12/06/2019

God’s Grace, Your Hands: How to carry out a similar giving effort in your congregation

In September 2019, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cincinnati handed out $60,000 worth of checks in increments of $100, $250 and $500 to member families and students at The Edge Campus Ministry at the University of Cincinnati, which the church helps fund. Two-hundred and fifty families walked away that weekend with a check with the payee line left blank, with these instructions from Pr. Heidi Johns, ‘Do something meaningful with these checks. If you can, multiply them—add some money of your own or put in some sweat equity. Think of ways that you can make the most impact.’

As one parishioner put it, these checks were a ‘happy burden’ that stretched families’ imaginations and awareness of the need around them.

Read the full story of this special generosity event in the Washington Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/10/28/this-church-gave-its-parishioners-told-them-pay-it-forward-heres-what-happened/

Cincinnati Enquirer: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/10/20/church-members-get-blank-checks-told-use-money-bless-world/3781201002/

Pastors Heidi Johns and Alex Hoops gleaned the idea for the giveaway from another church in Texas, but made the event specific to their context and the amount of money they had to give away. Your congregation can do the same.

Where does the money come from?

Good Shepherd, Cincinnati received a bequest from a member with no strings attached. The money was to be used however the congregation felt it should be used. As a general policy, 25% of all undesignated gifts are used for outreach, 35% goes into their endowment fund and rest is used as needed, like to replace carpet and make repairs to the church. Having a gift policy in place is crucial to making sure all gifts are used fully and in the best way.  It also helps givers understand how the church will and will not use their gifts. Our synod’s Gift Planner is Christopher Burnett and he can provide you with a gift planning policy template to get your congregational council started on the process. He can be reached at chris.burnette@elca.org or (513) 509-8332.

Pr. John’s said it’s important that regular giving to the church not fund this kind of outreach event. Each family is given a gift they didn’t earn and didn’t deserve so that they can offer that gift to someone else, much like the gift of grace offered through Jesus.

Distributing the money

The God’s Grace, Your Hands planning team then went to work figuring out how many checks they would need and how to hand them out. The special event was advertised months in advance to build excitement and to make sure as many families as possible were present at worship services the weekend the checks were distributed. Members who attended the earlier services were sworn to secrecy so those attending later services would be equally surprised.

Telling the story

Once the gifts were given to whomever each family chose, the families were asked to share their stories in writing with the congregation. The stories were then posted to the church’s website for all to read. Notes of thanks from some recipients were also posted. Pastor Johns said that ‘typing out [the stories] also gives the person a chance to focus and think about the experience.’ Putting the story in writing further solidifies the experience and feelings surrounding that experience.

Why checks and not cash?

‘Checks lends some kind of accountability. We know where the checks went even if a story about the gift isn’t shared,’ said Johns.

Expect the unexpected

Pastor Johns said one of the blessings and learning opportunities that came from this outreach event is the challenges facing the homeless that most people don’t recognize or hear about. The church’s local bank called to see if the check a homeless person was trying to cash was legitimate because the person hadn’t put their name in the payee field and didn’t have an account there.

Guests at the worship services the weekend of the initial check giveaway were also invited to take a check and bless someone with it. At least one family has joined the church, in part, because of this outreach event.

The multiplication of this gift was also unexpected as the story spread as far as Washington, through the Washington Post, and into Canada, where a local artist found the story and is sending a painting to the church that the story inspired. Good Shepherd’s goal was to positively impact their community with the gifts, but God had bigger plans. Your congregation has the opportunity to do the same, regardless of the size of the gift or the size of your congregation.

If your congregation has a story about an unusual outreach event or strategy, please share it with the synod! Contact Susan Barton-Nonno, Director of Communications at 614.464.3532, extension 5 or sbarton-nonno@southernohiosynod.org.