Church Community Donates Over Half a Million Dollars in One Weekend

March 15, 2011 - PRLog -- During the first weekend in March, Community Christian Church chose to give their entire offering away.  Through an incredible act of generosity, the attendees of the church collectively donated and gave away over $529,000 to four different teams that are committed to help people find their way back to God and come alongside of those who live in extreme poverty.  Shawn Williams, the Campus Pastor at CCC’s Naperville Yellow Box, said, “We desire to be a church that is not just inwardly focused; instead, we desire to be a church that makes an impact in our local community and around the world.”  

Known as “Celebration Generosity,” this is the fourth annual weekend of its kind celebrated at Community Christian Church.  The Four Teams that will receive the funds from Celebration Generosity are: The Barangay Team, The Village Team, The Reproducing Church Team, and The Neighborhood Team.  Each Team is driven by CCC’s mission to help people find their way back to God.  Beyond that, each Team has its own specific mission to help the people in that Team’s community.

The dream of the Barangay Team is to have a safe place where kids living on the streets in the Philippines can take a shower, have a meal, share devotions and just rest in safety.  With the help of the funds raised through Celebration Generosity, Frontline Ministries in the Philippines plans to open multiple "Drop In Centers" that will be able to address the physical needs of the street children and nurture their spiritual needs.  The Baloc Box, a church that meets in a dumpsite, will be able to get electricity for its church and expand its weekly feeding ministry as well as increase the education and career training opportunities for the people who call the dump their home.  Upon the completion of the newly built girls’ and boys' dormitories, Frontline, through their FACE the Children ministry, will have additional rooms to bring in more street children.

The Village Team will be able to rebuild a church facility that was completely destroyed in last year's earthquake in CCC’s partner community near Port Au Prince, Haiti.  They will be able to help rebuild homes in that community and provide training programs for teachers and pastors to meet the ongoing needs related to health and education.  Additionally, two teams of people from CCC will go to Haiti to build relationships with its partner church and community of Carrefour Fueille.

Thanks to Celebration Generosity, CCC’s Reproducing Church Team will be able to double the number of its new churches and sites from 100 to 200 by early 2012.  That is 200 new churches and sites that are helping people find their way back to God.  This is made possible by recruiting and equipping 75 new Leadership Residents; these are leaders who live and work right alongside us at Community and other NewThing churches and learn how to plant a reproducing church.  Leadership Residency has proven to be the best way to equip these leaders to start new, reproducing churches.

The Neighborhood Team will continue to run and expand its East Aurora Parent Mentor program.  Because of this generosity, they will be able to acquire four multi-unit homes in East Aurora that will help at least 10 families begin the path towards home-ownership.  The Neighborhood Team will also provide mentoring for these families by partnering them with small groups.  They will be able to expand their mentoring, tutoring and extra-curricular programs in East Aurora and Joliet as well as help other churches in the area and around the country start their own Christmas Gift Marts at other schools.

A man named Robert who gave for the first time during Celebration Generosity this year said, “I gave at Celebration Generosity for the very first time, and it felt amazing. It made me set the bar for spending my disposable income.  It felt like so much when I gave, until I realized that I spend frivolously without even thinking about it.  Thank you for the epiphany.”
Lead Pastor Dave Ferguson summed it up when he said, “God is changing the world through your generosity, and in the process He is changing us.”

# # #

Community Christian Church is a nondenominational Christian church focused on helping people find their way back to God. To learn more about any of the programs offered through CCC, please call 630-388-5000 or visit www.communitychristian.org.