their week to lead, love and serve the church family. This is humbling for me personally, and a gift that I view as a privilege, not a right.

For people in our church

While giving to our church enables us to meet needs within our church, the ideal life of a Christian is to take personal responsibility to meet needs directly as you are able.

If you see someone who needs company, invite them into your life.
If you see someone who needs a meal, offer them one.
If you see someone anxious about paying rent, pay it if you can.

In an institutionalised, Western society, we are accustomed to governments and churches meeting the needs of those around us. While that is a blessing to many, and largely a Judeo-Christian approach, it's not the vision that Jesus outlines for his followers. Rather, he invites us to consider meeting the needs ourselves wherever possible.

"Give to the one who asks you [for something]". - Jesus

To bring a crossover between our focus on giving and also inviting, one of the best ways to invite someone into your life is to invite them into your budget. While you don't need to share your financial standing with anyone else, you might want to set aside a portion of your monthly income for meeting the needs of those around you. This could be budgeting a $80/mth to invite someone over for dinner. It could be keeping a jar in your house for loose change, or opening an account to set aside $5/wk, so that when you get the sense someone around you is struggling financially, you have even a small amount ready to contribute!

However, ultimately, Jesus doesn't invite you to become a financial wizard, but to become free from financial plans that don't align with his. Jesus doesn't call us to poverty, but to generosity. For some of us, it's wise stewardship that will enable generosity. For others, it's simply a willing heart to meet a small need in the moment. It could be as simple as a coffee, a gift card, or a meal.

And remember, if there are needs around you that you can't meet, hit REPLY or chat to us on Sunday.

In fact, I've noticed that the greatest challenge we have in being generous is not our financial limitations, but our hesitation to take action.

We feel uncomfortable asking, "Hey, I've noticed money is a stress for you. Are there any needs you have right now?" In our independent culture, we hesitate to say, "Hey Dan, our neighbour is in a tough spot, and we don't have any funds to help them. Do you think our church could contribute to their groceries this week?"

So, while I want to learn to be generous myself, an important part of giving is simply knowing the needs of those around us and letting our church know if we can't meet them ourselves!

Next week, I'll share some simple thoughts on how we can learn to give 'out', including some causes far beyond the coast you can consider contributing to directly.

Much love and see you Sunday,

Dan

The Tabernacle - our new church tent

With the uncertainty of meeting in the park and a steady increase in the number of gatherings we're involved in (church camp, retreats, youth camps, worship gatherings, etc.), we've purchased a large tent that you would commonly see at festivals.

Unless you come up with a better name, we're cheekily calling out our 'Tabernacle' :)

We're hoping to use it for NEXT WEEK's worship gathering, but are super keen to use it for our church camp - see below!

Church Camp @ Cobb & Co

We've finally found a great location for our next church camp! We're thinking sometime mid-year, potentially June 19-21 (a week before school terms finishes). If these dates do/don't suit you, please hit REPLY and let us know!

Cabins, Glamping, and Camping - check!
Open fires - check!
Big billabong to swim in - check!
<1hr drive from Caloundra - check!
Recently bought by Qld Baptists QCCC ministry - bonus!