Pay It Forward

I first heard the concept of "pay it forward" several years ago with the movie of the same name. I didn't realize that the first record of the concept is found in an ancient Athenian play around 317 BC. The principle of "pay it forward" is that when you are the recipient of a good from someone else, such as a gift of money, time or help in some way, you don't pay that person back, you pass on a gift to someone else, a third party in the future when they need it. So, instead of a payback you have a pay forward.

In the movie, "Pay It Forward," the student of a sociology teacher decided, as a project, to pay it forward to at least three people for every kindness shown to him. The idea would be that for every good thing someone does for you, you do three, and it should be something that the person could not do for themselves. In theory, this would create a geometric progression of good deeds. In the movie, this caught on and changed the live of this student and others in a way he could not have imagined.

Perhaps we know what we will get when we pay someone back, yet we don't know the potential of what can happen when we pay something forward. There is a risk, a mystery and an unknown potential of future blessings. After all, you have heard the saying, "What goes around, comes around." This can happen for good.

It's been almost a year since I have been at Village. When I came in May of last year, the budget giving was very low for the summer. We cut back spending on important ministries for youth, such as Falls Creek camp and other youth projects. We needed funds for Vacation Bible School and children's camp. There were many opportunities for outreach, but we just did not have the money in the budget. We have a budget but little money coming in for it. We cannot spend what we don't have. So, what this means is that we lose opportunity to see youth and children saved because the budget giving is so low in the summer.

I am asking you to join me in "Paying It Forward." The "It" is the budget. Above and beyond your regular giving in May, would you give an extra week or two offering? I'm asking for May 6 to be "Pay It Forward" Sunday for the budget. This is not a pet project, this is for the good of your whole church and its whole ministry. Imagine what a blessing it would be if we could collect an extra $28,000 to $56,000 above the regular budget needs in the Month of May. That combined with your faithful giving through the summer would help your church to fulfill the vision of leading people to be consumed by the love of Christ, especially the children. It will allow us to bring a record number of unchurched youth to Falls Creek, do other youth and children's programming that is so important to Village. Fun outreach opportunities abound. We love children and we don't want a little thing like money to stand in the way. You are a generous church and I ask for you to join Karen and me in "Paying It Forward" this Summer starting Sunday, May 6. Perhaps God has blessed you recently with something and this is what He meant it for.

In Jesus always,

Jimmy Kinnaird