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A Note from Lead Pastor Jim Clayton:
 On Sunday, November 29th, my message was about money; specifically three myths related to money. At the end of my message, I challenged everyone to read Second Corinthians 9:6-15 every day that week and to pray and ask God what he wanted them to do in terms of giving freely and generously. I told them to come back the following Sunday prepared to give freely and generously, according to what they felt God wanted them to do. I committed to giving away the entire offering that week--every penny of it--to families in our area that needed it more than Journey Church does.
I'm pleased and proud to say that our people responded far beyond my expectations, and the following Sunday the offering was seven times the normal amount! As as result of the generosity of the people of Journey Church, we were able to bless 15 families, including 32 children, with a great Christmas! These are families who were expecting to have little or no Christmas this year.
That's not the end of the story. You see, in that passage in Second Corinthians, God says that if we give freely and generously he will provide for us in such a way that we can give even more the next time. I told our church that by giving away the offering that week I was trusting God to somehow provide for us to make up the shortfall. The next week, our offering was four times the normal amount! I was blown away. God did exactly what he said he would do. (That's why we teach the Bible and talk about how to apply it to our lives, because it really makes a difference.)
We have distributed all the money raised by the Generosity Project. We work through local agencies for referrals, so if you know of a family in need, please refer them to Christian Help, Inc. Their number is (317) 346-9957. We do not accept requests directly.
Our hope in starting Journey Church was that it would make a difference in our community, and the Generosity Project is a big step in that direction. I never dreamed we'd be able to do something like this only a few months after starting. God is awesome!
Merry Christmas!
Jim Clayton, Lead Pastor
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." -- Ephesians 3:20 |
