gifts that bless a growing church

So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:29-30

There are two things I notice in these two verses today. They show the growth of the gospel. The first is a matter of generous living. The Christians in Antioch felt a certain kinship with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were suffering under persecution. This crossed racial barriers since the Antioch church was gentile and the Judean church was Jewish. And when it became clear via prophecy that a famine was soon to add to the hardships in Judea, their compassion for the saints in Jerusalem took the form of systematic, organized, generous giving.

Some principles about giving emerge from this account. Generous giving can’t be generic. This was a specific, organized effort meant to go to a specific project: the relief of the saints in Jerusalem and surrounding areas. Also, generous giving is planned giving. The disciples “determined” the scope of the project, putting some careful thought, prayer, communication, and collection into the effort. This was not pocket change or last minute. And finally, they gave as they were able. Some had capacity to make large gifts. Others had capacity to sacrifice equally with smaller gifts. They ALL had the ability to give.

The second thing that shows the growth of the gospel concerns leadership. This can be seen in how the gift arrived. For the first time the leadership group in the Jerusalem church getting charged with the reception and distribution of the relief funds is the group known as “elders”. They are becoming the ministry leaders as the church expands beyond just the leadership of the apostles. A growing church develops new leaders. It grows in leadership.

The gospel grows all disciples in generous giving according to their ability. And the gospel builds leadership in specific men gifted by God to lead the church as elders. Giving and leadership bless the gospel growth of the church globally.