NY Church Hands Out $100 Bills to its Congregants
- Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:04pm by
Billy Hallowell
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DEPEW, N.Y. (The Blaze/AP) — Back in September, the Blaze reported on a “spiritual stimulus” plan underway at a New Jersey church.
Now, once again, a house of worship has opted to give out money to congregants in hopes that the cash will be turned around to help others.
Envelopes each containing a $100 bill were handed out to about 85 families and individuals older than 18 near the end of Sunday’s service at The Vine Wesleyan Church in Depew, in suburban Buffalo. BuffaloNews.com has more:
It didn’t matter whether the recipient was a regular worshipper or a guest.
About $8,500 was distributed. Families with college-age children received more than one envelope.
“As the Bible says, ‘It’s more blessed to give than to receive,’” the Rev. Christopher Baldwin, pastor at The Vine, said in a telephone interview after the Sunday service.
Pastors Christopher and Tammy Baldwin (Image Credit: The Vine Wesleyan Church)
The cash was accompanied by a letter telling recipients that the money could help them meet a need in their lives or the lives of someone else. The letter read, in part:
“Traditionally we have taken a special offering at Christmas Eve and we have sent it to a Christ-centered ministry. This year the needs are greater than ever in so many places including for some of us [in] our own families.
“In lieu of taking a Christmas Eve offering this year we’re going to give back to you so that you can meet a need in your own life or the life or ministry of someone else.”
The Rev. Christopher Baldwin told The Buffalo News that the church’s leaders decided to give to its own congregation rather than collect Christmas Eve offerings that typically have been donated to places recovering from natural disasters.
Karen Fohl of Lancaster says she and her husband plan to double the $100 and donate it to the Buffalo City Mission. The church’s hope is that other individuals, as well, will ensure that the money goes to good use.
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MaxineH20Sux
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:41pmSounds like spreading the wealth around. Why didn’t they just take that money and buy turkeys and host a free thanksgiving for less fortunate families in their are or something like that?
Report Post »brooksjk
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 4:26pmIt is easy to lose track of the simple fact that we are here to sh ow o n e a no ther love ; to be each other’s support, each other’s shelter, each other’s refuge from the negativity of the world that we so often create ourselves. We are a creation of love, we have been saved by love, every new morning that we are allowed to greet, every smile from our children, every touch from our lover, every little bit of hope that remains in us is a product of the love of God and it is our responsibility, our honor, to share that love with others in the same way that God has shared it with us. Love is a dynamic thing; it cannot be still, it cannot be quiet. It must be expressed. A love locked away, limited, is fated to darken and wither like a plucked rose. It can survive for a while, retain its vibrancy, its color, its aroma, but once its cut off from its source of nourishment, its fate is set. Therefore, we are to cultivate it, nourish it daily and, most of all set it out before the world, for all to see its beauty.
Christ died so that ALL may be saved, not just an acceptable percentage. However, what we must not do is to become so satisfied with our own salvation that we choose to coast towards eternity. That is not lo ve, it certainly is n o t indicative of someone filled with the spirit of God. His heart should be our heart; a heart that desires that all be saved. Love reaches out to all and not just to those we deem as wor
Report Post »LP54
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 11:42amI suppose you would hav objected to Jesus feeding the 5000. After all, he didn’t check to see if any of them were non-believers, or passers-by; he just fed them.
Get off your moral high horse and recognize it for the biblical principal – sowing seed to produce a harvest. If you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly. Not saying the pastor was right or wrong, just saying tere is a biblical basis for what he did. Judge not… Cast not the first stone…
Report Post »sterlling
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 2:10pmLP54 commented WITHOUT reading what they commenting on.
Report Post »undercover
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:46amA “GOOD” steward of God’s resources does not just indiscriminately pass out money to strangers!
Report Post »E_PLURIS_LUX
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:30amAmazing…. just another universalist approach to everything. A spritual stimulus program. A church, of all things, is supposed to be close to its congregation. A church is supposed to actually be in the lives of its congregants, and be close enough to know who needs what and how much, and when. A mass distribution of $100 dollar bills is just like the mass distribution of anything else of value given freely. You haven’t done any discernment between the needy and the greedy, the good and bad stewards….what you’ve done is outsourced your responsibility to get involved with your congregation, and taken a cookie-cutter approach…. probably because the money came from an external source to the church, and therefore is valued less than money earned or money under proper stewardship. I would respect this a whole lot more if it were part of an internal missions or helps program, where actual due diligence, discernment, and involvement occurred…… but then it wouldn’t get headlines, would it? All that said, I commend the idea of giving at the holiday times to those in need, and I can see how the invitation of Jesus to all (to the wastrels and to the miserly) might be seen as an allegory for doing it this way, so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt on good intentions, but the difference is they are already a church, hopefully providing the TRULY universalist message of Jesus Christ (please no comments about universal salvation, not saying that).
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:48amGod has nothing to do with this……simply more of the entitlement mindset that will lead to a dead end.
Report Post »Ssenkrad
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:09amI think that church suddenly found it’s congregation had a lot of “guests” that day they had never seen before. Guests of the stinky and sweaty variety.
Report Post »mean_conservative_teacher
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 9:49amIf so, they should not have minded. Nevertheless, I think that this plan is ill-advised.
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 7:09amI think it’s supposed to be the other way around.
Report Post »molleighsgm
Posted on November 21, 2011 at 10:21pmWhat a fantastic idea. In the tough times we live in just a little help can make a huge difference. We have a man here in Connecticut that for more than 20 yrs has been giving envelopes of $20 to complete strangers. All he did was ask that they use it in the way they saw fit and that if they were blessed that year to do one act of kindness for another whether they be poor or just down on their luck. One town someone they don’t know who goes around the town leaving envelopes of money for people. The person wants to be anonymous and just enjoys giving to others. It’s quite amazing. One year a woman whose small business was having a little trouble found that someone had left an envelope for her and inside was something like $100 and a note that said either Happy holidays or Merry Christmas. She didn’t see anyone come in nor leave but she turned around and there was the envelope. Amazing what generosity does.
Report Post »skipmontesjr
Posted on November 21, 2011 at 9:35pmDenny Bellesi of Coast Hills Community Church did this years ago and was the first to do it..I believe it was called the Kingdom Assignment http://kingdomassignment.org ..He was able to get some unbelievable testimony from people on how they were able to change lives and multiply it for Gods kingdom…. http://coasthillschurch.org This is the church he ran and built for 20 years…. The most amazing pastor I ever got to know….
Report Post »LowIQGenius
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 12:58pmThat’s right. I grew up going to Coast Hills, and every year I was amazed to see the amazing things those people were able to do in the name of God. I’m not sure if the church in this article shares the same ambition, but Denny was spot on with the Kingdom Assignment. I think more churches around the country should show that kind of passion.
Report Post »your sensei
Posted on November 21, 2011 at 9:26pmAh, thank you Pastor Mamon.
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