Below is a testimony from a Crosspoint household that is giving toward the vision of NEXT and Finish the Work.  God continues to change lives, and is using ordinary people to pursue an extraordinary eternal mission!  Crosspoint, thank you for continuing to say YES to Him!

Dave

 

Since we have been married, we have always had the desire to give generously and with happy hearts.  When the opportunity to give to NEXT was presented to Crosspoint, we knew we were in, it was just a matter of how much.  We were currently tithing 11% of our income so we decided to pray about this individually and then come together as a couple to see what we felt God was telling us to give to NEXT.  When we got together to talk, we both had come up with the exact same amount of money.  God had placed it on our hearts to give an additional 3.5% of our income to the NEXT campaign. 

In a society where saving for retirement and children’s college funds is deemed important and responsible, this decision seemed foolish in the world’s eyes.  In a society where getting more is the way to go and being able to buy whatever you want is a sign of happiness, this decision made no sense.  However, as we talked we realized that the God who is the same yesterday, today & tomorrow is sovereign and will provide for us.  Yes, during this time we had to give up getting things we wanted and luxuries like going out to eat and entertainment expenses were downsized.  However, we realized that this was a very small thing we could do to give back a very small percentage of what God has given us.  You see, often times as Christians we get it all wrong.  We think this money is ours and that we deserve X, Y & Z.  However, God is the one who has given us the ability to work and earn this money and ultimately it is HIS money.   The question then becomes how am I handling God’s money?  Even though we knew all of this, there were tough times.  There were times that we sat and thought man, if we weren’t giving this money, then we could have this & that and we could go here & there and we could buy stuff.  But, when those thoughts would creep in, God had a way of reminding us that HE is in the business of changing lives and every little bit that we can give back to HIM will change lives.  And, in the end all that STUFF we accumulate will either be left behind or burn some day. 

So, you ask, would we do this again?  The answer is a loud ABSOLUTELY!  You see there is a peace, a joy, a fuzzy type feeling that grows in your heart when you give.  It’s a feeling you really can’t explain with words.  It’s just one of those feelings that God gives to His children.   It’s one of those feelings that you get and you know you made the right decision.  You see, every dime given is another opportunity for God to pick up, clean up, polish & minister to all of us.  That our friends, is so worth it!! 

As we have seen Croosspoint grow and the dream of having a church in Eureka where our family could worship, serve and share the good news of Jesus Christ come true, we feel joyful, thankful & humbled.  And then we think again, the giving was SO worth it!  Look at what God has done!  Look at HIS church!

Our challenge for all of you is to consider where you might be able to give.  For us, we never went without clothes, a meal, a warm house or gas in our vehicle.  God provided.  God is in the business of meeting needs…period.  Our prayer is that every Christ follower from Crosspoint Community Church will be known as generous, giving people and that as Christ sanctifies you, you will learn the importance of stewardship and giving.  We challenge you to start praying today about how you can give back to God for all He has given to you.  And, don’t stop there, teach your children!  We promise, once you start giving, you won’t want to stop.