This post first-appeared on “7 Spices and a Cup of Tea,” the personal blog of Janee Angel, one of CBF’s field personnel. You can read more here about Janee’s ministry among immigrants and refugees in Antwerp, Belgium.
By Janee Angel
When we started this plant of a church two and a half years ago I could have never imagined how many different hats I would wear. I am the church pianist and worship leader (in the sense that I lead the practices as the women sing in Arabic). I am the sound person.
I help set up the chairs and pulpit each week. I am responsible for making sure the tea and coffee…with lots of sugar…is prepared. I am the children’s coordinator. I arrange the pre-school care and I teach the older children Sunday school…in Dutch. I am the church secretary. I am responsible for all evangelistic literature orders. I print church business cards. I teach a women’s Bible study every month.
I organize special events and do all the specialized shopping. I have a calendar of children’s birthdays and buy gifts for each one. I make hospital visits and home visits. I fulfill all the other responsibilities of being a pastoral wife. And, I collect the offering and count and record them each week, making deposits in the bank account.
For over a year of Bible studies and church services we never took an offering. We had some core people who were afraid that an offering collection would offend others and they would stop coming to church. So we started slowly with an offering box that we politely sat in the center of the refreshment table after the service. Then about a year ago we reached an agreement that an offering collection in the service was a good thing to do.
Arabs like to pass an offering bag instead of the traditional Baptist plate. It’s discrete, it’s personal. Maybe it is more comfortable for the ones who don’t have much, if anything, to give. There are many weeks when I count the offering and think of Luke 21:1-4.
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
When you work with immigrants, some who have no source of income or legal residence, it is easy to see how the widow’s offering was a blessing to Jesus. When people give more than you can imagine it touches your heart. Sacrificial giving given from humble people is a beautiful thing to see. As it turns out, in our case, taking an offering in church hasn’t hurt our attendance or scared people away. The chance to give has given people a very tangible way to give to the Lord.
In the recent months people have started to drop by our house with special offerings. As we grow in our attendance people have seen a vision to have a place of our own one day. Although we don’t know when that day will arrive when we can afford our own building, God has given people a vision. In fact, one Egyptian man was praying for our church when he heard God tell him to give me (Janée) money for a building.
God told him if he would begin to give to me to be responsible for, that money would grow. Just this evening he came to the door with a sum of money in his hands for me. He just got married last weekend and decided to give a portion of his wedding gifts to the Lord. Because of his job (a dish washer in a restaurant) he can’t even make it to church very often but his heart and prayers are with us every week…as is his tithe to God.
Truly I tell you…this poor immigrant has given more than all the others. They gave their gifts out of their wealth. But he gave out of his poverty and all he had to live on.
What a blessing to give to the Lord because our true riches are in Him.