In a perfect world, we would all be motivated and reminded to be generous simply because it’s what we do. But let’s be honest. We’re all motivated by different things. And thankfully for many of us, we live in a nation that rewards generosity – even those who are generous to churches.

Each year OneLife sends out statements to those who have given the previous year, and these statements can then be used as tax deductions when you file your tax returns. If you would like to make a last minute contribution to be included on your 2012 satement, the IRS gives these guidelines for them to be counted as 2012 gifts.

All checks mailed must be postmarked December 31 or earlier. The same is true for online gifts that must be made before the end of the day on Monday. Mail donations to PO Box 1763, Powell, TN 37849 or give online at onelifeknox.com/give.

The same is true of our annual Christmas offering, The Big ReGift. If you haven’t yet given toward that and would like to, simply make your gift by the end of the day on Monday, December 31 and it will be counted!

I am so proud to pastor an incredibly generous church. I can’t wait to share with you how our third annual Big ReGift ends up! You’re going to be blown away as I have been, and it is going to propel us into an incredibly generous 2013!

PS…remember, we have NO services at either location tomorrow! So giving by mail or online will be your only options until 2013!

Many of you have wondered how OneLife can or will respond to the Hurricane Sandy trajedy that recently hit the Northeast. The great thing about how our missions partners work is you are already giving back and making a difference there, whether you realize it or not.

Each year a large portion of our budget is designated to various missions partners and causes. One of those is what’s called the Cooperative Program where thousands of churches from across the country partner together to spread the message of Jesus. One of the Cooperative Program’s initiatives is Disaster Relief. Already, trained Disaster Relief volunteers have arrived in the Northeast to begin assisting with cleanup and providing food. If you are interested in helping volunteer, a Disaster Relief Volunteer Training will be held November 16-17. Email natalie@onelifeknox.com for more information.

If you would like to give financially to continue helping us partner with this incredible ministry, you can do so now at www.onelifeknox.com/give. Also, 100% of our annual Christmas offering goes toward supporting our missions partners, including this one. While we haven’t yet announced the details of this year’s offering, you can give directly toward it on our website, too.

Thank you for helping us reach beyond the walls of our church and beyond the borders of our city. Your generosity is enabling us to spread the love of Jesus to those in desperate need!

Well, God was right! When we obey him, He takes care of us.

Three months ago I challenged OneLife to a 90-day Generosity Challenge. The premise was simple: give God your first ten percent like the Bible tells us to do, and if He doesn’t take care of you like the Bible says He will, then OneLife will give you every penny back.

Some people look at me like I have four heads when I tell them we did this. But believe it or not, churches do this somewhat frequently and we definitely weren’t the first. The reason for a Generosity Challenge is to take away every excuse. If someone thinks they can’t afford it, then we’ll take that excuse away, too, by promising to give them their money back if they go broke! We can do this because we know God will provide like He promises.

More than 100 families committed to take the challenge, and when all was said and done around half of them took it seriously by sticking to their commitment. And as expected, every single person who honored God with their first ten percent saw God take care of them! Not one family asked for their tithes back because God didn’t pull through for them.

The stories have been incredible, and we’ll be sharing some of those in the coming weeks on Sundays and on the blog. If you look back on the past 90 days and see that you missed sticking to your commitment, start now! Put God to the test like he tells you to do and watch him take care of you! If you already did that and saw God do great things in your life by taking care of you – please let me know!

As we move into a new season as a church of opening a second location and helping more churches get started, it’s going to take all of us being obedient to doing what God says with our finances. Fortunately for us, He will then do what He promises and take care of our needs every step of the way!

Don’t miss the chance to experience that!

Don’t forget to automate your tithes to help you stay disciplined! Do it today at onelifeknox.com/give.

We are 60 days through the 90-Day Generosity Challenge. And so far, not one single person has said God hasn’t taken care of them during this time. In fact, we’ve received even more incredible stories of God’s complete faithfulness! Here are a few of those stories.

“We took your generosity challenge and applied it to our lives and our church. Within 2 weeks of giving, we have 2 bills that have inexplicably lowered themselves, AND my husband has been recommended for a pretty big raise. It’s a position jump that takes an average of 3 years to accomplish and he has done it in just under a year. We knew we needed to be tithing, but giving the extra and trusting God to provide has really opened our eyes. I know that there will be many more stories like ours as you watch God move in the lives of OneLife Church and we will be praying for continued faith and action among OneLife partners!”

“The craziest thing in the world happened. I agreed to do the generosity challenge so I tithed a full ten percent even though I knew it would be tight. My rent changes each month because my landlord includes our utilities in the rent. So he’ll call me each month with the amount. Even though it changes, it’s almost always the same. Except this past month. He called and told me the amount and it was way lower than normal, in almost the exact amount of my tithes. I have no doubt this is God showing that he’ll take care of me when I obey him.”

From someone in Oklahoma who heard about the OneLife Generosity Challenge: “Hi! I read the story you posted and decided then and there to do the auto-tithe online at my church. Thanks for posting and know that you have a treasure in heaven for helping me honor God with my money.”

Do you have a story to share? Email it to pastor@onelifeknox.com! Are you struggling in the area of finances? Take this midway point to evaluate how you are doing at being obedient with your first 10 percent. Remember you can “Automate the Important” at www.onelifeknox.com/give.

I received this incredible story in my email this week. It is a unique view of the Generosity Challenge, one that we can all learn from!

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As I sat in the auditorium a few weeks ago and you introduced the “Generosity Challenge”, I sat prepared for you to give the rally cry in hopes to get people to step up the giving. I even know some behind the scenes of the church and know that typically giving declines going into summer. So I was ready. Again, being from a church background I knew what was coming. Or so I thought.

As I climbed in our late model vehicle after the first service and headed to be waited on hand and foot at a comfortable booth in one of my several favorite restaurants I was taken aback. In all honesty, I hadn’t said much to this point. Then my wife took the words completely out of my mouth when she asked, “Can you believe the Generosity Challenge is just to get people to pay tithes? I mean just their 10%?!” It’s exactly what I was thinking! Still reeling, I couldn’t believe it. Here I was prepared for some capital campaign type of fund raising but it was simple and to the point. For the first time, I heard of a church offering a 90-day money back guarantee which I thought was cool!

You see for me, I grew up poor. My mother instilled in me the fundamentals of giving. Accompanied with that foundation, I am by nature a giver. Giving for me has never been an issue. In fact, in one of my careers, I remember getting a cash advance on my check so I could pay tithes that week. But then I read the Stories of Generosity – Part 1 about the single dad that was struggling to pay $32.00 in his tithes. Then he did! What an incredible story! But as I read that story again and again and again, God just began to wrestle with me. Wrestle is probably putting it nicely. In fact, it was more like a kick straight to the crotch.

I don’t consider myself rich by any means but given the statistics that you shared at Powell High School, I know that I am part of the 1% of the richest people in the world. Not only do I have one vehicle, I have two; running water; electricity; and, for the most part, everything that is convenient in this world. That very day of the Generosity Challenge it worked out where I would receive some bonus reimbursements from work and my wife would get her first paycheck from her new job (she was laid off from her previous job) so we dropped a check in the bucket for $700.00. Without being conceded, it didn’t even hurt. I mean $700 is $700 but as a business man with multiple companies/entrepreneurships, it’s money that I haven’t even thought about. I want to be super spiritual and say that’s cause I love God and know that the first 10% is his and it’s my commandment to do. But not quite.

Like I said, God gave me a swift kick in the pants when you published that story as I began to read it again and again. I was reminded about the widow in Luke 21:1-4 and when Jesus said “she put in everything”. Then I began to wrestle with the idea, “Who do I relate to most in this story?” Sadly, it isn’t the widow. I don’t know if it’s the desire to have the faith that the widow has but I know that I relate to the rich that dropped in gold, silver, and other fine things more than I do the widow. I no longer want to do that.

As I sat at the lunch that day with my wife, I dismissed the Generosity Challenge because I was already doing “my part” and paying my tithes. Actually I rounded up each week so that was extra (at least that’s what I always told myself). If I could be honest with you, I am jealous of that dad’s faith. Don’t get me wrong, I pay my tithes and I know that God provides, but like that dad I want to take this challenge head on. I don’t want to do it just to test God but I want to trust God like he did. I also want to invest in the local church, my local church, OneLife Church. I want to invest in the lives that have been radically changed, the marriages that have been restored, the addictions that have been shattered, and the relationships that have been seeded. For the next 90 days, I want to give like I have never given before – above and beyond my normal tithe. In addition to my personal tithes, starting this Sunday, OneLife Church will receive a large portion of the gross on my companies/entrepreneurships in hopes that OneLife can continue to help people discover God and equip their one life to make a difference!

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Join in the Generosity Challenge today! Click here for more: onelifeknox.com/generosity