December 20th
Compassion Offering — December 20th
At the heart of a Generous Life is a heart of worship, a posture of open hands that freely give back to God all that He first gave to us.
Often, we connect generosity to those who have more than we do, and we're apprehensive about giving because we think we don't have enough compared to others.
However, what it truly means is to be the blessing instead of waiting to be blessed. It means that we worship and give back to God with all that we have and are. It's a life of hands that are open and lifted in praise.
This year, our focus is to impact someone else's life through our collective generosity and worship. We aim to fund and fuel local and global missions in a way that reveals God's generous heart to the world and advances the Kingdom in practical ways.
This year we're committing half of every dollar raised through our annual compassion offering to our global mission partners, faithfully spreading the Gospel around the world.
The remaining half will help fund our local church mission right here at home by providing five hundred Christmas dinners to our neighbors in need and the broader mission of Vineyard Church.
Because we passionately believe that loving our neighbor is more than just a good idea.
WAYS TO GIVE:
- Ask others who might be purchasing gifts for you and your family to give to the Compassion Offering instead.
- Skip a holiday meal(s), either eating in or out, and give those dollars to the Compassion Offering.
- Opt out of your holiday movie at the theater and rent one instead.
- Give to the Compassion Offering in the name of someone you would normally give a gift to for Christmas.
HOW TO START THE CONVERSATION:
- Pick a night to sit down and talk about how this might impact your Christmas. Set a time limit, maybe 15 minutes.
- Text, Facebook or email the date to anyone you need at the meeting.
- For your youngest, a simple reminder on the refrigerator or in their lunch box will do.
WHAT TO TALK ABOUT:
- Decide how you will spend differently this year.
- Discuss the suggestions above.
- Decide now what you want to do and give.
WHO YOU ARE SUPPORTING:
- Pastor Felito Utuie and his wife, Anna, who run Africa on Fire Ministries based in Mozambique. You can learn more about their ministry at www.africaonfire.com
- The Vaughn family, founders of the Backwards Missionaries who serve Sámara, Costa Rica. You can learn more about their ministry at www.thebackwardsmissionaries.com
- Nets of Arukah ministers to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, as well as many other countries through short term missions trips. You can learn more about their ministry at www.netsofarukah.com
