“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25).
I claim this promise for the people of Discovery Church.
On August 3rd, we arrived in Galway, Ireland with the intentions that we strive to have in every ministry site that we arrive at: to wash the feet of the local church through service. Since that day, we have been nothing but served by the people of Discovery Church. We have had our feet washed in a number of ways. The overflowing generosity that constantly pours forth from the people at this church has refreshed teams Umoja and Koinonia beyond belief.
Our contact, Jimmy, immediately blessed us upon arrival by taking the time to give us a full introduction to Galway and to our ministry. He dedicated himself to giving us the vision and the excitement that he has for this city. While he has very busy days himself, he took the time out to really pour into us and give us direction for our month here.
The night of our first full day in Galway, we had a “pot luck” dinner with the members of Discovery Church. Even just meeting them and interacting with them was such a treat, but since that day the members of the church just continued going above and beyond in their giving to us. Two of the men from the church, Padraig and Ken, dedicated their days to preparing us for street evangelism and then going out into Galway with us and pushing us to put their teachings into practice. These men have full time jobs and families, yet dedicated their time to really pouring into us and raising us up as ministers of the word. What a gift their knowledge and experience was to our team.
The generosity of the church does not stop there. Multiple families took us out to eat, cooked meals for us, invited us into their homes, and spent their time and energy simply showing us love. Last Sunday, as we sat in church service during offering time, the pastor announced to the church that he would especially like for the members of the church to give generously that morning because their offering would go to a special cause. The church had decided to take up an entire offering just to give to our two World Race teams as a “thank you” gift. I was absolutely blown away; before I knew it, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I was so overwhelmed that a church body who had done nothing but pour out gifts to us since we arrived would even consider taking up an offering for us.
As a team, we have recognized this month the importance of simply learning to receive. As participants in the World Race, we have dedicated ourselves to serving the world around us. This month, we really have felt as though we were the ones being served. As difficult as that is for us sometimes, we recognize that this is how the body of Christ functions as a whole. We must allow the church body to use the gifts that they have been blessed with to refresh us when we are in need, so that we can in turn pour that out on others. That is what makes the body of Christ a functioning unit.
I’ve always heard people say that learning to receive is one of the hardest lessons, and based on what our team has experienced this month, that is true. I think the reason for that is the fact that all of us like to believe that we are the ones with something to offer. We like to have the ability to give, but learning to receive is such a humbling process. As a follower of Christ, though, our whole lives really are about receiving. We have received grace beyond what is fathomable, and we daily receive gifts from the living Spirit of God. Because of that, I pray that I would learn daily how to receive more and more.
I would like to give a huge thanks to Discovery Church for making our time in Ireland not only a wonderful experience, but also a beautiful lesson in how to receive well from the body of Christ. Thank you for generosity that overflows from hearts of servants. Thank you for so beautifully illustrating the reality of what the church should look like: always generous and willing to share. May you be refreshed because of the way that you have refreshed us.
