God Does Big Things with Little Gifts
In 1991, after visiting a United Methodist Church while on vacation in South Africa, George and Janie Schildge of Red Bank, New Jersey sent a donation of $250 to the church. The pastor used the donation to send several church members on a Walk to Emmaus weekend. One of those who attended the Walk to Emmaus was Roland Rink. Roland later wrote, “By the end of the weekend, I knew I was called to smooth the road for the Lord to travel into the hearts of my people. I was committed to helping everyone on the continent of Africa spend time with God very day.”
After several years of thought and prayer, Roland contacted Upper Room Ministries with a plan to publish a locally contextualized African edition of The Upper Room. In 2002, six thousand copies of The Upper Room rolled off the presses in an African edition. Now over 150,000 copies are being printed every other month in six African languages. And it all started with a New Jersey couple who gave a relatively small gift in faith that God would do something with it. And He did. He touched a life, giving Roland Rink a vision and a plan.
A little boy gave his lunch to Jesus, and God fed over 5000 people (John 6:1-13). God turned a $250 donation into 150,000 devotional booklets published every other month. What will God do with your gift? Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine? (Ephesians 3:20) Will you give your time, your service, your money in faith that God will do great eternal things?
