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Reverse Offering

 

LOCAL CHURCH "PASSES THE PLATE" TO GIVE AWAY THE OFFERING

 

In order to teach radical generosity, Church by the Glades (CBG) in Coral Springs, FL gave away $40,000 on May 10-11, 2008 in a “reverse offering.”

“To be quite honest, many people are ‘generosity-phobic’ due to the current economy,” said Pastor David Hughes. “Times are tough for a lot of people right now.”

The people of CBG are not the only ones experiencing tough times with the current economy.  Pastor Hughes candidly admitted that the church is experiencing its own hardships right now.

“What better way to teach the biblical truth of generosity and the fact that God will provide for those who are generous with their resources than leading by example,” Hughes said.

How did this “reverse offering” work? The church, who had not passed an offering plate in 6 years, passed the plate not to collect an offering, but to give one.  Every person who attended CBG May 10-11, 2008 received an envelope with money in it.  Some envelopes had $5 in them, while others had $10, $20, $50, $100 and even $1000 in them.  

The church gave out some “ground rules” for using the money.  First, each person was told that they should not use the money on themselves.  Instead, they had to use it to meet a need in someone’s life.  Second, they were told not to give the money back to the church.  Finally, they had to report what they did with the money on a website the church created—www.MyGoBigStory.com.

Has the strategy worked?  If the website is any indication, then yes.  Over 325 stories about random acts of generosity have been posted on the site.  Many of the stories mention the person adding their own funds to the amount they received.  

In total, the church estimates that about $150,000 was given out over the last month by the people of CBG.

“Our hope is that this kind of faith, compassion and generosity might be contagious as our church and its people ‘Go Big’ for God,” said Hughes.

In recent days, Church by the Glades has experienced explosive growth.  Their weekly attendance is up 45 percent over the same weekend last year with over 3,600 people attending services each weekend.  In addition, nearly 800 children are involved with their KidStuf Children’s Ministry.  For more information about the church, visit them online at www.cbglades.com.