GPBC Blog

By Dick Middlebrooks--

This note is a big PRAISE focused on our stewardship as a church. We are such a wonderfully generous church! We give in so many ways: our tithes for the operations of the church for our ministry locally and to our Global Partners for our worldwide ministry. We have our Benevolence Fund for special times of need that arise, and we added a temporary fund, Meet The Need, for deep financial needs due to the virus. In addition to these ministries, we support Advent Conspiracy projects and Operation Christmas Child. We also know there is so much loving and giving from person to person and within the home groups and the Sunday classes. Just WOW! I believe God is honored with our faith, love, and obedience in our giving as a church. It is such an indication of the overall maturity of our church.

What we know is that this kind of giving does not just happen. It comes from proper teaching and encouragement of the biblical principles of giving. It happens when believers are brought into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  It happens when younger believers see their older or more mature brothers and sisters give sacrificially, “But since you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you - see that you also excel in the Grace of giving” (2 Cor. 8:7 NIV).

It can be a real step of faith to say, “I'm going to start a new dimension in my faith walk. I am going to trust God and start to give to the church." It can be scary and counter intuitive, but we are told true blessings come when we have a life marked by generosity and sacrifice. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). We are not promised more money in return, as some say, but true blessing far beyond material gains. We are instructed to sacrifice in our giving. If we only give from our abundance, Jesus is not impressed! Jesus said the poor widow gave “more” then the rich, and all she gave was a couple copper coins. Jesus was impressed, not so much with the amount she gave, but with her heart that would sacrifice in her giving. Therefore we have shared and encouraged  each member or family give something, however small, to Global Partners in order to start developing the discipline of giving.

We as a church are coming out of a hard season, but we are confident as to where we are as a church. We have confidence in our God that He desires to use us here in Portland and throughout the world. We are excited to see how we as a church are growing together to fulfill our calling.

All love,

Dick