Generosity and The Good Life

What is your vision of the Good Life? Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? Our vision of the Good Life will shape most of the decisions in our lives.

At Restoration, we long to be a people whose vision of the Good Life is a shared life. A shared life is life together. Being with Jesus, together. Becoming like Jesus, together. Doing what Jesus did, together. A shared life is also marked by actual sharing. We are giving away to the world what God has given us. A shared life is a generous life, a life for the sake of others. 

The mystery of Easter reminds us that when we give our lives for others, we actually find our lives grounded in the resurrection life of God. The life of God is a generous life, a generative life, a life that is full and flows over, life that is truly life!

This is the Good Life, the God Life. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17-19: 

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

At Restoration, we believe the Good Life is the God Life, which is a Generous Life, and this shapes the way we steward our shared resources. Yes, we are a church plant, and we don’t have it all figured out. Still, we wanted to figure out how to be generous with the little we have now so we can be entrusted to be generous with the more God might give us later. 

This is why we give away 20% right off the top of everything we receive. We invite each of us as individual members to tithe (give 10%) to Restoration, but Restoration, as a church, also GIVES two tithes! We give 10% of all our income to the Diocese of the Rocky Mountains (DRM). The DRM (under the leadership of Bishop Ken Ross) is our spiritual covering and provides leadership and care to our Pastor and Clergy. We also give an additional Missions Tithe to support local ministries and partners. This goes to support our work with Family Life Services, Stratton Meadows Elementary, and Welcome COS.

Back in January, when resources were being cut off to those in need, we were able to write a check to Welcome COS for $5,000 so they could provide care to those who needed it most. Here is a note from the Executive Director of Welcome COS thanking Restoration for our Generosity:

Dear Restoration Anglican Church Friends,

Thank you so very much for your generous donation to Welcome COS in January. As I sat down to write you a handwritten note, I realized that I wanted to send a message that could be dispersed more broadly to your leadership team and even your church at large.  Thus this email!  

As a new and still small nonprofit, every contribution makes a big impact.  When we launched our organization in August, we never imagined that the work of caring for our new neighbors would shift so dramatically in the new year.  We have seen our borders closed to refugees, and almost all funding for refugee resettlement has stopped.  We do believe that God has a plan and a purpose despite these changes to our work.  While most other agencies are considering closing their doors, our work is able to continue.  We know so many refugee families who are already here in the city, and our focus is on them. We were also overjoyed to hear of a new Afghan family that was able to self-fund their resettlement after receiving their SIV paperwork (special visas for those who worked with our military).  They made it to our city, but had none of the traditional support. Our staff have helped to furnish their apartment, delivered diapers and grocery gift cards, offered help with resource navigation, and most importantly, welcomed them to our community.  None of this work- with those already here and those few who are still arriving- would be possible without the engagement of churches in our community. Thank you for being part of this work, and we look forward to the many creative ways we can journey together in the coming years as we serve our city!

Blessings,

Amy

Restoration, praise Jesus for the good work he is doing in us and among us. Thank you for having a vision of the Good Life that causes you to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. Praise Jesus that He has taken hold of us so that we can keep taking hold of life that is truly life!