On April 12th, Resurrection Sunday, I ministered in Tzenembolon, Chiapas with the Tzotzil Indians and witnessed a miracle.
The purpose of the visit was to work on stage 3 of our church planting program called the PACE Plan :
- Outreach-Evangelism and the rental of a meeting place- We pay for this phase
- The Assembly of New Believers into a meeting place- We help with the purchase of land
- Transition of the work into an Indigenous Church- We help with the Church Building project by matching faith promises
The sermon topic was “giving by grace and not by law” We give because we love Christ, not out of obligation. I spoke on the Cross and the Resurrection as proof that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. In other words Grace, not works is the secret to Abundant Christian living.
This Tzotzil Indian Congregation Knows all about Giving out of Love
I saw this poverty stricken church of 200 Indians step out on faith this day. You see, besides the Celebration of New Life Sunday (Easter) I also went to this village with the purpose of raising funds for a new church building. This family of believers has grown out of the smaller building and termites have eaten the wood so they desperately need $9,600 dollars to provide a large building made out of block to meet in.
After encouraging the Indians to step out on faith in their giving we began to raise up faith promises to pay for their new building project. I offered to match whatever faith promise that each person committed too. I carried a whole bundle of cash with me. (the money you give to our ministry).
“Within the next 2 months, how many people will promise to give $1000 pesos (Approximately $100 )” I challenged them.
11 Indian men raised their hands making faith promises. Wow! That’s certainly more than I had expected.
I know that these Indians are the poorest of the poor and that most of them don’t have a monetary income. The average person that does have a job makes about $35 dollars a week. (most of them work the fields or farm)
I continued receiving faith promises in smaller increments. $500, $250, $100, $50, and even 10 pesos so that the children could get involved.
That day a miracle took place- These people of Faith just kept on giving.
As they gave I matched the same amount by placing it in the offering plate.
To my surprise, this congregation raised up $19,520 pesos…. And 3 Indians also pledged to donate chickens. ($19,520 pesos is the equivalent of a little over $1,900 dollars).Talking about the widow’s mite and giving sacrificially.
View the video of me matching faith promises with the Indians:
How Your Donations To Our Ministry are Being Spent
That Sunday the total amount of funds raised was $39,040 pesos or approximately $3,900 dollars because I matched the same amount with the money that you’ve donated to this ministry. This $3,900 will easily pay for the foundation of the new church building.
If you’ve ever wondered how we spend the funds that you donate to Missions with Purpose now you have a prime example of your money being spent for a great cause….the building of a new church..
We use ALL of your donations for ministry (except for the tithe).
But that’s not all, with The P.ACE Plan, our new program for Planting New Churches, we promise to use methods of matching pesos for peso just like I’ve described above to actually multiply the offerings that you give.
Now I would like to challenge you- Would you make a faith promise today to support this ministry on a regular basis?
On Easter Sunday I was the one who received a blessing as I experienced the joy of giving. Not to mention that the Indians gave me a hen as my honorarium.
How much could you make a commitment to give today?
$1000, $500, $250, $100 dollars a month? Perhaps you could make a promise to give $20. The amount is between you and God .The important thing is that you give. When you do, we’ll wisely multiply your giving efforts and produce a greater harvest for God’s Kingdom by multiplying blessings just like God does.$20 dollars will purchase approximately 40 blocks. The members of the congregation will match the same amount. That equals 80 blocks using your $20 gift.
The economy is experiencing problems, but God is working just as He always had. He is blessing and he is supplying more than just our needs. Our family has increased our giving efforts. My 8 year old daughter even gave $5 to the Indians on Sunday. While others have suffered financially, we have seen more financial blessings as a result of sacrificial giving. I encourage you to make an eternal investment by donating or making a faith promise today.
This is our April 2009 Newsletter.Download this Article in pdf format:
For more information on how to donate to the ministry please visit our donations page.
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Greg, the Tzotzil Indian Pastors Family Cristi holding the honorarium
Serving Christ Together,
Greg
p.s. All your donations are likely tax deductible. Give to increase God’s kingdom while saving money on what the government sometimes wastes.”