Lesson Four • Give
James Mann
“Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.” Philippians 4:14-16
The mission field is not one that I have had a lot of experience with, yet it is a beautiful ministry that the Lord empowered people to chase after. When I read through this passage in Philippians, I am seeing this idea of a group of people supporting someone who is trying to further the ministry of God. This is something that many people do not think about when it comes to their giving. A person in the mission field typically is making just enough money to survive, which is often through the support of congregants. As many might know, The River Church supports many missionaries throughout the globe. This is an amazing thing; but many of us, myself included, think, “That is awesome,” and move on about our day. We do not have any kind of intentionality in that area of giving. Any kind of giving should be surrounded by prayer and the inner conviction we feel from the Lord. If we are just passively giving money to some arbitrary mission, we are not having this time with the Lord. This is a valuable time that we should not be overlooking. Whenever we are giving to the church, we should be looking to see where it is going so that we can properly pray for that ministry and organization that the church is supporting. Through this time, you may even be convicted a step further to support that ministry in another way.
Understand, I am challenging myself in this too. I have had my giving auto-transferred from my bank account to the church for years. I do not even think about it until I see the bank transfer. Through doing this, I am not actively giving and instead, I am practicing something the Lord did not command, which is passive giving. Giving without having your heart invested is like cheating on a homework assignment. The task that is necessary is getting completed but you are not really learning anything or following the intended rules.
This week, take some time to look at the missionaries that your church supports and pray for them. Maybe reach out to some of them and ask in what areas they are specifically needing prayer.