One Story

Living generous lives

When Dr. John C. Maxwell spoke to the people of Christ Fellowship about generosity and trust, he issued a challenge: Tithe for three months, he said, and see if God doesn’t bless you in amazing ways.

For Claudie*, it only took a week. A new believer and single mother of two, Claudie was financially at rock bottom. Without child support and relying on rent assistance, she still stepped out in faith to give 10 percent of her pay back to the Lord.

Within days, He returned to her not just that amount but hundreds of dollars more through the unexpected sale of some unused items.

Claudie, who has since been baptized, is overjoyed and overwhelmed: “Thank you for this great experience of trusting God with my finances. God is doing a wonderful work in my life. I am loving it!”

Finally trusting, finally tithing

Salina has been a Christian for 23 years, and even worked as an accountant for another church. She knew God wanted her to tithe. But she never did it.

Then Salina’s husband, Terrence, asked her to attend the Journey to Financial Freedom seminar at the Royal Palm Campus, where they worship.

“Something inside me changed that day,” she relates. “I saw that my unwillingness to tithe was a stumbling block, that I really didn’t trust in God’s provision. I was looking for security from corruptible, material things. For the first time, I really understood that I owned nothing. I am a steward of God’s blessings, not the owner.”

Terrence was overjoyed. He’d wanted to tithe all along, but it was Salina who managed the money for the household. “Somehow,” Salina marvels, “the money I thought we could not spare to give to the church seems to be there.”

God’s happy ending? Just weeks after Salina’s breakthrough, as they were still living paycheck-to-paycheck to pay their bills, Terrence received a $2,000 bonus – and a raise.

Beyond their wildest hopes

Lisa was buried in credit card debt, fatigued by carrying such a heavy load. “I had wearied of the hole I had dug for myself,” says Lisa, who worships at the Gardens Campus. “I prayed for help out of it. I made a promise that tithing was an area where I would stay obedient.”

God showed Lisa areas to stop spending. She and her husband, Gary, were able to sell a piece of property (“In this market!” she marvels) and got a tax refund, which allowed them not only to pay off their credit cards but their mortgage as well.

“Now we are totally debt-free,” Lisa says. “I never imagined God would do this. I was just hoping to get the credit card paid off. This has been a huge faith-building experience for our marriage.”

* Some of the names and personal information have been changed for privacy.

You can set up online giving on our website. Please click here to watch Dr. John C. Maxwell’s sermon, “The Trust Test.” Budget counseling is available to Christ Fellowship’s Covenant Members; please call the Life Development office at 561-799-7600 for more information.