Do you know a Christian on mission? Maybe they’re in a far-flung country, or they’re close to home (and worked to the bone). Often, Christians who choose to live on mission take a real hit on their own personal comforts. Think of one you know, and give them the gift of your time, your skills, or your money.
Green: Video-call a missionary, or text your youth worker, with no motive beyond encouraging and cheering them on.
Amber: Give a one-off or monthly gift to a missionary, youth worker, or church intern.
Red: Give your services to a missionary. For example, can you help them build a website?
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” (Acts 2:44–45 NIV)
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Every believer has the incredible privilege of doing the works of God wherever we go, getting the gospel and the full life of Jesus beyond the walls of the church and into our cities and towns. But today’s act talks about one particular group – those that do this in a way that means letting go of regular, steady finances and resources. That includes Christians on mission, but also church staff who’ve felt the call to give up a regular salary to work within the local church, or young interns who’ve been homed with a church family.
I know a few people who lived like this for a while, laying down comforts and rights, laying down expectations of a regular career path and often a pension, for the sake of building the local church. And yet God was able to meet their needs using radical, everyday generosity.
A friend of mine felt called to live on mission for a few years. With no income, she said ‘yes’ to her first trip overseas. That week, an anonymous bank deposit brought her balance up to the exact figure of her plane ticket cost. As she paid it off in gratitude, she realised she had no money left for food. At the end of that week, her mission leader came to her and told her that another anonymous giver had paid her ticket. All the money she’d paid, she could have back for food!
Acts 2:44 says the believers had ‘everything in common’. They shared their money and skills and time with each other. We can be that envelope-of-cash-in-the-post story for someone who really needs it, or maybe you can send someone an encouraging letter to help them persevere when the going without gets tough. In whatever way you can, find a way to encourage and support those doing good.
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