Offering for July 30, 2022. Local Church Budget. Support Comprehensive Mission Mark 6:37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." We worship with our offerings and donations because He invites us to care for others as He does. One day, the crowd noticed the movement of Jesus and His disciples and came to meet them. Full of compassion, Jesus spent the entire day teaching, blessing, and healing. It was a spiritual feast. As the sun was lowering in the sky, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away to seek food (Mk. 6:36). The crowd would soon get hungry, and there was no bakery in the desert. But instead of attending to their quite sensible request, He invited them to “give them something to eat” (Mk. 6:37). This unexpected answer reveals Jesus’ concern for both the spiritual and the temporal needs of people. This is also our mission: “When we see human beings in distress, whether through affliction or through sin, we shall never say, this does not concern me.”—E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 504.
The story of Emilienne from Madagascar reminds us that through mission, we can help people wherever we go. Emilienne was a single mother whose children were always hungry, and she could not afford to send them to school. Then, she joined the ADRA food security project in a town called Bikily. There she received training, access to farm tools, and drought-resistant seeds. As a result, she started her farm: planting sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava, and pumpkin. Now, she has enough to feed and clothe her family, pay their school fees, and invest in the future, and she is now smiling.
Would you like to do mission work in the footsteps of Jesus? Giving is one means established by God to alleviate suffering, express His love, and bring hope. This week, we can practice Christ’s ministry method by worshipping with our tithe and regular and systematic offerings. North American Division Stewardship Ministries