I grew up being a part of this ministry and learned the meaning of and how to operate the principles of tithing and abundantly sharing at an early age. It started when I put a coin into the horn of plenty at Children’s Fellowship. It continued as I earned money shoveling snow, mowing lawns, catching chickens, and receiving an allowance.
I remember a time when my mother and I were taking the Advanced Class. It was the night the abundant sharing was made available. As we were driving to class, Mom told me to look in her purse and see what was available to give. She only had a five-dollar bill. We looked at each other, and Mom said that I should put it in the horn of plenty that night. “But Mom,” I said, “that is all you have!” “That’s okay, God will provide.” I took the five-dollar bill, put it in my pocket, and later that evening I put it in the horn of plenty. When we got to the car, Mom reached into her purse to get the car keys, and laying on the keys was a twenty-dollar bill! God provided.
Years later I was teaching fellowship on the tithe and abundant sharing when the phone rang. Usually we just let it ring, but that night I told my wife to answer the phone. It was her father telling her that he was sending her $500 as part of an inheritance. I had just told the fellowship that rent was due and that God would provide our need. When she returned, I asked about the phone call. She said, “It was my dad. He is sending us $500 and we should get it tomorrow.” The fellowship went silent. It was enough to meet our need for rent. God provided and was not late!
While we were in the in-residence Way Corps training, we lost several of our sponsors. Tuition was due, and it was slow coming in. We got a check from one of our larger contributors and were very thankful. Later that night I got a call from the same individual. He asked how tuition was going. I told him we needed more and we knew God would provide. I did not tell him how much we needed. A couple of days later we received a holiday card from this same individual. I opened the card and a piece of paper fell out. It was a check equal to the amount we needed for tuition. Once again, God provided and was not late.
After completing our in-residence training, we had a field assignment. We moved to our new area and rented a home. I began looking for full-time work but picked up odd jobs to begin bringing in money. It came time for our next rent payment, but we did not have the money for rent. I was out working and my wife was at home. There was a knock on the door. It was the landlord. My wife thought maybe she was coming to pick up the rent. Instead, the landlord wanted to talk. A contractor had begun a job, collected his money, and then left the job half done. The landlord was frantic because she had already committed the rental property to another individual and they were moving in, in just a few days. My wife asked her about the work to be done and said that I could do that work. The landlord lit up and asked if I would stop by the location later that day. When I got home, my wife told me about the work and I went to see it. Yes, I could do the work, and I could start the next day. The landlord then asked if I could do her a favor and consider the work as payment for our next month’s rent. I said yes. Once again, God provided and was not late.
I can go on and on with incidents of how our loving heavenly Father provided our need as we faithfully practiced the truths taught by our wonderful ministry. Here is one such truth from Christians Should Be Prosperous: “…the tithe is a minimum external manifestation of an internal spiritual recognition that God is our basic source of supply and prosperity.”
My wife and I have faithfully tithed for over fifty years, and our need has always been met. I am so very thankful for having learned this truth from this ministry as a youth.