Church LifePip n Jay March 2012

Money mattersReflecting God’s generosity

Pip n JayMarch 2012

Overflowing generosity

Revd Tim Silk

In this issue...3 Jo & Luke Allen and Johnny Owen

4 Kingdom giving

6 Dealing with debt

7 Community living

8 On the prayer radar

Get in touchEmail: churchlife@pipnjay.org

Editors: Bern Leckie and Tim Silk

Production team: Mark Butt and Ellen Haggan

Next monthThe EASTER issue Out Sunday April 1 Story ideas and contributions needed by March 25

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“Seems like everybody’s got a price... When the sale comes first, and the truth comes second, just stop for a minute…”

Last year Jessie J won Capital FM’s “Best role model in pop” award. She’s a very influential person and her song “Price tag” raises the question of worth, what is something actually worth?

As we reflect on money in this issue of Church Life, we read stories of how the Holy Spirit has provided for people’s needs; often at the last moment, and almost always through someone’s generosity. He has even kept people close to Jesus, in the midst of no financial provision.

We realise the truth that in plenty or in want it is possible, through His strength, to do everything he requires of us.

We realise that this truth is a real life truth, but it can be an uncomfortable one to learn and to benefit from.

One of the examples of generosity in the Bible doesn’t come from people who have plenty, but those who have very little. Paul points to the church in Macedonia who “…out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8. 2).

How amazing that the model givers gave not out of their wealth but out of their extreme poverty! They clearly considered what they were giving to, to be worth giving to even at great expense to themselves.

However the ultimate giver, and the most powerful pattern of generosity is the Lord Jesus Christ “…that though he was rich (understatement), yet for your sakes he became poor (wonder-statement) , so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (verse 9) We can never out-give God’s generosity. The greatest model for investing our resources is His grace.

We are onto a winner when we realise that God Himself invites us to be generous, underwritten by His account. It is remarkable to give out of His generosity, and even to be rewarded for it.

So, if we realise we can be generous with His generosity, because everything belongs to him anyway, then what exactly is worth being generous towards?

Jesus said some revealing things about money. He said “where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” We spend money on the things we value. Money is one of the currencies through which we express our love. Money really

does change in value, yet Jesus says “…store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

What is truly worth the price tag? Well, whatever will outlast the years. Whatever will invest in people experiencing the ultimate giver, invest in that which cannot lose its value, invest in his Kingdom. In fact, sell all you can and invest it in what He is doing.

The most powerful pattern of

generosity is the Lord Jesus

Christ

Luke and Jo Allen spoke to Ellen Haggan of their experiences of depending on God in financial uncertainty.

How have you found times when money is tight?

Jo: When we got married we had to plan a wedding in two months with no money. A miracle happened because people gave their time and services. In a way it was more special that it was not ‘miraculous’ in the usual sense, but came from the overflowing generosity of God’s people.

Luke: I’ve applied for so many bursaries to support my burgeoning family as a student and every time I have to fill out our income and outgoings. Some of the time it’s been a deficit of £6,000. The missionary Heidi Baker’s slogan is ‘there’s always enough’. The money always materialises – I even feel a bit irresponsible because of my lack

of worry! We try to honour that principle by being careful with what we have and aiming for a simple lifestyle.

Do you worry about money?

Jo: I get worried when we go into the red. But it’s not worry that we will be evicted, it’s more about being aware that I need to be a better steward. God always provides, I’ve never been in a place where he hasn’t.

What’s been your experience of God’s provision?

Jo: Provision is really exciting and it’s all about stepping out in faith. God puts people in your path who have a gracious and generous heart and of course he can provide miraculously, but you also need to honour him with your own actions.

Luke: We’ve filled in thousands of sheets of paper to get financial assistance – money usually delivered

in tiny instalments that mean we live from month to month. Every so often I get a phone call saying ‘There’s a bit more money in our poor student fund - would you like some?’ There have been times when bills are due and a letter has come in the post at the last hour saying we are eligible for more financial assistance.

Jo: Most importantly God does give back to you when you give. So when God does provide, we don’t want to ignore people who are in need.

Have you ever experienced miraculous provision?

Jo: Once I was going to speak at a youth weekend away. I prayed and then half the money came through the post with an anonymous note. Nobody that I was aware of knew how much I needed. I went and the Holy Spirit blasted the people there – it was amazing!

Depending on God’s provision

In his 20s, Johnny Owen was challenged to adopt an Old Testament principle of giving God a tenth – or tithe – of what he produced, and to give more out of generosity on top.

“It seemed difficult in lean times,” he said. “My nature was to hang on to stuff and want to be wealthy. I was challenged by Pip n Jay’s teaching and seeing how generous others in church were.

“At first I accepted the principle of generous giving as one of God’s important commands. Later I found it disciplined me to let go of something I want to keep hold of. Giving is a reminder that this is God’s stuff, not mine.

“I believe God’s promises that we reap what we sow, and that God gives back to us for our benefit.”

One return Johnny has seen is work – he is now asked by secular companies about how to manage finances and improve business. Johnny would like prayer that he would reflect God’s nature in the way he works.

Generous giving changes us

Giving to further the work of the church and see God’s kingdom increase has long been embedded into the culture of Pip n Jay, just as it was in the early church where the believers shared all that they had as God empowered them by his Spirit to proclaim the Gospel.

“We give because it’s Biblical, that’s the bottom line,” says Gary Cox, who served for many years as director of Eurovangelism, a Bristol-based charity that supports and resources Christians and churches across Europe.

“The Bible teaches that it’s better to give than receive; they took up offerings to help the widows and the poor. If you are going around preaching the Gospel, you have got to pay your way – you see it in the way churches supported Paul’s ministry. We want to follow Jesus’ instruction to feed the hungry, to heal the sick and to make disciples.”

Currently Pip n Jay gives regular financial support to 12 individuals or couples who have felt God’s call to serve in Bristol and beyond. They are involved in a diverse range of places and projects, demonstrating and declaring God’s love to those to whom they have been sent. One

example is Carolyn Revill, who left Bristol to work as a teacher at Dihlabeng Christian School in Clarens, a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. In the past year, the school has introduced a morning worship assembly once a week at which children are encouraged to pray for one another and prophesy.

Carolyn says: “It has been encouraging to see their faith grow as we have seen God answer our ‘big’ and ‘small’ prayers. As a class teacher, I have also been able to pray alongside individual children who struggle with learning or behaviour issues. It has been a privilege to pray with these children – to see how God

is helping them to change and grow in their faith.”

One of the school’s ‘big prayers’ was for £42,000 to build a two-classroom pre-school – and with the help of contributions from Pip n Jay and many others, this was opened in January. It will also help further the vision of the school to reach the white Afrikaans/English families and bring communities together.

“I can only praise God for his faithfulness and timing in this project,” Carolyn adds. “He has also provided a trained Christian nursery nurse from the UIK, experienced in running her own pre-school, to work alongside a local Basotho teacher.”

The Mission Possible team supported by Eurovangelism in Bulgaria

Kingdom givingCaroline Thomas caring for

street kids in MadagascarCarolyn Revill teaching in South African school Martin Bateman & familysharing faith through sport

Carolyn is also involved in her local church, where she currently serves as a leader of the Mapheo group which reaches the most vulnerable children (aged 3 to 14) in the church. Meanwhile, another group meets at a café in the centre of one of the townships during the week, strategically placed to be a witness to the wider community.

Occasionally members of Pip n Jay have the opportunity to support what is happening around the world practically as well as financially. Through the link with Eurovangelism - aside from Gary’s involvement, two other members of Pip n Jay, Sally Bertram and Rachel Woolcock, also work for the charity – the church became aware of the need for a women’s refuge in Bulgaria.

“Some years ago there was a dreadful case of abuse that went to court,” Gary explains. “Except people are bribed and the woman is humiliated. The accused just sit there in court laughing at her knowing that the judge has already made up his mind.

“The opportunity came up through Mission Possible (Eurovangelism’s partner organisation in Bulgaria) to buy a former communist party building that could be used as a rehab centre and haven for abused women. It has taken about seven years to get

it up and running and during that time there have been teams going out from Pip n Jay to do practical work.”

Sally explained further: “Pip n Jay first went out to work on “Home Dobromirka” back in September 2009 and it has now been transformed into a peaceful haven for women. Mission Possible has started using the shelter by running courses for women entitled “Under the Hem of His Garment”, they will see how these courses go as they work out how best to help women at risk in the future. The first course went really well and the team were touched to see many of the women visibly changed and more positive.

“A further course with about 20 women is taking place at the start of March, with a team from Highgrove Church in Bristol providing training in pampering, which can be used as a ministry to

these women. In May there are plans for women to be taken on longer term, during which time they will undertake some form of vocational training such as hairdressing or tailoring.

“Exciting news is that there seems to be a positive awakening of Bulgarian pastors from around the country about this work with women at risk – a great step forward in a country where abuse is estimated to affect almost half the population.”

What does God say about money?A few of the Bible’s 2,500 references to money, wealth and possessions (from the 2011 NIV):

God owns it all

“To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” Deuteronomy 10:14

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” Psalm 24:1

God provides for us

“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 8:17-18

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33

God is interested in how we handle his things

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” Luke 16:10-11

The secret of contentment is in Christ, not stuff

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13

I can only praise God for

his faithfulness and his timing

In a tough economy, people increasingly end up spending more than they earn. Debt can become a crippling problem, which Liz Caselton has experienced. She now volunteers for Christians Against Poverty (CAP), a charity which provides free help to get out of debt.

What kinds of people get into debt, and how does it affect them?

Liz: There is no type. It affects everybody, middle class or poor, young or old. Debt depresses people, makes them jump when the phone goes or hide when the door knocks.

So what can CAP do to help?

CAP negotiates with creditors to try and suspend interest on debt and agree affordable payments for a client. They have done this for a long time and have a lot of clout with creditors. They establish a single CAP account for clients to pay into, and CAP manages debt payments from there. CAP also helps clients to budget and save for the future, we pray with clients and there is ongoing support for them until they are debt-free and beyond.

What is your role in CAP?

Clients receive visits from a debt coach and a befriender. I volunteer as a befriender, to be on the client’s side, listen to them, remember their personal details, pray for them and offer help if the debt coach’s advice needs explanation. After three initial visits to gather information, agree a budget and check all is well after payments have started, I will offer more meetings to ensure the client is OK.

What has this experience been like for you?

It is exciting to see a client’s relief that there is an end in sight when they see a budget – they look calmer. You can see how being debt free is going to change their life. The stressful part is that I don’t know what I am going to

walk into, but I have had training with other befrienders and it is good to be part of a team with the debt coach. My husband Chris and I are former CAP clients, so we know how helpful the process is.

How can we pray for and support you?

First visits can be hard. We need the right words to say to a client, and wisdom to know how many times is right to visit as financial responsibility is handed back to the client in stages. The church can also

help by offering more volunteers or considering running a CAP centre for the area.

If you need help

You can call Christians Against Poverty on 0800 328 0006 or browse their free resources at www.capdebthelp.org

Dealing with debtMaking a budget is the most useful thing you can do to avoid debt. It lets

you gain awareness of your money situation and make the best decisions

about spending, saving and giving.

In an emergency, get help right away (see below). If you’re not in debt

emergency, now is a great time to start tracking your spending for a

month before committing to future changes. Write every transaction

down and categorise it (e.g. food, entertainment, household bills) so you

know where all the money is going. There are lots of free tools to help

with this – see links at pipnjay.org.

As you track spending, pray. Jesus said that “where your treasure is, there

your heart will be also.” Watching the flow of money reveal something

about our hearts can be very uncomfortable, but God wants us to grow

in Christ. Pray as you compare your actual spending with your ideal plan,

drawing up a budget for the next month. Ask God to shape your desires in

how to spend, save and give.

If you desire to give more, God can often show you how with the help of

a budget – the secret is to commit to giving before spending. It is also a

good idea to pray for contentment with the things you have, and to ask

God to reveal where desires for stuff need to give way to a desire for

more of him.

If it looks like you can’t avoid heading into debt, consider reducing your

expenses by living more simply for now, paying off credit cards as a

high priority to avoid interest, selling things you don’t use, looking for

additional work or seeking expert help.

Crown Financial Ministries is a Christian money education charity that helps people apply Biblical teaching on handling finances, wealth and possessions to their daily lives. Bern Leckie found that their resources and guidance helped him and his wife Helen at a time of transition.

Bern felt called to a discipleship year out, reducing his hours at work, at the same time as Helen began studying for a degree. This meant that their income dropped from two full-time salaries to one part-time salary.

“Part of the process of working this out came from Crown Financial Ministries,” Bern said. “They found about 2,500 references in the Bible to money, wealth and possessions: God knows our focus is often on those things. Crown produced a Bible study course and started to notice that when people had done it, they hadn’t just done a money course, but

a whole-of-life discipleship course.

“The central principle that came through was from Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything

in it’. Our role is one of stewardship, looking after what God has given us – but it’s all still His stuff.“

Bern’s first experience of God’s wisdom over money matters came as a teenager when his family was faced with some financial hardship. “Later it struck me that for everyone who has prayed and an anonymous donation turns up, someone else has prayed and God has told them to give that sum of money away. Being on top of your finances frees you up to respond like that.”

Find out more at www.crownuk.org.

Help is at hand

Lily Ratta, Emily Churcher and Andrew Stansbury talked to Church Life about their community house.

God gave us a vision of a house on a street radiating light into the community. This took shape alongside the verse in Acts 4:32: ‘All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.’ We wanted to share not only our money and possessions, but also live highly accountable to each other by eating and praying together often. We hoped to create a place where people could feel welcome, escape difficulty and feel loved.

We have a joint bank account and each of us puts a certain amount of money per month depending on how much we can give. That account is then used for most expenses including food, bills, leisure and socialising. When we can, we use that account to give money to any people or places that need it. When we’re home or for any bigger purchases, we use our separate accounts.

All our possessions are shared with each other, everything is ‘ours’ as opposed to ‘mine’ ... including clothes!

We are more willing to rely on God in all situations, but particularly concerning financial stability. Being in such close community has meant we have grown in fellowship. We encourage and challenge each other

to greater degree in our individual walks with God. We also have a greater understanding of what loving others means; especially tolerating, accepting and forgiving one another.

To begin with there were struggles over what our spending limits were. As a result of living in such a close-knit environment, inevitably there are times when we take out our frustrations on each other. However God has used this to bring us closer together and we are learning to be more understanding and forgiving of each other daily.

Would you recommend it to others?

Absolutely! But it is not something to consider lightly and must be entered into with a willing and open heart and with people you trust.

If you had to start afresh, what would you do differently?

If we had never been in a community house we would establish whether God is actually calling us to it and go for it regardless of fears. We would also set more time aside to work on bringing people into the community and be bolder in prayer. We would start by part-sharing money with the expectation that God would grow it in the appropriate way. We don’t want to just share all our things for the sake of it. We want to share all our stuff so Jesus is seen more, and we step more into the freedom he has for us.

Life in community

On the Pip n Jay prayer radar...

Roy EasleyJust over 20 years ago, Roy was an active builder, decorator and jack of all trades, working in maintenance at New Bridewell Police Station. A tragic accident at home crushed part of his spine, leaving him with a 50% chance of paralysis.

The day of Roy’s first back operation was also the first time he prayed. As he recovered, he turned to God and thanked him. This was the beginning of Roy’s new life.

“Since then,” said Roy, “life had to change. I could no longer work. I avoided being paralysed, but there has been pain in my body 24/7. But the Lord is with me on my right hand side. He comforts me wherever I go, whatever I do.”

Roy is now unable to walk and he comes to Sunday evening services in a motorised mobility scooter. He found Pip n Jay after frustration with access issues at other churches, but on his first Sunday here Roy said he found “joy in my body, glory within me and peace.” Roy joined the teams giving out chocolates and invites on the streets in Advent, he is making friends and looking for more ways to participate.

A key person who has helped Roy get through life is 90-year-old Marge, a friend of Roy’s late mother who became his ‘second mum.’ “Marge is a Christian who has called me her son for over 30 years. She helped me find God and she was overjoyed when I told her I had started coming to Pip n Jay.”

Roy’s current prayer requests are for his health. “I don’t know if I will ever be 100%, but the Lord moves in mysterious ways. I am sometimes scared about pain, but I find comfort in prayer.”

Money prayersWe asked for people’s prayers and praise reports . Here are the first few:

Geoff Hall: Thanks to God for the raising of just about enough money to shoot ‘My Name Is Sorrow’ [an anti-slavery film]. Please pray for a corporate sponsor for our charity fund-raising premiere.

Linda Jenner: I needed a private consultation for a medical procedure, which we had to travel to Birmingham for. Unexpectedly I was offered the procedure the same day, so we had to make our decision on the spot. It would cost just under £1,000. A cheque for £1,000 had been put through the door before we left early in the morning!

Emily Churcher: I am applying to do YWAM Discipleship Training school in September, and if I get in, I will need to raise $6,000 and more for the cost of flights and visas. I know that God will provide - but it is a scary thought with student debts, etc. I have applied for many jobs over the summer, so prayer that he will provide one would be amazing, but even if I work full-time, I wouldn’t be able to raise that much money, so prayer for provision would be so appreciated!

What are you praying for?You can share your prayer requests with others on our Facebook group or in the next edition of Church Life – email prayer@pipnjay.org

If you also have an urgent practical need, you can con-tact the Care Links team via Cilla Weir on 0117 924 7301.

Prayer for churchWednesday March 7, 8pm is our next central prayer meet-ing for the church. Please put it in your diary and come!

Prayer against povertyNear the start of Lent, Abigail Shepherd and Liz Caselton led prayer groups as part of One Voice, Tearfund’s global poverty prayer movement.

Tearfund believes that the local church is a powerful force for transformation in communities living in every kind of poverty. Inspired by the example and teaching of Jesus, they recognise

people’s material and spiritual needs. They seek to meet these needs through local church partners in Africa, Asia, South American, Eastern Europe and the UK.

“This week we prayed for spiritual and material change, and action to challenge injustice,” said Abigail.

“What we found most inspiring was the challenge to transform where we are by sharing Jesus’ love.”