THE MOST OVERLOOKED KEY TO CHURCH GROWTH (6 OF 10)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7
This content is part of a series.
The Most Overlooked Key To Church Growth (6 of 10)
Series: Upon This Rock
Jeff Strite
Acts 6:1-7
Back in the 17th Century, there was a German preacher named August Francke. He had seen the homeless children in his city and was so moved by their living conditions that he decided to found an orphanage for them. But as is often the case with such ministries, money was always tight, and he hardly had enough funds to feed the children.
One day, a widow came to his door begging for just a single gold coin (a Ducat). He sadly explained that he hadn't the money and had no way to help her. To his shock she collapsed on the step and began to weep. Moved by her tears, Francke asked her to wait while he went to his room and prayed. The more he prayed, the more compelled he felt that God was prompting him to give the widow the money... and so he did.
Two days later he received a warm letter of thanks from the widow saying that because of his generosity she had asked the Lord to shower the orphanage with gifts. He was touched by the letter, but was soon surprised when - later that day - a rich woman of the city came to his door and gave him 12 ducats. Not long after that a friend from Sweden gave him 2 more. He was humbled to think that God had so amply rewarded for his meager gift to this widow. But God wasn't done yet. It seems a German Prince had died not long before this, and, in his will, He left 500 gold pieces as a bequest to the orphanage!
A preacher met the needs of a destitute widow... and God rewarded him. In our text this morning we read a similar story.
By the time we get to the story in Acts 6, the early church had experienced heady times. At Pentecost 3000 Jews repented of their sins and were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. And over the next few days the church grew to 5000... and then more.
But then they hit a snag. As you may recall from previous chapters, there were a number of people in this fledgling church that we ...
Series: Upon This Rock
Jeff Strite
Acts 6:1-7
Back in the 17th Century, there was a German preacher named August Francke. He had seen the homeless children in his city and was so moved by their living conditions that he decided to found an orphanage for them. But as is often the case with such ministries, money was always tight, and he hardly had enough funds to feed the children.
One day, a widow came to his door begging for just a single gold coin (a Ducat). He sadly explained that he hadn't the money and had no way to help her. To his shock she collapsed on the step and began to weep. Moved by her tears, Francke asked her to wait while he went to his room and prayed. The more he prayed, the more compelled he felt that God was prompting him to give the widow the money... and so he did.
Two days later he received a warm letter of thanks from the widow saying that because of his generosity she had asked the Lord to shower the orphanage with gifts. He was touched by the letter, but was soon surprised when - later that day - a rich woman of the city came to his door and gave him 12 ducats. Not long after that a friend from Sweden gave him 2 more. He was humbled to think that God had so amply rewarded for his meager gift to this widow. But God wasn't done yet. It seems a German Prince had died not long before this, and, in his will, He left 500 gold pieces as a bequest to the orphanage!
A preacher met the needs of a destitute widow... and God rewarded him. In our text this morning we read a similar story.
By the time we get to the story in Acts 6, the early church had experienced heady times. At Pentecost 3000 Jews repented of their sins and were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. And over the next few days the church grew to 5000... and then more.
But then they hit a snag. As you may recall from previous chapters, there were a number of people in this fledgling church that we ...
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