So one of my all-time favorite posts here on this blog is this one because it makes light of the obvious guilt aspect of this week’s “Giving Tuesday” social media campaign that comes directly after a weekend of binge buying by many consumers.
With that being said, “Giving Tuesday” can serve as a great reminder of the importance of generosity. This past weekend during our simple church gathering I was reminded again of the incredible gratitude that our family has for receiving so many generous gifts. Even this past week I shared in our family newsletter a prayer request concerning some medical bill negotiations. Just yesterday I received a call from the hospital to notify me that we now had a credit on our account! Yes, it appears they have too much money from us! We count this blessing with all the anonymous gift cards, notes of encouragement, prayers, and PayPal/Venmo gifts to my email inbox that have come from friends and strangers alike.
As Karla emerged from her Covid quarantine on Thanksgiving Day, a smoked turkey breast, BBQ Brisket, warm pumpkin pies, a Kroger gift card, and the best oranges I’ve ever tasted all showed up at our door–each item from a different friend (and in the case of the gift card a mystery). God knew we could use the help to celebrate with a dinner. I do not know how we would have made it this past year without being on the receiving end of this kind of generosity almost daily!
So it would almost seem silly to even make a post asking folks to consider Simple Church Alliance in their year-end giving. “Silly,” because I know more than ever that God is our family’s provider. This past year and a half has continued to reinforce this great truth:
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 26 -27
So I’m posting this today to say “thank you” and, yes, to ask you to consider being a part of the way God provides for this ministry. The simple and humbling fact is that everything we have from oranges on our porch to our very paycheck that is deposited every couple of weeks comes because people give. We see it as a great privilege to partner financially with others who believe in the value of simple/house church ministry and mentorship. Because gifts are kept anonymous to our family we will not be able to thank you personally, but we will certainly ask God to bless you in ways we cannot.
While this past year and all of its challenges have left me feeling unavailable to encourage simple church growth in all the ways I desire, this past year has given me a new perspective that I believe will shape much of what God has for “simple church” in the coming years. I remain as convinced as ever that God is moving “church” out of the building and into our homes and hearts and that He wants His people to experience church as a loving family without religious trappings and expectations that are often embedded in “church” experiences. He wants a church that knows His love and lives in His love. More on this in the coming days…
Thank you again for your support and prayers. If you can partner with us financially to support this ministry we would be grateful. If not, we are grateful that you simply care enough to have read t
his far! Happy Giving Tuesday!
Gavin Duerson
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