Last Sunday was a big day for River of Life. It was our annual Faith Promise Sunday, the day we go on record concerning what we are going to do in the coming year for the cause of world missions.
As you know, the Great Commission is the command of Jesus to evangelize and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19). The call is to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Not everyone can go, but we can all give. This is why we schedule a Faith Promise Sunday every year. We do it in obedience to the Great Commission.
So what exactly is a faith promise? A faith promise is the amount of money I believe God will enable me to give through my church to missions in a year’s time. A faith promise is not a pledge. A pledge is an amount I come up with. A faith promise is an amount God comes up with. A pledge is what I am able to give. A faith promise is what God enables me to give.
Pledging to give out of my extra resources hardly involves faith. Making a pledge and waiting for the funds to magically appear doesn’t involve faith either. The act of faith is not in writing down a number on a card. Anyone can do that. The act of faith is acting on what you have committed to do.
This is where the “promise” comes in. By making a faith promise I am saying that I commit to begin giving to missions now, trusting the Lord to provide the funds as I go. Sheri and I have done this for over thirty years and we can tell you God always provides!
The missions theme for the Assemblies of God this year is BEYOND BORDERS. Obviously, we want to take the gospel places it has never gone, and to people who have never heard. Along with that, let’s take our missions giving in 2017 beyond borders as well!
River of Life has a history of doing just that. In the last ten years we have tripled the number of missionaries we support. In recent years our missions giving has equaled over 15% of our total church budget. And out of some 13,000 Assemblies of God churches in the United States, River of Life has ranked consistently in the top 400 in missionary support.
Congratulations! Now let’s push beyond that and do more than ever for the cause of world missions so all can hear!
Pastor Todd Weston
As you know, the Great Commission is the command of Jesus to evangelize and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19). The call is to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Not everyone can go, but we can all give. This is why we schedule a Faith Promise Sunday every year. We do it in obedience to the Great Commission.
So what exactly is a faith promise? A faith promise is the amount of money I believe God will enable me to give through my church to missions in a year’s time. A faith promise is not a pledge. A pledge is an amount I come up with. A faith promise is an amount God comes up with. A pledge is what I am able to give. A faith promise is what God enables me to give.
Pledging to give out of my extra resources hardly involves faith. Making a pledge and waiting for the funds to magically appear doesn’t involve faith either. The act of faith is not in writing down a number on a card. Anyone can do that. The act of faith is acting on what you have committed to do.
This is where the “promise” comes in. By making a faith promise I am saying that I commit to begin giving to missions now, trusting the Lord to provide the funds as I go. Sheri and I have done this for over thirty years and we can tell you God always provides!
The missions theme for the Assemblies of God this year is BEYOND BORDERS. Obviously, we want to take the gospel places it has never gone, and to people who have never heard. Along with that, let’s take our missions giving in 2017 beyond borders as well!
River of Life has a history of doing just that. In the last ten years we have tripled the number of missionaries we support. In recent years our missions giving has equaled over 15% of our total church budget. And out of some 13,000 Assemblies of God churches in the United States, River of Life has ranked consistently in the top 400 in missionary support.
Congratulations! Now let’s push beyond that and do more than ever for the cause of world missions so all can hear!
Pastor Todd Weston
