RCC Gives Back is a grassroots effort of River City Church to bless the people of Missoula in a unique way. On Easter Sunday 2009, River City Church did the unthinkable and gave the offering back to the people with the charge to go and bless someone with the money. It has evolved into numerous random acts of kindness with no strings attached. The only agenda we have is to share the love of God in a practical way with our community.
If you would like to share your story on how you gave back, please click on "comment" below and you will be prompted to sign in and write a brief post. Thanks!
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We really wanted to find a way to multiply the money we were given, as well as include our entire family in the project. We decided to use our money to put in a garden this year. We're going to buy some topsoil, plastic mulch, drip lines, and seed, and grow fresh produce for the Missoula Food Bank. Our kids are going to help with the entire process. There are so many life lessons here, as well as the fact that we will be able to turn our $50 into hundreds of dollars worth of fresh vegetables to help feed the hungry here in Missoula. We'll keep you posted on how it goes!
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to find a way to include our toddler in the project so we are building a flower bed for a neighbor. This provides a way to help care for our friends who need a helping hand and for our earth. Plus she can see the fruits of her labor for years to come. We made a small "Jesus loves You" sign to include in the flower box to remind us all of the life-line that feeds everything from flowers to hungry hearts.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! What a creative way to take part in giving back...way to go!
ReplyDeleteA friend and I decided that we wanted to bless someone who is taking a step of faith and starting to raise support to do summer ministry. We added money of our own and anonymously left an encouraging letter and $100 to go towards the intimidating process of support raising. I can't wait to hear how he is used in other people's lives this summer!
ReplyDeleteWe use the money in conjuction with a new project in the downtown area to make the homeless and frequent problem people in the downtown area more human. The project is going to get some of these less fortunate people to tell their story which can be distributed to retailers and service jobs in the area. The goal of the project is to begin to view these people as humans who need our help rather than the plight of downtown. The money was turned into gift cards that can't be used to fuel their possible addictions but can be used for neccessities like food etc. The gift cards will be given out as as payment for letting the project tell their story. The benefits to the less fortunate people of downtown will be both direct, through the gift cards, and indirect through more understanding by the surrounding community.
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to grow our money to do something for more than 1 person or family. We've grown it from $5-$80 and would like to grow it a bit more. We have a few ideas as to what we're going to do with the money. We are waiting on God to make the final decision. The 3 things that are on our hearts are to "sponsor" a field trip for the Watson children's home. Even to get them out to the park and to have some Baskin Robbins ice cream gives them a chance to get out and do the things that we take for granted. Another idea we had was to buy diapers for the new moms in the hospital who just gave birth or to purchase supplies for the Women's Shelter. The last idea was to create a basket for a neighbor we have who just found out she has lung cancer. Within the basket would be a luminary that would be purchased in honor of her that will be lit at the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) in June. We are out of town at the moment and are praying for the right direction. We're excited. This is tons of fun!
ReplyDeleteOur family has decided to help a family that has suffered a tragic accident, earlier this spring. Their daughter was in a car accident, she is on the road to recovery but has a way to go. Meanwhile, medical & personal bills are piling up. So, we added to our giveback money and donated to their fund. This family is in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteWe, also, wanted to include our kids so we asked them to be on the look out for someone who we could help with the money. We are giving it to Hunter's class...they have a lot of kids this year who are struggling financially and many are unable to even pitch in to participate in field trip costs...so with some of our own money we are paying so that all kids can go on the trips with no additional cost to them. We prayed all week for God to show us how to use the money and when Hunter came home from school today and mentioned this it was like I could hear Him say "Yes" this is it! We are not going to put a name on the donation, just will be including a message of how it was given to us to bless our community in some way by our church and will pass along the message in hopes of keeping the "Pay It Forward" message alive!
ReplyDeleteWe decided the people that need money the most is the Food Bank, when i brought it in they thanked me over and over...i wish there could have been a more discrete way, lol.
ReplyDeleteI had prayed on how to creatively turn $5 into something meaningful for someone. It came to me when I got a gift voucher in the mail from Eddie Bauer, so the plan was I would go to the mall and buy a nice men's shirt and take it, along with a big box of no longer needed men's clothes from Darby's closet, down to the Rescue Mission - which I still will, but something more personal presented itself.
ReplyDeleteWhile in line at Walmart before my planned trip to the mall, I took notice of the items being rang through for a lady in front of me: lots of cans of tuna, green beans, a can or two of condensed soup, several cans of cat food and a pharmacy Rx. The lady wrote a check and I thought to myself, "don't write a check, you'll get it back anyway" (as they run it through electronically.) Well, she did get the check handed back to her but the guy waiting on her told her it wasn't going through and she would have to go to customer service. I instantly felt like I should do something , but while I believe His voice was saying, "Step in", my voice was saying, "I don't want to embarrass her " "Is $55 too much to offer a stranger ?" I watched her go toward customer service while I paid for my items, but then she went into the bathroom for what seemed like a long time, I stood and waited, hoping that I would not offend her. When she came out I explained that I was behind her in line and I felt like God was asking me to help her out so she could get her items and go home and enjoy a much needed beautiful sunny day. She of course hesitated a bit and then conceded to letting me maybe get just her prescription as she really needed it that day and the other stuff could wait. I told her again that I really felt that I was supposed to help her and she finally let me get all her modest items. We ended up talking for a long time afterwards. Her face lit up when she spoke of her "babies" - her kitties, and explained that her real kids were long grown and far away. I will always remember her smile and pray that God will bless and protect her. I am grateful God put me in line that day and hit me hard enough over the head so I understood my role!
It took a while for the lord to answer some prayers, but ultimately our donation (which was matched by both myself and my wife) was given to the Camp-Make-a-Dream project through the RATPOD bike event that raises money for the foundation.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say "THANKS RCC!!!" for giving nearly $1000 to the One Prayer initiative. Last year nearly 700 churches were planted in Sudan, India, Cambodia, and China with the funds raised from One Prayer churches. This year, nearly 2000 churches representing over 1 million people are joining in planting as many churches as possible in these countries. I'm believing that over 1000 churches will be planted this year. Go God!!!
ReplyDeleteRCC Missoula partnered with RCC Lewiston and others to raise $2400 to provide tents for Haiti. This amount will provide temporary housing for 20 families in Haiti, or over 100 people. Thanks RCC!
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