March 24, 2019 – Pastor Barry Clair continues the series called “I Love My Church” with the message “I Will GIVE”
I have been in church leadership long enough to know that there are only two kinds of people in the church today; Consumers and Contributors. The consumer is the Christian who attends a church based on what the church can provide for him or her, and his or her family. They expect the church to provide them with religeous goods and services. A consumer thinks the church exists for its members rather than its mission. They think about how they are serviced by the church rather than think about how they can be a service to their church.
The contributor, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. They understand that they belong to the church. They are given gifts by God that help them keep the church functioning, ministering, and fulfilling its God given mission at the highest level. They don’t consume Christianity, they contribute to Christianity. They don’t look to be serviced by the church, they seek to serve the church. They’re not takers, they’re givers. They don’t value a church by what’s in it for them, but rather what they can give to it.
So let me ask you a question right off the top of the message this morning; Are you a church Consumer or are you a church Contributor?