Generosity can be so contagious! Here is a story from Sam at Southend Vineyard about how being financially generous can spread…

“At the beginning of November, I spoke on Hebrews 13:5 – ‘Don’t love money, be satisfied with what you have’. I talked about the hold that money can have over you and that in order to break that hold it can be good to give some money away. We decided to set a little challenge! We took £300, dividing it into envelopes – some had £20 in, some £10 and some £5. We suggested that people take an envelope, pray about what they should do with it, how much to add to it and then let me know what happened. 

I have been amazed at how that money has spread far and wide! Some went to a refugee camp in Lebanon, to help a Syrian family, living there in a tent. Some went to an orphanage in Romania to provide hats, scarves and gloves for the children. Some went to buy treats for our young people away at university and some went to help Children in Need. 

More locally, treat bags were made up for the staff on the respiratory ward at the hospital, biscuits went to the staff at a local care home, some went to our Storehouse and then more personally someone used the money to buy a warm winter coat for a lady who didn’t have one and someone else used the money to buy a capo for a young musician with no paid work at the moment. 

Some time ago I had a picture of opening a packet of wildflower seeds and scattering them out of a train window, knowing that I wouldn’t necessarily see those flowers bloom but that they would bloom at some point. In a similar way, I feel that this money is God’s seed that will bear much fruit in people’s lives and so grateful for those people in our church who used their thoughtfulness and creativity as they put this money to good use.  May there be an amazing harvest in God’s kingdom!”