Grace Church Support for Missions & Outreach
What Does the Bible Say About Faith Promises?
How Does God Provide?
Missions Committees
* Faith Promise
Faith Promise* Giving
Our missions budget is set each year by the congregation through "faith promises" made at the conclusion of our fall Missions Festival. Faith promises are made between God and individual believers who look to God for the amount He would have them give to Grace Church missions during the upcoming year. They then trust God to supply that amount. The Missions Committee allocates those funds based on our general missions philosophy. Additional faith promises are made at the spring missions festival, and throughout the year as people feel led.
If you would like to make a faith promise, learn more about faith promise giving, or see where your giving goes, CLICK HERE.
You may take the completed faith promise card to any Welcome Center at church,
drop it in the offering on Sunday, or mail to:
Grace Church
Attn: Accounting, Milt Rue
9301 Eden Prairie Rd.
Eden Prairie MN 55347
We are God's people who have come to Him in simple faith and who operate in simple faith. He has a purpose - world evangelism. He has a method - His children giving and going. He has a resource - our simple obedient faith which makes us willing to give even when it requires sacrifice. But our faith is no match for His faithfulness when we are promised that God will provide all of our needs. (Philippians 4: 19)
Faith Promise is based on several solid Biblical principles which show God's ownership, God's plans, and the believer's faith.
- God Owns Everything: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it," says the Psalmist (24: 1). The Word of God is clear that we belong to God and everything we have comes from Him and belongs to Him. We are called to be faithful stewards of His resources.
- God Works Through People: In order to accomplish His purposes, namely, the salvation of all the peoples of the world who have rejected Him, God entrusted to His people the resources for the task.
- The Believer's Faith: The faith of believer activates the process. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11: 6) It is clear that God wants us to live by faith, and that He carries out His purposes through the simple faith of those who depend on Him.
The Macedonian Christians give us a beautiful pattern for faith promise giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.
All over the world, today, are opportunities for us to give to supply what is needed to fulfill the Great Commission. Yes, giving to missions is biblical. And faith is required. It's an exciting part of the Christian walk - trusting God to meet our needs as we give generously to meet the needs of others.
- Through our abundance: Psalm 67: 7 says, "God will bless us, and all the earth will fear Him." There's a reason behind God's blessing: we are blessed to be a blessing to others. God's intention for us is to be channels of His blessing and supply to others. There's no doubt we are a blessed people - the richest on earth today.
- Through our sacrifices: Of the Macedonians could give beyond their ability, so can we. They were living in poverty at the time, but still they were willing to give. What would we be willing to do without so that the Gospel could go forth? Sacrifice is not popular today, but it's strongly biblical. Make some hard choices, and do without something you probably don't need anyway. That kind of giving produced overflowing joy in the Macedonians.
- Through good management: Who among us could not revise our budgets to make available more money for missions? Careful attention to management could produce many dollars for missions. Perhaps there are luxuries in our budgets we can do without.
- Through creativity: Many of us could think of some ways to make extra money and give it to missions. Missions money can come from selling something of value (how about a rummage sale for missions?), taking temporary or part-time work, or selling craft items at Christmas. Business people sometimes commit a facet of their work to missions, and give all of that income. Children might sell lemonade on the corner, do extra yard work, or give some of their birthday money to missions.
There's more money available for missions than what we presently can see. Be creative!
- Through unexpected income: God sometimes passes an extra blessing on to us, money totally unexpected. It may be a bonus, an inheritance, repayment of an old debt, a refund, or a gift. God delights in giving gifts to His children so they can bless others.
- Through our faith: We need to stretch our faith and give more than we think we can. Look to God to supply all our needs, and we will be freed to give faithfully and generously.
God has used faith promise to do His work throughout the world!
Our Missions Committee consists of more than 30 individuals drawn from throughout the church. Each Small Church is represented on the Missions Committee. These hardworking individuals serve on various subcommittees to give overall guidance and leadership to the Missions Committee under the direction of the Missions & Outreach Pastor.
This copy has been compiled and adapted from materials written by Woody Phillips on Faith Promise Giving.