It’s a humbling experience to ask for money. Maybe you’ve been in the position before. You go out for lunch, eating a favorite meal to the point of great satisfaction, when the bill comes and you realize you’ve left your purse or wallet back at the office. You know the experience I’m talking about...the moment of panic, followed by the uneasy feeling of making yourself vulnerable and having to ask for help. Humbly, you turn and ask your friend to cover you, followed by a quick, “I’ll get you next time.”

Now imagine this on a much larger scale

• You’ve lost your job and can’t pay your rent and utilities.
• Your marriage is in crisis, on the brink of divorce, but you don’t have the necessary funds to see a therapist and work through the deep issues that would bring healing and restoration.
• You're depressed, addicted or need medical assistance but financially you can’t afford care, so you suffer...alone.

It is in moments like this the deacons of City Church step into the lives of those who are suffering and begin to journey with them - First by honoring the incredible amount of courage and vulnerability it takes to ask for support, and then by providing financial, emotional and spiritual support in the context of a caring and accountable face-to-face relationship.

If you were able to pull back the curtain on a Sunday morning you would be amazed at just how many people are silently struggling and need someone to journey with them. It’s often the person sitting next to you in the worship service whose story you don’t know. Or the person ahead of you in the coffee line who looks put together, but internally and financially things are falling apart. Often financial assistance is a necessary first step in meeting someone’s need; after all, Jesus often met the basic needs of individuals he encountered. But then what you begin notice is the transformative work God begins to do in shaping someone’s story. You realize that money is necessary for the immediate need, but the care and experience a person receives becomes about more than money. It becomes a story of redemption that far exceeds the cost of counseling or rent. Because in this process, someone experiences the presence of Christ through a person and community in a way that says, “we see you and are willing to journey with you.”

This Sunday, August 26, we will take up a special offering to replenish our deacon fund. It is yet another significant way in which we can become the "very presence of Christ" to others in our city. Would you consider giving a gift online or in person that goes towards meeting the physical, emotional and financial needs of those in our community?