Watch and download Matthew 25 – The church is not a building
The work of the Special Offerings testifies to the idea that “the Church” is not a building, but something that arises from action. For the church to be the Church, we must open the doors to those in need — an understanding that can readily be drawn from Matthew 25, where Jesus calls us to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who have least.
Your participation in each of the four, churchwide Special Offerings are expressions of a call to become a Matthew 25 Church. We invite you to sign up on this status alone, but we are certain your congregation engages in ministries that reflect Matthew 25 beyond these in which we share. But your unique voice and context are wanted to join the over 500 congregations and entities across the Church, seeking a witness, together. We are drawing from our strength: our connection, to share with the world, anew, who we are.
By receiving all four of the Special Offerings, your Four for Four congregation declares its connection with the ministries of the PC(USA) and joins in the efforts of Presbyterians around the corner and around the world to share God’s grace and endless love by directly supporting people experiencing hunger, homelessness, thirst, imprisonment, sickness, and deprivation, as well as welcoming the stranger. And these ministry efforts do not stop at direct service, but join the Church into partnerships for the eradication of systemic poverty, the dismantling of structural racism, and serve as signs and symbols of vital congregations.
Giving is a response to Jesus’ call in Matthew 25 and is a response that the Spirit has manifested in believers since the Acts church. Giving for the sake of those in need is an essential component of congregational vitality and Christian identity. And through the Special Offerings, your gifts seek to build a world where all are honored, violence and divisions cease, and every need is met. Together with God, with one another, and with those who have least.
If you are a Matthew 25 congregation, consider going Four for Four.
If you are a Four for Four congregation, consider accepting the Matthew 25 invitation.
The church is not a building, but an action. And we are the Church, together. Open the doors!