Fellowship is rich in good deeds

Fellowship Church in Poplar Bluff once again is asking its congregation to “Be Rich” in the Christmas spirit of giving with its annual outreach offering.

Based on 1 Timothy 6:18, which says, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share,” Fellowship plans to raise thousands of dollars on Sunday, Dec. 20, for four different charities.

The Rev. Byron Beck, senior pastor of Fellowship, said the idea started in 2008, when the church heard about a Christmas giving movement called the “Advent Conspiracy.”

The initial suggestion was simple: each family was asked to pick one person in their family to receive one fewer gift. They would then give that money as an offering earmarked to help bring clean water to a remote foreign village.

In that first year, $5,000 was raised and donated to Living Water International to help a village in Peru drill a clean water well.

In 2011-2012, the church raised money and sent their own mission teams to help dig wells in El Salvador and then funded wells to be dug in Zambia in 2013 and Haiti in 2014.

The “Be Rich” idea came in 2015 from Andy Stanley’s North Point Community Church in Atlanta.

This idea was even more ambitious: give the entire church’s offering for one week in December.

Although the church leadership wasn’t sure how it would affect their overall budget, the congregation approved the idea.

In 2015, the church raised $43,500 for four different charities, with a focus on continuing on a water mission, plus local, state, national and international organizations.

Over the past five years, “Be Rich” offerings have averaged more than $47,000 per year.

“We’ve never had any financial problems from giving a week of offerings,” Beck said. “We’ve always been able to give generously and still meet our budget.”

The 2020 “Be Rich” recipients are: Sleep in Heavenly Peace, making and providing beds for needy children; Rayni Day Miracles, serving children with life-threatening illnesses and their families; Water Mission, providing clean water and sanitation facilities overseas; General Baptist Bible College, Davao City, Philippines, which has been hit hard by COVID-19.

All in all, the total giving from 2008-2019 amounts to $299,483.70 from a congregation of about 500 people.