A World of Need

I know you might not have the same perspective I have about the world of need around us, but some days it is overwhelming. Across my desk in a single day might come half a dozen pieces of mail that are asking me or our church for some kind of contribution to their cause. Most of these appeals come from qualified ministries from our Assemblies of God fellowship, but many from ministries that are independent or with another group. In a week or a month, there are often dozens of appeals that you would want to respond to. Missionary support, a contribution to help build a shelter/church in Africa, orphanages in need, evangelism literature, the rescue of those caught in human trafficing. The list literally goes on and on and on... I am left with the feeling often times that we are so in adequate to respond to the world of need that is out there. I could easily present 2 or more opportunities to give to a needy cause every Sunday of the year. I have to sift through the many appeals that confront me to try to respond to only the ones I think the Lord is asking us to respond to. I pray for wisdom to make the right choices to invest our limited resources.

The point of this blog installment is to thank each of you who so generously give offerings to missions above and beyond your tithe. The tithe is for the operation of the local church to maintain and grow ministry and respond to our local needs. Offerings are for anything beyond our tithe, such as a response to special needs. Your generosity helps us to be able to do something about some of these needs. We truly live in a world of need.

Now when people are feeling the pinch of higher prices (notice the direction of gasoline prices?) and a stalled economy your generosity is making more of a difference than ever. Just one more note, I know there are many worthy causes out there vying for your contribution, but I want you to know that giving through the Assembies of God is not only safe from those who might exploit your generosity for their own gain, but it also effecient. More money from every dollar goes directly to the need than almost any other organization, in some cases it is 100%. Often, it is 90% or more with just a small percentage being used to pay for the admistrative costs of getting aid to the place of need. Compare that with other organizations like the Sierra Club with its millions of contributions. In that case, a tiny fraction of their contributions actually goes to saving the environment while the rest goes for extravagant salaries, palatial headquarters buildings and lavish admistration. Not so with the dollars you give through the Assemblies of God. If you want to help someone, the Assemblies of God is a great place to invest your generosity in the Kingdom of God.