It’s a phone
call we get at least once a month. “Does
your church help with electric bills?” (
. . . or water, or groceries, or gas)
The answer is “yes,” and we are thankful when we are able to help. Last month, my husband and our deacon were
glad to share the gospel with a lady as they helped pay her water bill. Giving is what churches do best, since we
serve the greatest Giver of all.
But there is
a little secret many people don’t realize about churches and their ministries: They are funded and supported by people just like you. Not rich people, who don’t notice the twenty
dollar bills float out of their wallets.
Our benevolent fund—like almost all churches—is funded by ordinary
people who feel the sacrifice and give anyway:
people on Social Security; people whose kids easily qualify for “free
and reduced lunches” at school; people whose Christmas may have looked a little
slim last year compared to many around us.
But they drop money into the “Others’ Fund” each month because they
choose to honor the Lord that way.
Without any
science to back up my hunch, I suspect that many people are operating from a
flawed understanding of what church is really all about—and much of that
understanding has come because of the media.
Thanks to religious programming, there are some unrealistic expectations
that have hurt biblical churches in recent years. Ordinary pastors find themselves compared to painted
and polished celebrity preachers; their sermons compared to slick, feel-good
presentations; and their facilities compared to campuses, where the money flows
freely in TV-land. It’s easy to see why
a false expectation of local churches has cropped up.
There are
godly television pastors, and they fill an important role for those who are
infirmed. But for those who are not
infirmed—who still have the ability to serve the Lord here on earth—television has
offered a sanctuary from service. Other than a plea for finances at the end of
the sermon, these ministries do not offer a way to give to the Lord. No TV preacher will ask you to come on a
weeknight to pray for the missionaries, to come for nursing home visitation, or
to bring ham sandwiches to a funeral, and nobody in that televised church
service will be a stronger Christian because you tuned in today. Church
is spelled “service.” Every
Christian ought to find a local church to join and serve.
We all have expectations of what a church
ought to be doing to serve us—to help pay an expense during a job layoff; to
include our family member on a prayer list for that upcoming surgery; or just to
encourage us when we are facing difficult circumstances.
But we do
well to ask ourselves: Am I serving, or
just expecting to be served?
Am I a
member of a local church?
Do I tithe
to my local church?
Do I support
the missionaries of my church through giving and prayer?
Do I
encourage and pray for others who are missing from services?
Do I keep a
copy of my church’s prayer list and pray for the needs on it?
Do I support
the ministry and outreach opportunities of my church?
Do I support
the services of my church by attending faithfully?
What if
everyone at my church participated at the level I do? Would there still be a church?
“For even the
Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His
life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
Christ is
our example. We were saved to serve.
