Back in November I challenged the people of my congregation to do something really counter-cultural and to remember whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas by giving to Jesus an amount equal to what they spend on other gifts. I must credit Mike Slaughter from Ginghamsburg UMC for the idea. We called this special offering our Christmas Miracle Offering, because we were trusting that God would do something truly miraculous. The offering is supporting the work of Phakamisa, a ministry of Pinetown Methodist Church in the Zulu-Natal province of South Africa. Phakamisa helps provide care for 5,000 orphans and 10,000 other poverty-stricken children.
Our congregation has of course, held special offering for various mission projects in the past. These have usually raised between $500 & $1,500 for the project. While I am thankful for what people have done, I didn't believe there was much miraculous about these results. God doesn't need to intervene any a big way to accomplish those kinds of numbers. So we began praying for a miracle and throughout December I told the story of Phakamisa.
Since Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday in 2006, we set that as the date when the offering would be received. I'm still in awe at the generosity exhibited and how God has worked through our congregation. The Christmas Miracle Offering totaled more than $8,100. This is about 1/3 of the amount Phakamisa requested through the General Board of Global Ministries Advance Special program for 2007.
God has done something miraculous through us and He is to be praised.
that is awesome john! a real model for many of us in congregational life. i don't know how much i spent, but much of what was given to me was a donation to some organization i chose to support
Posted by: gavin | January 02, 2007 at 08:01 PM