Faith Stories: A Witness on Generosity
One of my favorite stories is when my son was about 4 years old, we walked into church after Sunday school, and he said that he was ready to meet Jesus. The Sunday school lesson was about the church being the house of Jesus. As I started to try to explain, I realized that the church is where we meet Jesus. We learn about his teaching in church, in our Sunday school classes and in our bible studies. We are truly blessed to have this church.
But to truly understand Jesus’ teachings, we go into the mission field where we get to know Jesus by doing. For me, it was the youth mission trip to San Francisco. I spent an afternoon with the homeless people in that city. A homeless man ministered to me, even though I was there to minister to him. I felt blessed. Isn’t that how missions work? We are blessed by helping others. My story is similar to stories of the Shepherd’s Market, tutoring, Opening Doors, angel tree and mission trips for the youth.
We become the feet and hands of Christ through mission work. We are also his pocketbook. When we return to him a portion of the blessings that he has given us, we are blessed again.
Twenty years ago, St. John’s was given the funds for a mission. The mission is to support those students going into the ministry. Hazel and Claude Fendleson gave their entire estate to this scholarship program. We accepted this mission praying that one day someone from St. John’s would answer the call to go into the ministry. And possibly one day, someone that we have supported would come here. Over the years, we have supported between 40 and 50 students. One of those students was Sarah Shoup. Peter and Leah Gaughan, members from St. John’s are receiving the scholarship starting this year. What is even more amazing is the money that we have been able to give towards this mission — more than $500,000.
There are many more stories of inspiring giving to this church. Some stories are still in your heart and are yet to come. The stories of giving inspire us because we know that in giving, we trust in God and when we trust in God, our faith grows and we are blessed. St. John’s is a community of faithful and generous givers.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for the community of St. John’s. Thank you for the facilities that we have to meet you and the missions to get to know you. Thank you for the blessings that you have given to us, so that we can return a portion for your glory to make a difference. We are so blessed. Amen.
Barbara Lively