The Jerusalem Collection: Funding the Mission

Dear Friends in Christ,

Welcome to 2021: The Year of Generosity. Our focus this year will be on Funding the Mission. God has a mission, and God’s mission has a church, and God’s church is full of generous people who have abundant gifts and resources; gifts and resources that we are called to share. In the Book of Acts, Jesus reminds us that, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35c). Generosity is at the heart of following Jesus.

One of my favorite Bible verses related to generosity is recorded in the Sermon on Mount (see the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7). The Bible verse is Matthew 6:21, which will serve as our 2021 Year of Generosity memory verse. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). This powerful verse reminds us that the spiritual practice of generosity can transform our hearts and lives, and at the same time, renew our parishes and communities. By practicing generosity, we are given the opportunity to partner with God to renew all things. This partnership is at the heart of the Northwestern Ohio Synod’s mission:

Sent by the Crucified and Risen Jesus to Make Disciples, Equip Leaders, Strengthen Parishes, and Nurture New Communities for the Renewal of Northwestern Ohio and the World.

St. Paul also encourages the spiritual practice of generosity, and challenges the earliest followers of Jesus, to think not only of themselves, but to consider the needs of the wider community. The Jerusalem Collection is one example of St. Paul’s call to generosity. The Jerusalem Collection was a generous financial gift given by Paul’s newly formed churches in Galatia, Philippi, and Corinth, to meet the needs of those experiencing hardship and poverty in Jerusalem. In addition to helping those in need, the Jerusalem Collection also served to break down long established barriers and bring unity to the Church of Jesus Christ. The spiritual practice of generosity is one of the gifts God uses to renew both the church and the world.

What follows is a 6-session Bible study on the Jerusalem Collection. Open your Bible, gather with a group of friends, get outside the 4 walls of the congregation, and learn what God desires to teach you. But be careful.

Be very, very careful, because God’s Word has the power to transform people and communities from who we are, into the people and communities that God longs for us to be.

Let us pray,

O God, in your love you have given the people of this land gifts of abundance beyond what our forebears knew or could imagine. Mercifully grant that we may not be so occupied with material things that we forget spiritual gifts, and thus, even though we have gained the whole world, lose our souls, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

(Evangelical Lutheran Worship pg. 80)

Blessings,
Bishop Daniel G. Beaudoin

The Jerusalem Collection Student Materials Download