Once a year, we enter a season of generosity that goes above and beyond our regular giving: we call it Reach Offering.
Weekly Devotionals
To prepare our hearts for this season, we’re sharing weekly devotionals that anchor our generosity in the core motivations of our church.
Week 1: Interdependence - We are One Body (Romans 15)
Read Romans 15:25–27 (NIV)
“Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”
The Situation
The church in Jerusalem was struggling. They faced persecution, poverty, and hunger. Meanwhile, churches hundreds of miles away in Macedonia and Achaia—Gentile believers—heard about it.
They didn’t see it as “someone else’s problem.” They saw it as their own opportunity. Paul writes that these churches were not only pleased to give—they felt obligated to give. Not out of guilt, but because they understood the Kingdom principle: We are one Body.
The spiritual blessings of the gospel had come to them through the Jewish people—now it was time to return the favor through material support. They weren’t just supporting “those Christians in Jerusalem. They were supporting themselves—the Church.
Lessons Learned
- Interdependence is a Kingdom principle. When one part of the Body suffers, we all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26).
- Generosity is rooted in shared identity. We give not to them but to us.
- Mutual responsibility leads to mutual blessing. The gospel binds us together across cultures, borders, and needs.
Application
What happens in one place in God’s Church affects us all.
When we participate in Reach Offering, we’re not just giving to a cause—We’re building up the Body of Christ.
It’s not “their mission.” It’s not “their Church.” It’s ours.
Reflection Questions
- Do I see the global Church as theirs or ours?
- What would change in my generosity if I believed that helping others in the Church is actually helping myself?
Week 2: Support for Ministry - Giving Fuels the Mission (Philippians 4)
Read Philippians 4:10-19 (NIV)
“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
The Situation
Paul is not only an apostle, but he is also one of the most effective and hard-working missionaries in history. Paul needed money, food, and other resources as he did his missionary work.
One purpose of the letter of Philippians is to thank the church for their support of his mission work. Paul went through substantial hardships, but he learned to adjust to them.
Paul taught that the missionary support from the Philippian church was also considered a fragrant offering to God.
Lessons Learned
- Mission work costs money and resources.
- When missionaries do not receive support, they go through hardships.
- Money given for missionary work is a fragrant offering to God.
Application
Mission work isn’t just something we support—it’s something we’re a part of.
When we give, we’re not just meeting a need—we’re joining in the work of the gospel.
Generosity isn’t charity—it’s worship. It’s partnership. It’s obedience.
Their mission is our mission. Their story is our story.
Reflection Questions
- Have I ever experienced the joy of being part of someone else’s mission success through my giving? What did that teach me?
- Am I actively supporting mission work in a way that reflects worship and obedience to God? What might God be inviting me to give—financially, prayerfully, or practically?
- What would change in my life if I really believed that giving is a spiritual act of giving to God, not just a financial one?
Week 3: Unity Across Cultures - A Witness to the World (Isaiah 49)
Read Isaiah 49:6 (NIV)
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
The Situation
The first-century church was made of Jews and Gentiles—two groups with a long, complicated, and often hostile history. There were cultural tensions, religious differences, and centuries of mistrust. But in Acts and throughout Paul’s letters, we see something extraordinary: The Gentile churches gave generously to support Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Why? Because the gospel had made them family.
Paul says in Romans 15:27:
“They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them.” They weren’t just giving to Jerusalem. They were giving to the Body of Christ. Across languages, continents, and cultural walls—love overflowed.
Lessons Learned
God’s vision was never limited to one culture—He is building a global Church. When believers give across cultural lines, it reflects the supernatural unity of the gospel. From the beginning, His promise to Abraham was that “all nations” would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3).
The prophets declared that God’s salvation wasn’t just for one people group—but for all. Isaiah 49 makes it clear: Restoring Israel was not enough. God wanted the gospel to reach the nations. That prophecy found its first fulfillment in the early church.
Application
Today, when people in Broward give to an orphanage in Jamaica, when Reach helps fund Churches in South America, when we partner with believers across language barriers and cultural divides… we are fulfilling prophecy.
We are proving that Jesus really does break down walls (Ephesians 2:14). That His Church is not defined by skin colors, flags, or native tongues—But by the blood of Christ.
Reflection Questions
- Do I see the global Church as part of my own spiritual family?
- Is my generosity shaped more by cultural comfort—or Jesus’ vision or the “Kingdom”?
- What story does my giving tell the world about the unity of the gospel?
Week 4: Organized Collections - Integrity and Purpose (1 Cor. 16:1–4)
Coming soon.
What We Give To
Be part of something bigger than this moment — something rooted in history and reaching into the future.