LA BOLT, SD (April 30, 2009) \u2013 An idea to give attendees at LaBolt Covenant Church a \u201creverse tithe\u201d has led to the start of a new ongoing ministry, \u201cMission Meals.\u201d
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\nThe church council recently decided to give each of the youth and adults $25 to be used to help another person, family, or organization. The only stipulation was that they had to report back to the church what they did with the money.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Sunday school picked up on the idea, and every child age five and older received $20 from our Sunday-school fund,\u201d says pastor Mark Chapman.<\/p>\n
Mission Meals was born when two families pooled their money, purchased groceries, and made several ready-to-bake meals and stocked the church freezer with them, Chapman says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone can now come to the church and take a full meal, along with a greeting card, to another family or individual for any reason,\u201d says Chapman. \u201cMeals have been delivered to cancer patients, people recovering from surgery and several others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council subsequently decided to fund the ministry through the general fund, Chapman says.<\/p>\n
The \u201creverse tithe\u201d was used in other ways as well. Some people gave money to a local food pantry, to a couple who both had been laid off. Others bought clothes for a needy family and purchased track shoes for a high-school athlete who couldn\u2019t afford his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs pastor, I am very proud of our congregation of 60 people for taking this financial faith step in highly uncertain economic times,\u201d says Chapman. \u201cPeople expect the church to be asking for more money in times like this. We are showing the community around us that the love of Jesus turns everything around.\u201d<\/p>\n