Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” William Carey
The year was 1920. The scene was the examining board for selecting missionaries. Standing before the board was a young man named Oswald J. Smith. One dream dominated his heart, he passionately desired to be a missionary. Over and over again, he prayed, "Lord, I want to go as a missionary for you. Open a door of service for me." Now, at last, his prayer would be answered. But when the examination was over, the board turned Oswald J. Smith down. He did not meet their qualifications. He failed the test. Oswald J. Smith had set his direction, but now life gave him a detour. What would he do?
As he prayed, God planted another idea in his heart. If he could not go as a missionary, he would build a church which could send out missionaries. And that’s exactly what he did. Ultimately, Oswald J. Smith pastored the renowned People's Church in Toronto, Canada, which sent out more missionaries than any other church at that time. He brought God into the situation, and God transformed his detour into a main thoroughfare of service.
Like Oswald J. Smith, most of us are not going to be foreign missionaries, though many of us have had that desire. I know that one point in my life, I struggled in my heart on whether God might be calling me to serve Him in Great Britain or Canada...instead, He called me to Wisconsin. Though I am a native of Atlanta, I have always been thankful that the Lord did not call me to serve Him in the South or even in Michigan, where Jane is from. In both of those cultures there are many Bible-believing churches, whereas in Wisconsin evangelicals are a very small percentage of the population. My passion has always been to serve the Lord and be a witness where very few are serving and being a witness. I would rather be a small candle in a dark place than one of thousands in a bright place.
You and I, in this culture, have a tremendous opportunity. Lost individuals are searching for answers. They’ve often been turned off to mainline churches with their watered down theology and liberal agendas. They’re looking for churches that teach and preach God’s Word, and who hold to Sola Scriptura (the Bible is the only infallible and inerrant authority for faith and practice).
At the same time, our culture is a “church building” culture. We are truly blessed by God in that so many folk come to Grace Church and consider us their church home. Obviously, they do not come because we have such great facilities. We are truly, at this point in our history, “church in a box.” But in a “church building” culture, that limits us. For us to have a greater effectiveness in this culture, we must pay off the land that God has wonderfully provided for us and build a building that will enable us to be an even more effective tool in reaching folk with the Gospel and making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
At the same time we want to reach the far fields of the world. That’s why this year we’re supporting five individuals so far going on short term missions trips and why we have a missionary family. The facts are, though, that we’re not doing a fraction of what we’d like to do, or with the resources available in our church family...should do.
Last Sunday I presented a new program we’ve launched to help us finish paying for the ten acres God has given us. We are urging you to give toward paying off the land. As I mentioned last Sunday, this giving should be over and above your regular giving. And out of every gift that comes in the for the land, we will designate 10% toward missions.
Now for some, giving Biblically is a new concept. Personally, I believe that the minimal a believer should give would be 10%. The Jews under the Law gave 10%, surely we who are under Grace and who have so much more than they did, should give much more than they did. Jane and I’ve been doing that for decades and have never lacked. To be candid, God has blessed us and given us more than we ever imagined. Did you know that if every family at Grace just tithed, we’d have the land paid for in a year and have so much, that we would be able to substantially increase our missions budget?
So why don’t we do that? First, we don’t comprehend that we are truly managers of what God has entrusted to us. Secondly, we give emotionally rather than systematically. Biblical giving is always planned giving. That means that we set a budget for it...a percentage of our income, not from our leftovers. And to honor the Lord, our giving should be the first check that we write. That’s the principal of firstfruits that we find in Proverbs 3:9-10. But one of the main reasons that we do not give generously is that our hearts are not filled with gratitude for the sacrifice that the Lord made for us on Calvary. When we are caught up with gratitude for our salvation, generosity is a natural outcome. Instead, too often, we wrongly see giving as a way of helping the church pay the bills or covering the cost of what we think things are worth. Generous, grateful giving is demonstrated when we give even when we do not attend, or we make it up when we return. Generous grateful giving is demonstrated when we look for more ways to give and do without, or we postpone purchases so that we can give more. Let me encourage you to please give gratefully. Then, give generously. And don’t forget to give your loose change too in our missions offering. You’d be shocked at how quickly that adds up.
God has placed us in this community to be a lighthouse. We also have a responsibility for the fields of the world. Each of us needs to be part of the giving team...can we count on you?