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If the church budget was an automobile

Rod Thiessen

If our local church budget was an automobile, it would probably be a 1975 Volvo station wagon (our church is 25 years old). Throughout its 25 years of steady service, this car has been extremely reliable. Although its brown paint is chipped and faded, and the upholstery is a little worn, it hums along pretty good.

On top of this old classic is a roof rack cradling a large assortment of trunks. Each trunk has a label: Mennonite Central Committee, Youth Ministry, Sunday School, Building Upkeep, etc.

Inside the Volvo is one happy group of people, the radio is tuned to Pastor Isbister FM, and everyone is singing. This vehicle is on a mission – to deliver its cargo – a very worthwhile mission.

But there is one problem. The driver is getting a little stressed – but not because of the car – it’s just that that thing on the dash, the fuel gauge, is always running so close to E. “Why?” asks the driver. “Why can’t we just fill that tank?” He hates to complain because many of the passengers have been faithfully putting in fuel. But some have forgotten, or maybe they just are unaware of how much fuel this thing uses.

Winding down a long stretch of highway, the driver starts to daydream. Imagine if everyone put gas in on a regular basis. “That would be awesome. We wouldn’t have to watch the fuel gauge so closely, and we could concentrate on what’s important – delivering our cargo!”

Then suddenly the driver has a flash! He dreams of actually having more gas than he needs: “Wow! What a vision! With more gas, we could deliver more cargo and more passengers and go a further distance . . . and we could install a hitch, buy a trailer and fill the trailer with even more trunks! That would be fabulous!”

The driver wakes up. He realizes that his dream is a very real possibility. As he pulls up to the gas pump, he says, “If everyone got together, we could do it! I know we could!”

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”

(Philippians 4:13).

Rod Thiessen is chair of the stewardship committee at Sardis Community Church in Chilliwack, B.C. This article first appeared in the Sardis Community Church bulletin.

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Last modified May 26, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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