During the last week of September, the congregation at Mountain View Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee reached into collection baskets to find some envelopes already filled with money.
Part of an effort to encourage giving, Pastor Glenn Zorb and staff came up with the idea to do a reverse collection, mentioning that sometimes you have to show instead of tell.
“We’ve been teaching about stewardship and how much of a blessing it is to give,” Zorb said. “But most great skills aren’t learned by listening.”
The church handed out a total of $4,500 that Sunday, split up in 22 envelopes handed out at each of the church’s five services.
Some envelops had a $20 bill, others $50, and two had $100 bills inside. Anyone that happened to open an envelope with cash, needed to then give it to someone who wasn’t a family member.
Zorb said almost everyone responded back to him with stories of how people were so grateful for the gesture.
“What was amazing was that the giving multiplied,” added Zorb, who said church members often matched the money they got from envelopes.
The money given out to the pews that weekend came from the church’s budget to outreach and from other donations.
Though the church only hosted the reverse collection for that one weekend, Zorb said he hopes the action to give continues naturally.
“I have a great confidence that if people act generous, it’s as contagious as anything else,” Zorb said.
Mountain View Lutheran Church is located at 11002 S. 48th St. For more information, visit mvlutheran.org.
• Contact writer: (480) 898-4903 or dmartinez@ahwatukee.com
