How Will You Receive the Message of Renewal? by Laura Rodgers

As I think about Renewal during this unprecedented and unimaginable time we’re living in, I’ll admit it’s a new idea. My mind has been set on just making it through these days—driving two kids to school, working at home since March, overseeing two of our kids who are learning at home, managing house projects, caring for others in our family, and supporting my husband, Gary, in his new job. So instead of just making it through, I’ll be listening as our pastor and the ministry team encourage me toward Renewal.

In my history of financial giving to the church, I have experienced seasons. As a young professional, I committed to giving and made that part of my routine. As I faced different financial challenges as a single adult with bills and homeownership, my giving sometimes changed. When I got married, and when we adopted our children, my giving changed. In March and April, when the virus brought our world to a stop and Gary was furloughed from his job as a hotel catering manager, I thought our giving would have to change again. This time, I thought it could be dramatic.

But in those days, God provided. Unemployment benefits began for Gary, and I committed to continuing our giving and ultimately increasing it. Because we didn’t take a vacation this summer and our expenses decreased while we weren’t commuting for several months, we looked at our budget and realized we could direct some of those unexpected resources to our church. We knew the church would need it as expenses continued even while so many other elements of normal church life changed. As a church minister’s daughter, I have a heart for supporting our church staff in many ways, including their compensation. Our family benefited from online VBS, online worship services, and other new expenses and experiences our church had this year. These were some of the thoughts that helped us arrive at the giving we would continue.

How will you receive the message of Renewal? We’re all in unique places as we navigate this year, but I hope we can each continue our individual ways of supporting our church.