Have you noticed the recent rise in resources available to church leaders?  Ten years ago, it was hard to find a good video to include in a worship service.  I remember renting movies from Blockbuster to use for worship clips.  Don’t laugh.  You probably still have a VCR sitting around your church building that was used for the same purpose!

Today, there are thousands of videos developed for every conceivable worship theme…and you can download them instantly (if you don’t have a staff member to create them in house).  New resources are popping up almost daily – worship music, children’s programs, resources for volunteers and almost everything else imaginable.

Not surprisingly, there are also tons of financial resources being generated for churches.  Today, you can accept donations in a traditional collection plate, through giving kiosks and even online.  You can hire consultants to help with your budget and you can purchase resources that will generate a wave of new giving. 

While I love the ability to choose from all of the new options, this resource boom has an inherent problem.  While most of these resources are useful, they only address the surface issues of the church.  They only provide temporary solutions.

At GenerousChurch, our goal is to provide you with something more substantial.  We want to provide generosity resources that lead to deep spiritual growth and genuine discipleship.

Imagine something for just a second.  Picture your church as a tree – oak, apple, cypress, pine or Charlie Brown Christmas tree – you can choose.  Most of the financial resources available to you are kind of like Christmas ornaments for your tree.  They do a nice job of decorating the limbs.  They help you look pretty on the outside. 

At GenerousChurch, we want something more for you.  We want to help you cultivate the soil of your church so that it has healthy roots.  We want to equip and empower you to unleash generous disciples.  We want your church to understand that generosity is a Biblical concept for spiritual growth.  We want your people to know that at His core, God is generous and that the Gospel hinges on His giving nature.  We want your church to understand that walking in the footsteps of Jesus – living as disciples – naturally leads to a lifestyle of generosity.

Ultimately, when you cultivate the soil and care for root of your church, you pave the way for long-term health and growth.  That doesn’t imply that you never “decorate” your church with other financial resources; it’s just a reminder that you need healthy roots in order to maintain beautiful branches.

So if you want healthy roots, start focusing on generosity in order to make disciples.  Put the budget aside for a minute.  Put money in its proper place.  And bring deeper meaning to your offerings.

If you would like to know more about using generosity to make disciples, check out the GenerousChurch 3 Point Pathway for unleashing generous disciples at www.generouschurch.com/start.

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