DAY TWO: GIVING IS A PART OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE BODY

Review:

• There are as many ministries/callings (assignments) as there are believers,
  and all work together to accomplish God’s will and bring glory to Him.
• Whatever your assignment, God has equipped you to carry out your calling and
  ministry, and it is He who will bring about the results that He desires.

The assignment that God has given you does not stand alone. You are a part of
a team. God has not told you to do everything to reach the world for Christ and
equip other believers; He has given you a specific set of responsibilities in
the world wide task. Like a large stained glass window in a historic church that
has many pieces of glass to make one picture, you are one piece of the picture
that God is using in the world and through your church. Every person has a task
and the body functions best when each part is doing their part. Part of your
mission is to serve and give faithfully to the work of the ministry. Anyone
called to ministry understands that at times you may be the recipient of an
offering or some financial help for a ministry that you are involved in. You
should understand more than most that each dollar given to a ministry is
precious and important. You should also understand that financial giving is a
mandate of God to every child of God. (Malachi 3:6-12 ) Giving affects you, your
church and the ability of the world-wide mission to continue.

Philippians 4:14-20

Paul was traveling and sharing the love of Christ. He worked to earn a living
in some places, but in other places was supported by the churches so he could
continue to establish more churches and share the love of Christ. It has always
been a part of the calling of believers to financially support ministry efforts.
2 Corinthians 8:8-15 describes
multiple churches working together to share in a single offering. This is the
picture of the mission giving and coordination Southern Baptists have had since
1925.

Baptists participate in a method of giving to missions called the Cooperative Program (CP).
Each church decides what percentage of their offering each week will go toward
CP missions and what part the church will keep at home. When the church sends
their mission money to the Cooperative Program, the money is divided among
missionaries around the world, mission work in North America, seminaries,
disaster relief ministries, evangelistic media campaigns, church planting and
much more. The Cooperative Program supports mission work in your state, around
the nation and in many countries around the world. Every week when you give
financially to your church, you are giving to reach and minister to people
around the world.

Christians want to help with issues like world hunger, clothing, medical
help, church planting and outreach ministries. But, there are so many needs,
which ministries will you support? The genius of the Cooperative Program is that
you can give to all of those missions each week and your offering will be
combined with other people’s offerings to make the gift large enough to raise up
new missionaries, support existing missionaries, provide clean water for poverty
stricken countries, get Bibles to the lost, start new churches and much more.

As a part of the team that is the body of Christ, you have certain
responsibilities; to carry out your assignment and to encourage the other
members of your team. You have a responsibility to serve, to give, to pray and
to go.

Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your
journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you.

How does it make you feel to realize that your assignment does not stand
alone and that you are a member of a larger team?

How does it make you feel to know that you are not only an ambassador of
Christ, but a member of His body here on earth?

In your experience, do the members of the body of Christ behave as a team?
Explain. What is your role in making sure that they do?

What is God teaching you about your assignment?