The first church shows up in the book of Acts soon after Jesus’ resurrection. Acts 2:44-47 says, “all the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need…with glad and sincere hearts…enjoying the favor of all people.”

With Glad and Sincere Hearts

The church started as neighbors living generously together and helping each other during times of need. People sold their possessions. They cared about and knew about the needs of the people around them. As the Church grew and became more widespread, a system needed to develop to handle the needs and distribute the resources. That way, the needs of one group could be met by an entirely different group. This is obviously more efficient, but the personal involvement was removed. The story linked to the financial sacrifice was unseen by the giver, which has slowly resulted in fewer glad and sincere hearts ready to give generously to those in need. The transformation that is sparked in people when they give from an inspired place has been replaced by an obligation or a loyalty or nothing at all.

20% are consistent in giving financially.

There are over 300,000 churches in the U.S. and all are reliant on member donation to serve their communities. 40% of Americans, or 118 million people, claim to attend church regularly. This seems substantial, but most attend only biweekly and just 20% are consistent in giving financially. This shows there is a missing connection between attendance and commitment. We are missing the story, the neighbor, the glad and sincere heart of the first church. We are missing the desire to give freely to those in need.

We need to help people see their dollars count for more than the light bill. We need to show them their neighbors are in need and God’s perfect design was for his people to fill needs for each other. We need to stop being cautious when talking about money, but rather use these conversations to change hearts. We need to create the feeling of being part of something bigger, we need to cultivate the desire to put someone else’s needs ahead of our wants. We need to see the change in others and know that we were part of making that change. This is what will spark generosity and create true commitment and heart transformation.

A transformed heart is a generous heart and a generous heart freely gives to those in need.

Our goal is to develop givers by shifting their perspective and encouraging them through shared stories of real-life change, illustrating how the small contributions can collectively make huge impacts. We want to connect the giver to the gift and showcase the story to inspire others. We want to peak interest in people and have them desire to be part of something bigger than themselves.  We want them to be proud of their accomplishments and financial choices. Giving is just a step, a true heart change is the goal. A true desire to live the way that Jesus called us to live – Generously.

Gyve is trying to recreate that first-church connection in a digital world. We want to share the results that your generosity is making. We want to show people that if we do work together, we can make a huge impact. I hope you can join us.