Being innovative

One of the biggest difficulties we face as Western churches is our seeming inability to reach out to the world around us. Calvary Bible Church in Colorado has used five (mostly) innovative ways to reach out over the last few years. These are the first two. You can find the others here.

They gave $100 to 100 people and directed them to use the money to raise more money. This idea was, of course, based on the parable of the talents. Their $10,000 was multiplied into $50,000, which they donated to local charities - it wasn't used to prop up the church.

Using the verse from Luke 12 that a man's life doesn't consist in an abundance of possessions, they challenged people to live radically, stop accumulating possessions, and give to the poor. The project was for 200 people to sell $200 worth of their possessions and give the money to the poor. $84,000 of possessions sold went to local community organizations. The congregation, meanwhile, was encouraged to live with less and be more kingdom minded.