“When you reap the harvest of your land,
do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.
Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.
I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:9-10 NIV)
Holding on to the bible verse where God told us to purposely leave behind the gleanings and fruits for the poor and needy, our church has decided to use the entirety of our Thanksgiving offering to help those in need. Thankfully, we received a total of $6,263, and donated all of it. Our church has been setting aside the Thanksgiving offering like this every year, and the year 2020 had the most plentiful amount of offering for the cause.
I believe that those who served behind the church’s name and gave up some of their fruits have done good deeds in the eyes of God who sees what is done in secret. They have practiced the Bible verse, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” This is why I am even happier. It brings me joy to see our church members bear these spiritual fruits.
The majority of our offering was given to those who were close to our church members. During this process, our church tried our best to donate/help without making much noise. The remaining $1,263 were given to the Southern New Hampshire Rescue Mission (https://www.hope4nashua.org), a precious group that has been fulfilling the mission of Jesus Christ by providing shelters and food to the homeless of Nashua downtown. Since they are a professional Christian relief organization, I thought they would be adequate to carry out God’s relief mission on our behalf. Furthermore, because they are also partnered with the Nashua Baptist Church, they seemed more trustworthy.
I cannot express in words how thankful I am of the fact that, despite the challenging last year, our church was able to accomplish missions that God gave us. I give thanks to our church who was able to turn its attention to those in need in this difficult time; I also give thanks and praise to God who poured out such grace in our hearts.
I believe that, with His grace, Nashua Hanmaum church will be able to fulfill the mission of God for this year as well.
From pastor, JiWon Choi