DAY 5 — Friday, December 5, 2025
A journey through the story of radical generosity that transformed our church and community
The Church That Turned Heads
Discover how one Spirit-led moment in 2020 sparked a movement of compassion that continues to change lives today.
Scripture: Acts 2:44–45 (ESV)
"And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need."
How Giving Sunday Was Born
Let me take you back to a moment that changed everything for EBC, a moment born not out of strategy, but out of desperation and divine inspiration.
It was 2020. The world had shut down. Churches were locked. Families were isolated. Fear was everywhere. The global pandemic had turned life upside down, and as your pastor, I found myself wrestling with a haunting question that wouldn't let me go:
"How can we be the church in a compassionate and tangible way when we can't even gather?"
I was sitting in my basement, like so many of you were in your own homes, watching the world try to make sense of an unprecedented crisis. While working on my computer, I kept receiving notifications in my inbox, which caused an ongoing, irritating alert sound. Every organization imaginable was sending emails about Giving Tuesday, asking for support, rallying people to give during a season of overwhelming need.
And then, in that quiet basement moment, the Holy Spirit whispered something that stopped me in my tracks:

"What if EBC gave the entire offering away?"
Not part of it. Not a portion. The entire offering.
What if we took everything collected on the first Sunday of December and sowed it into addressing the plethora of concerns and opportunities throughout our community and beyond? What if we became the answer to someone else's crisis? What if, in the middle of our own uncertainty, we chose radical generosity?
At that exact moment, Giving Sunday was born.
It wasn't a marketing idea. It wasn't a fundraising strategy. It was a Spirit-led conviction rooted in the biblical precedent of Acts 2:44-45. Just as the members of the Early Church gave away their resources to bless those in need, we at EBC were committed to doing the same thing.
This is our modified expression of Giving Tuesday. But it's more than that, it's our declaration that the church doesn't just talk about compassion; we act on it. It's our way of living out what we call Spontaneous Generosity—because compassion that doesn't move isn't really compassion at all.
Five Years of Faithful Giving
$4.5 Million Given Away
And here we are, five years later, with over $4.5 million given away thus far, and we are still committed this year to giving away the ENTIRE offering this upcoming Sunday. Still trusting God. Still watching Him multiply what we release.
What Made Them Different
Acts 2 gives us a snapshot of a Spirit-filled community whose generosity looked completely different from anything the world had seen. Notice the four defining marks of their giving:
Collective Generosity
"All who believed were together..."
This wasn't a few wealthy donors carrying the load. Generosity was the culture of the entire church. Everyone participated. Everyone contributed. Everyone carried the mission together.
Sacrificial Generosity
"Selling their possessions and belongings..."
They didn't just give leftovers or spare change. They gave things that mattered, namely, property, possessions, and resources, which they could've kept for themselves. Their giving costs them something real.
Compassionate Generosity
"Distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need."
They didn't give randomly or recklessly. They gave redemptively, targeting real needs, meeting people at their point of desperation, ensuring nobody was left behind.
Radical Generosity
No other religious community of that time operated like this. The early church became famous not for its buildings, not for its programs, not for its celebrity preachers, but for how it cared for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the vulnerable, the overlooked. Their generosity became their greatest testimony.
Here's what moves me most: this kind of giving wasn't forced, mandated, or regulated. It was the supernatural overflow of hearts transformed by the Holy Spirit. When God moves in a community, generosity becomes its native language.
What the World Sees When the Church Gives
When most people think of "church" today, they think of Sunday services, choirs, sermons, and buildings. But the early church? They were known for something far more powerful, namely, extravagant compassion in action.
They used their offerings to lift people up, to meet tangible needs, to demonstrate the love of Christ in ways you could see and feel. The world didn't just hear the gospel they experienced it through the church's generosity.
EBC continues in this sacred tradition. Through ministries like Chosen, Operation Uplift, our benevolence outreach, food distributions, community partnerships, local missions, scholarship programs, and global initiatives, EBC is living proof that we are a church committed to giving our offerings away.
Giving Sunday isn't about raising money to keep the lights on. It's about fueling ministry, activating mission, and funding mercy. It's about keeping the hands of this church open—open to God and open to the world.

When we give on Sunday, we're not just supporting a budget. We're participating in an unbroken chain of generosity that started in Acts 2 and continues through us today. We're saying: "We are the church that turns compassion into action. We are the church that gives its offerings away."
The Witness the World Can't Ignore
A generous church becomes a powerful witness to a world starving for compassion.
Your Next Step
Before Sunday arrives, I want you to do something personal. Take a few minutes today and reflect on how EBC has impacted your life.
Reflect
Maybe it was a sermon that shifted your perspective. Maybe it was a small group that became your family. Maybe it was a ministry that met you in your moment of need. Maybe it was a pastor who prayed with you when life fell apart. Maybe it was simply a place where you felt seen, loved, and valued.
Remember
Write it down. Speak it out loud. Let gratitude rise in your heart.
Respond
Then let that gratitude prepare you to give—not out of guilt or obligation, but out of love, worship, and thanksgiving for what God has done in and through this church.
Let's Pray Together
Lord, thank You for the example of the early church—a community marked by radical compassion, Spirit-led generosity, and supernatural unity. I pray You would make EBC that same kind of church in this generation. Use our gifts to touch lives, meet real needs, and advance Your kingdom in ways only You can orchestrate. As I prepare my heart for Giving Sunday, stir up gratitude within me. Let my giving be an act of worship that says, "God, I'm grateful, I'm generous, and I'm all in." Amen.