From the Genesis Elders:
This is a very tough time for all of us, but for some, it has been more devastating. Many have been impacted as either themselves or close family members have had Covid 19, dealing with sickness and even death as a result. Others have been deeply impacted by the economic situation that has accompanied this pandemic, with many being laid off, losing jobs, or having to close their own businesses. I have been saddened as I saw news stories, both locally here in St. Louis and around the nation the long lines of people, many coming hours in advance just to get food for themselves and their families. I have been thinking about this and praying about how we might be able to help people in deep need, both from our church and with our partnerships.
On the other hand, many of us have not been as deeply impacted financially, and while affected in other ways, it does present us with an opportunity to be generous. In the near future, many of us will be receiving (or may have already received) stimulus checks from the government as part of the economic recovery plan instituted by our government. For those deeply impacted, we pray this check will be a huge blessing and help people meet basic needs. For others of us, it will be an added blessing to our income and other forms of earning. So here is our idea and encouragement. For those of us who will not use these funds to pay for basic needs, what if we chose to be generous with a portion or if the Lord leads, all of these resources. What if many of us chose to tithe or even give above and beyond that from this check to help others who are in more desperate need? Here is the plan. We want to encourage your generosity to a special offering for benevolence with these or other funds as God leads. As people give to our benevolence fund right now, we will set aside that money to be used to help people in need directly. We will do that in a few ways. First, we will find ways to help people in our own congregation. We may also help people in our city or area when we find that there are deep needs. The other thing we would like to do is to assist our partner churches serving people in areas with more poverty so they can bless their people in the Gospel as well. The main thing is that all funds that come in through this fund right now will be used to care for people through the ministry of a local church.
So we ask those of you who have the means to be generous to pray about this and give to this cause. If you would like to give there are a couple ways you can do this right now. First, you can give online, and as you give choose the “Special Offering” option. Second, you can mail gifts to the church at PO Box 183, Eureka, 63025. Make sure you designate funds for benevolence if you send it there. Let’s pray that we will be a generous, Christ centered people in the days ahead.
