Many Americans will be receiving a stimulus check from the U.S. government (some have received it already). Some of you have been laid off from your job because of this pandemic. My heart breaks for you. I pray this stimulus check gives you some financial relief. Others are not desperate for the stimulus check and have not been as financially affected by the pandemic.
I want to invite those who are NOT desperate for the stimulus check into something extraordinary; into something that can make a huge difference in our church, and in peoples’ lives. I want to invite you to view your stimulus check as an opportunity to stimulate your generosity. Unprecedented means, “never known or done before”. It makes people look and say, “we’ve never seen anyone do something like this before.” What if we used these stimulus checks to unleash unprecedented generosity? What kind of impact could that have on us, and on a watching world?
Here’s my invitation…
Pre-decide what percentage of your stimulus check to be generous with. I encourage you to pre-decide to give away at least 10% of it. God may prompt you to give away more than that. Ask Him what He would have you do, and pre-decide to trust Him by following through on it.
Be generous by (1) giving some of it to Relevant to help meet some of our financial pressures, and (2) giving some of it to people you know are experiencing financial hardship right now because of the pandemic.
As you pray about what God would have you do, I wanted to pass along a portion of the CARES Act that may benefit you. Provisions under this legislation encourage individuals to contribute to churches and charitable organizations in 2020 by permitting them to deduct up to $300 of cash contributions, whether they itemize their deductions or not. And, for those of you who do itemize, the 50% of adjusted gross income limitation has been suspended for 2020.
As a church, let’s #StimulateGenerosity and watch how God uses our generosity to generate transformation in our lives, in our church, and in other people’s lives through it!
Ronnie Rothe, Lead Pastor