Horizon Weekly | 5 February 2021
By Dr. Garth Leno
Stewardship is not just about money. It involves faithfully managing everything God has placed in your charge for the advancement of His kingdom. Open-handed giving is a powerful principle of God, designed to be a blessing both to the giver and the recipient of the gift. It is the supernatural overflow of a generous heart that desires to express the love and glory of God.
So, why give?
Here are five reasons why we give—and more specifically—five reasons why our churches give to the Great Commision Offering (GCO).
1. We give because we love people. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV). What motivated God to sacrifice His Son was not a sense of indebtedness or obligation. The love He had for us compelled Him to send Jesus in order to meet our most pressing need. If love for others was what prompted God to give, then should it not be our primary motivation for giving as well? With spiritual maturity, we should become less attached to our possessions and more concerned with meeting the needs of others and planting churches everywhere for everyone.
2. We give so we can be a blessing to others. God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:2: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” I will bless you...and you will be a blessing to others.
This is our privilege and calling as people of God. We are blessed by God to be a blessing—to be generous—to others. Our gifts to the GCO bless international missionaries and mission teams, reach unreached peoples and places around the world, make disciples and multiply churches for the glory of God. Our gifts help train seminary students who will make a life-changing impact for generations to come. Our gifts to the GCO bless churches, pastors, leaders and church members in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. We give to preach the gospel. It takes money to reach lost people with the gospel. Evangelism, church planting, developing residencies, strengthening churches, meeting needs—it all takes money! If we are committed to spreading the gospel, then we have no choice but to support it with our finances, and that includes the GCO.
4. We give because it’s a biblical principle. There is a force of financial blessing that is released in our lives by the giving of our money. In 2 Corinthians 9:6 Paul says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Our giving is the seed which awaits a harvest at a later date. Our level of harvest through the Canadian National Baptist Convention may be directly related to our level of giving to the GCO.
5. We give to fill a void. As important as money is, it will never fill the void people have inside them. Ever since Adam fell, and sin entered the world, man has been seeking fulfillment in external things. He has tried to rebuild the Garden of Eden by his efforts, looking to find satisfaction in pleasures, possessions and status. The void can only be filled with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Nothing else will satisfy the inward yearnings of our souls. But once our hearts have been filled with the Spirit of God, and Jesus lives in and through our lives, then giving becomes a joyful ministry of obedience to the Word of God. Giving gives meaning to life!
Garth Leno lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and one daughter, Jamie. Two more children, Nathan and Kristin, are married with families of their own. Garth is the senior pastor at The Gathering which he planted with friends in 2014. He is also on the SEND Canada Advisory Board. He has a master’s degree in church planting from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and DMin from Bethel Theological Seminary.
2021 Seminary Day
The Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary & College (CSBS & C) would like to invite pastors of all Canadian National Baptist Convention (CNBC) churches to have a college or seminary student share with their church for Seminary Day. We would love to highlight what God has been doing at our school this past year through the stories of our students and to have the churches allow the students to exercise their training.
Structure of Seminary Day for 2021
Typically, we would be sending students to the churches to be able to speak or preach in person. This year we will be putting together a multimedia package with recordings of student testimonies and sermons along with a customized greeting for your church. We can provide PDF documents for bulletin inserts or handouts that communicates news and needs as well. These digital files will be made available for your church to incorporate into your in-person or online services.
We are flexible in providing you with the material for another Sunday in March if that is a better fit for the scheduling of your church. Please contact David Ong if you are interested in participating in Seminary Day this year.
Thank you for helping us in training leaders for tough places.
David Ong
Director of Admissions
Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary & College
David.ong@csbs.ca
403-620-7424
Do you have a story you would like to share? Please contact Lynda Blazina and let her know. We would love to share your stories with our CNBC family of churches.
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CNBC Weekly Horizon |
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CNBC Mission: We are churches in covenant giving ourselves away to advance the Kingdom. CNBC Vision: We see a day when every man, woman, boy and girl has multiple opportunities to see, hear and respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ. |
