It's More Than Sunday Morning
MONEY!... Now, that I have your attention, let’s move on. While it sometimes may feel like the focus of our spiritual life is on Sunday, we are not made to be one-day-a-week believers. Our entire lives are meant to be filled with prayer, worship, and service to the Kingdom. This may be manifested in many ways and certainly will not be the same for all people, but we know in Psalm 145:2 David sings “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.”
As it is to be with our hearts, the church is also not open only on Sundays. Christ the King has a staff that works full time just like you do. This staff spends much of its time working to prepare for Sunday but also for events during the week such as Student Ministry events and trips, serving opportunities with Mission Partners, Bible studies, meeting with church members and caring for those among us who are in need. There are also those on staff who make sure our facilities are clean, safe, and always ready for each visitor who enters through our doors. And yes, we have people who work to communicate and execute the behind-the-scenes details of our vision to “Reach Houston for Christ and renew lives by grace”.
Let us not forget that our church also serves our community through The Preschool at Christ the King, The Barnabas Center, Vacation Bible School, hosting events for Mission Partners, The Fields, The Playgrounds and more.
This year we made a commitment to increase strategic staff positions and ramp up certain ministry areas to meet the needs of our church community all while increasing contributions to Mission Partners. Throughout the remainder of the year, we will provide updates on the work that is being done. Additionally, we are looking toward our future and how we are called to serve our neighbors in Houston. We have been furthering our plans for the Silber Vision Project and will be providing an update on this project soon.
Our steadfast Father in Heaven has given so much to Christ the King, and we want to be faithful stewards of our opportunities. When we consider how we give to God’s mission, we are reminded that in 2 Corinthians 9:7 we are called to be cheerful givers. This implies that our giving will have an impact on us. Giving should have an emotional component. This, however, is often not what we do. We look to see what we can give that won’t impact us. We give what is left instead of our first fruits.
When we consider the impacts of our giving, we need to look at this in two ways. First, how giving impacts the giver. When we give openly from our harvest, we understand that what we have been given is not ours. Just as our salvation is not ours to earn, neither is our harvest. God, through his great love for us, provides exactly what we need. We are called to give abundantly just as we have received abundantly. With this spirit, our treasure is not in our possessions but in our belief that we are the treasure of God. The second impact is what God will provide to our church. We are reminded that God has providentially moved this church, his Church, from modest beginnings to a cadre of ministries that support his mission. One does not sow seed to get more seed; one sows to get fruit, which is a much richer, sweeter, and satisfying result than more seed. When we look to what he can give, we truly cannot fathom the magnitude of his love and desire to produce fruit. Whenever we think that our gifts may be “too much” we should consider that it is impossible for us to outgive the true giver of all things.
As Christ the King continues to reach Houston for Christ and renew lives by grace, we look to those who worship along with us to consider the impact of their giving. Not the impact that it has on your personal finances, but the impact it has on you as an act of worship and how those gifts will have an impact in renewing lives by grace.
As it is to be with our hearts, the church is also not open only on Sundays. Christ the King has a staff that works full time just like you do. This staff spends much of its time working to prepare for Sunday but also for events during the week such as Student Ministry events and trips, serving opportunities with Mission Partners, Bible studies, meeting with church members and caring for those among us who are in need. There are also those on staff who make sure our facilities are clean, safe, and always ready for each visitor who enters through our doors. And yes, we have people who work to communicate and execute the behind-the-scenes details of our vision to “Reach Houston for Christ and renew lives by grace”.
Let us not forget that our church also serves our community through The Preschool at Christ the King, The Barnabas Center, Vacation Bible School, hosting events for Mission Partners, The Fields, The Playgrounds and more.
This year we made a commitment to increase strategic staff positions and ramp up certain ministry areas to meet the needs of our church community all while increasing contributions to Mission Partners. Throughout the remainder of the year, we will provide updates on the work that is being done. Additionally, we are looking toward our future and how we are called to serve our neighbors in Houston. We have been furthering our plans for the Silber Vision Project and will be providing an update on this project soon.
Our steadfast Father in Heaven has given so much to Christ the King, and we want to be faithful stewards of our opportunities. When we consider how we give to God’s mission, we are reminded that in 2 Corinthians 9:7 we are called to be cheerful givers. This implies that our giving will have an impact on us. Giving should have an emotional component. This, however, is often not what we do. We look to see what we can give that won’t impact us. We give what is left instead of our first fruits.
When we consider the impacts of our giving, we need to look at this in two ways. First, how giving impacts the giver. When we give openly from our harvest, we understand that what we have been given is not ours. Just as our salvation is not ours to earn, neither is our harvest. God, through his great love for us, provides exactly what we need. We are called to give abundantly just as we have received abundantly. With this spirit, our treasure is not in our possessions but in our belief that we are the treasure of God. The second impact is what God will provide to our church. We are reminded that God has providentially moved this church, his Church, from modest beginnings to a cadre of ministries that support his mission. One does not sow seed to get more seed; one sows to get fruit, which is a much richer, sweeter, and satisfying result than more seed. When we look to what he can give, we truly cannot fathom the magnitude of his love and desire to produce fruit. Whenever we think that our gifts may be “too much” we should consider that it is impossible for us to outgive the true giver of all things.
As Christ the King continues to reach Houston for Christ and renew lives by grace, we look to those who worship along with us to consider the impact of their giving. Not the impact that it has on your personal finances, but the impact it has on you as an act of worship and how those gifts will have an impact in renewing lives by grace.
Tyson Stittleburg
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MINISTRY OPERATIONS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MINISTRY OPERATIONS
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