The Anchor

Ministry

Are you a generous person? 

 

Chances are that you are. 

 

I like to think that the entire Endeavour College community is full of generous people. 

We see this generosity in our students everywhere, and we know that generosity comes from the culture they live in- both here in school and in their own homes. 

Our Year 9 students are currently demonstrating generosity and providing an opportunity for others in their Refu.Me project – which you will find on the Notices page within this Anchor, and we encourage you to participate in. 

 

They are experiencing what we all experience, and what Jesus first said:

 that it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). 

There are some other components to being generous financially that we perhaps don’t think about a lot, that we shared during chapel this week: 

  1. Charities love consistent, regular giving. It helps them plan and provide certainty as they provide assistance to others, reducing anxiety both for them, and for those they help. 
  2. It is easier for us to give when we see a need, if we have finances already earmarked for giving away. Spontaneous giving is more fun when there are financial resources available specifically purposed for giving away. 
  3. When we give, we can give like we love, to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. This means taking care of big items like charity, those that we know and love, and also ourselves, and then we can live on what is left for our daily needs. 
  4. The key to generosity is to intentionally live and plan our lives according to our values. Whether that be equal rights between genders, curing cancer, removing poverty, taking care of struggling family members, or growing the kingdom of God. If we plan to give according to what matters most to us, we find joy in making a consistent difference and we are motivated to do the same. 

All of this giving mirrors the generosity of God, who gave us Jesus. God continuously gives to all people even if they don’t know God or love God. He gives intentionally, and generously, and especially seeks to give wisdom, understanding, love, grace, and forgiveness. 

 

May you continue to be generous, planning and living a life of giving. 

 

Chris Mann

College Pastor