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A Twist: Church Gives Parishioners the Money
HINSDALE, IL (February 4, 2004) - Parishioners usually give money to the
church, but two years ago the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hinsdale
decided on a different twist - give parishioners the money.
The Hinsdale church board authorized the use of $3,000 for a "reverse
offering," with more than 100 envelopes containing $20 bills distributed
during a morning worship service, according to pastor Jim Kramer. The
unusual project began February 25, 2001, launched by a sermon based on
Matthew 25 - the Parable of the Talents.
"It was Randy Phillips of Creekside Covenant Church in Redmond,
Washington, who told me about it," said Kramer. "He told me that his
church did it and it really excited the congregation. It gave them the
incentive to look outside their own group. The $3,000, from what I've
gathered, probably multiplied itself by 10 times the amount. But there's
no telling how the ministries touched the lives of people. This church
has always been interested in outreach. Something like this was a
vehicle to allow them to do outreach in a more focused and intentional
way."
Sixty individuals and families reported back to Kramer, explaining how
they used their $20 "talents." Many added their own funds to the money
they received and sent it to various local, national and international
organizations to help fight hunger, breast cancer, child and spouse
abuse, and to support community development work and Christian camping,
among other things. Others donated their gifts to individuals in the
community or to mission projects that they and their church supported.
It is possible that Kramer may have been the one most blessed by what
occurred at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hinsdale. He pulled out a
stack of letters from parishioners telling what they had done and
explained some of the acts of kindness in detail during a 60-minute
interview last week. He also received letters from recipients of the
many acts of kindness that thanked the church for what certain
parishioners had done. Here are highlights of what some parishioners did:
- One family and another individual combined their "talents" to buy
groceries for an indigent mother and her children as the mother searched
for a job. The mother thanked the church.
- One family gave its money to help a single mother pay her rent.
- A teen bought Christian music CDs and gave them to high school
classmates as an act of friendship evangelism.
- Another teen bought lunch for classmates at his lunch table, told
his lunch mates how he received the money and asked them to pray to God
in thanks for the meal.
- A grandmother took her money and brought her granddaughter along to
buy food for the Hinsdale Community Service Pantry. They also donated
children's books.
- One child took the $20, made May Day baskets and put marigolds in
them. The child then played a game of "knock and run" in the
neighborhood, leaving 30 baskets of flowers at individual doors.
- A family used its "talent" to purchase ingredients for a fundraising
dinner for Leslie's Place, a transitional housing site in Chicago. The
dinner raised more than $1,000.
- Another person purchased food for the youth group's fundraising
dinner to pay for a Mexico mission trip. That dinner raised $5,000.
- A family used its money to print fliers asking for support for a
bike ministry they were launching. The family enjoys cycling and wanted
to develop a bicycle repair and education ministry in their area.
- A child used money to repair his drum set because he realized his
drumming was a positive source of entertainment for people who visited
his home. "I want to entertain people in God's name," the child wrote in
a note to Kramer.
Kramer said that one of the more unusual stories involved a parishioner
who invested his money in the stock market and lost it all. He felt
embarrassed and invested his own money, along with money donated by some
co-workers, into other stocks. He eventually earned $2,000 and donated
it to a transitional shelter.
Will the church try another reverse offering? Kramer hopes to explore
the idea with his church, believing that the blessings from two years
ago are still transforming both his congregation and the local community.
"It's a Kingdom science - if you plant the seed and water it, then it
will grow - and there are some pretty creative people here," said
Kramer. "I was shocked at how creative people could be and I think our
council was also amazed at the depth of our people's response to the
needs all around them."
More information about the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hinsdale's
effort was featured in a Spring 2001 Central Conference
Covenanter article. Email editor Beth Fredrickson at
Bethfred@aol.com for information.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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