Kingdom Assignment

 ^28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'
 

 

After hearing about a sister church, Ypsilanti UMC, taking this story of Jesus' and living it themselves with great success, we thought it was about time we do the same.  So Pastor Melany taught for two weeks on this story that Jesus told and then on the second Sunday, it came to life.  Over $7,000 of cold hard cash was put up for members of our faith community to grab.  If they took it, they had to bring it back and hopefully, with an increase after investing themselves into God's work. 

So off they all ran, 80 people to be exact.  Some started beading, while others plowed snow.  Some planted crops, while others held movie nights.  To date, over half the money has been returned with a profit.  A profit?  Yep!  A profit of more than $7,000 has already been given to the Kingdom Assignment with still half the initial investments still to be returned.  While we continue to see God tapping into the gifts and talents of his children (of all ages!), here are a few of our stories. 

 

 

COINS FOR GOD! You may have heard this before... when you announced that everyone had an opportunity to multiply 100 dollars for the Lord, I was less than thrilled. What could I do, where could I do it, and would I in fact make money? And of course, it wouldn't be fun, it would have to be work. I started to think about some possible solution to this problem and a few came, but, they were lame. Finally, the pressure was on, what to do? Surprise, surprise, I started to pray for help. Here is the result of prayer and faith. I enjoy coin collecting and looking thru rolls of coins in hopes of finding a treasured piece. It has been years since I've done this and still remember the joy of discovery. With this in mind, I could take the $100 and buy rolls of coins at the bank and credit union. The principle would be safe, and enjoyment would be had. It was fun for awhile. After two weeks of visiting local banks and not finding one coin to keep, the faith issue was waning. Had I really heard God's whispering or my own thoughts? A couple more weeks go by.... nothing. I have been enjoying the hunt but no multiplying is going on. Faith, believing and acting on something that is yet unseen,  yet unrealized. I continued thinking I'll be turning in the original 100 dollars. Praise the Lord.... as I was making the rounds, buying coins, a very nice clerk had been waiting for me to come in. She was holding several rolls of coins that had come in and wasn't sure it it was what I was looking for. I paid for the coins, thanked her and went on to work. That night God multiplied the 100 dollars. There in the rolls were very well worn coins, silver coins. The coin value of the silver was 280 dollars plus the 100 dollars made it 380.00 dollars. I turned in a total of 400 dollars. For the math majors out there, the extra 20 dollars was for the enjoyment factor. God is good and had blessed the Kingdom Assignment.     Earl Miller

 

 

 

BIRD HOUSES AND COOKIES~ Our commitment was to double our money, but how to do it? I said, lets make wren and bluebird houses and I will help you assemble them. Ed got them all cut out ready for the assembly line. Well, each piece had its own place, and I had all of them in the wrong place! WIth Ed's patient hands, he glued and nailed them in the right place. It was decided that he could do the bird houses, and I would make and sell sugar cookies. And by this we doubled our commitement of $100.00. Thanks to our buyers for making this possible, but most of all thank you God!   Ed and Ellen Hunt

 

PIES MADE WITH LOVE!! I decided to make and sell homemade pies for my kingdom assignment. I had just learned how to make pies from a friend of mine, and I really enjoyed doing it. I was certain I could find customers willing to buy a pie made with love. So I went and bought some start up items spending about half my money. I then sent out a Facebook invite for people to order pies. Then my business started to take off! I was soon swamped with orders!! In one night I made four pumpkin pies!! There were sometimes during this assignment where I would begin to worry, what if I never really made any money, and what if a pie doesn't come our right and a customer is unhappy? There were many long nights where I would stay up late trying to make multiple pies and trying to get all of them perfect. Over every pie I labored over, I prayed over too. It took a lot out of me to remain focused on the fact I was doing this for God and nobody else. And wouldn't you know it, when you focus time and energy on God, good things come out of it!! I took my $50 and grew it into $200!       Nina McMurtrie

 

 

 

HOMECOOKED MEALS! I cooked meals for two families, there were very blessed!     Joyce Cecil

 

RUNNING FOR GOD! I started several track meets - high school and college. I accepted $100 and profited another $100.  Ray Drysdale

 

UNIQUE PLANT STANDS When the Kingdom Assignment presented itself for participation, my heart was willing, but my mind was hesitant. What talents did I have? How could I increase monies for God? Prayers followed. Several years ago I had acquired a glass plant stand at our family's Christmas. It was so beautiful and functional as well. I decided I would make those glass palnt stands and try to sell them. Just in case I had no response on the glass plant stands, I decided to put out my cleaning service fliers as well. My husband offered to display my plant stands in his man cave. My hairdresser said she would display my glass plant stands in her shop. I shared with my husband and my friend my Kingdom Assignment story. Prayers once again that the Lord would work his will to bring positive responses to my Kingdom Assignment. Several weeks passed and no responses. I was so disappointed. I so wanted to do this, and I wasn't getting the response I had hoped for. I waited until I had a hair appointment before taking the glass plant stand to my hairdressers shop. In less than one week my hairdresser called and said she had sold my glass plant stand. I was sooo excited!! I thanked my friend for her willingness to help me raise monies for God. Not to long after that glass plant stand sold, my husband sold one. WOW!!! My Kingdom Assignment was off to a great start. How could I have doubted what the Lord was willing to let me do for him? I was also able to do some cleaning for a Mother's Day gift. With the willing heart I had, prayers, and God's will to use some talents he had given me, I was able to accomplish my Kingdom Assignment far beyond my expectation. Recieved $100, profited $405.   Karen Winchell

 

 

 

BAKED GOODS! For my Kingdom Assignment I made baked goods and sold them to loved ones. I also dedicated any Mary Kay sales that I had to my Kingdom assignment. Took, $100 - Returning, $211.   Charity Railer

 

FAITH BRACELETS - I used God's $100 to buy beads and supplies to make colors of Faith Bracelets. I emailed my friends about the project and told others in the church. I used $50 of the $100 for supplies and I sold 13 bracelets at $10. a piece.  Paige Drysdale

 

KNIVES WORK FOR THE LORD! Sorry this is late, but life is hectic and God is patient. However, God has been telling me to tie up loose ends and honor my agreement with Him. So enclosed with this letter is a check for $183.00 Kingdom Assignment money. I bought and sold some knives to friends, family and co-workers with my $100 Kingdom Assignment money, and did quite well for the first 2 1/2 weeks. Then I let life's trial become more important and shefted my focus to my youngest son's health, his move to his new house, helping my older sol remodel his bathroom and the many other distractions that go with living life in today's world. Praying for a greater increase of God's funds in your future endeavors. God's servant, Keith Young

 

 

 

BREAKFAST ANYONE? I wasn't sure what to do with my money for the Kingdom Assignment. On the Monday before Easter, Doreen gave me a call at work and said she had an idea for me to increase my money. "How about cooking a Sunrise Breakfast"? she asked. I thought that sounded good, so went ahead with plans. With the help of Gerry Boehlke, Harry Pulver and Doreen, we put on a great breakfast. Joyce Hubbard and Sarah McCorkle baked muffins and hot cross buns. I made money and a renewed interest in continuing a tradition for future Easters. $95 increase was raised.     Leon Densmore

 

GOOD OLE CARAMEL CORN - After considering a few ideas to increase my money, I decided to do a few things that didn't take a lot of time and people would buy. I have a good caramel corn recipe that people love to eat. I sold some here at church and some I sent with Leon to work on Fridays (these were all snatched up within 15 minutes). I smocked a baby dress for a baby shower and a Christening gown for another new baby. $68 increase was raised for God's Kingdom.    Doreen Densmore

 

JEWELRY MAKES PROFIT! Since I was unable to take part in receiving money when it was handed out, I still felt the need to take part. But what could I do? I do some jewelry making, but normally donate it to some organization or give it away to someone. I decided to try to sell some, and am astonished to find I have $100.00 over the cost of the supplies. I am truly blessed.  Edith Gordon

 

 

 

 

 

LADIES DRESS UP - Well, when we were presented as a congregation the Kingdom Assignment plan, I (Melissa) just told God that I was not going to take on another thing. My plate was FULL... period!! Then came the Sunday when the Kingdom Assignment was to begin. I still had made up my mind that I was not going to participate. Then God wrapped His arms around me and told me to pray. I had my head in my hands praying during most of the service. I did not know what was happening.

Well, the time came for us to go before God and make the commitment. With only God's help I got up and took 100 dollars. I knew I could double it by just taking 100 dollars out of my savings. There, that was easy enough! Oh no, God had another plan, period!

That night I attended a fundraiser with a friend at the Fountain Clinic in Marshall. That is where it happened. I loved what the fundraiser involved. I knew this was my Kingdom Assignment. Now this was totally a God thing. You see, He did not send me to the Fountain Clinic fundraiser first. He made me commit and trust first. That is Big!!

Then my sister, Susan Knickerbocker did not have a plan. She too was just going to put her 100 dollars in the safe and add from her pocket at the end. I told her to come and help me. We could do this together.

This is when the Ladies Dress Up Event began.

This event involved women and girls to gather and enjoy an evening together. Teams would buy a 'table' to dress up. Each table had a team leader who would sign up 6-8 others to be on their team. Each person divided the cost and helped provide their own meal for their table.

We ended up with six tables, with two of them cancelling that week. However, both who cancelled still donated their 100 dollars for the event. The four table themes were: Nascar (Melany Chalker-team leader), Garden Party (Brenda Walters, team leader); Sleepover (Cristin Woolworth-team leader), and Jewelry Beading Party (Jill Rose-Redman, team leader). There were 30 prizes given out throughout the evening and Jeff Brigham did the music. We had lots of fun!! The best part was Susan and I grew our 200 dollars into 800 dollars.                           Melissa Templeton and Susan Knickerbocker

 

CAKE ANYONE! First, I want to thank Autumn McCorkle, without whom I could not have completed my assignment. I decided to make smaller versions of my 4 layer cream filled dark chocolate cake. In accepting this assignment, it showed me how hard it is for me to focus on God when I have my focus on something I think is important. Things, all things go much smoother when I pray first, before I start whatever project or task I am anticipating. As others have noted, it reminded me how much work goes into baking in general. It also gave me a sense of doing God's will as I prayed for each person who purchased one of my cakes. I have a greater appreciation for our church kitchen and those who planned it. I love the mixer and double ovens. Thank you for this opportunity to serve. I am happy to say I doubled my Kingdom Assignment.   Greatfully,  Debbie Knoch 

 

BAKING FOR THE LORD - For my Kingdom Assignment I made buckeyes and sold them at coffee hour and I made cookies to sell at my grandma's bake sale. I took $20, and returned $46.         Isabelle Railer

 

I sold buckeyes and cookies.      Jonah Railer

 

BAKE SALES/SOCK MONKEYS - Jim and Ruth Sleight, started with $100 and did three bake sales with Regis and Jill. They spent about $40 in groceries and came out with $121 from the bake sales and turned in this money. The other $60 was spent on supplies to make sock monkeys. Yeah.... crazy idea. They are kinda cute and I'm embroidering little hearts and "Jesus Loves You" on them. But this project is a lot more time consuming than I expected. I have enough supplies to make 20 monkeys. I need to finish them and then find a craft sale or some other way to sell them. I am using an extension to finish this project and will turn in the money ASAP.

 

COMMUNITY MOVIE NIGHT - Received $200 for Kingdom Assignment. Purchased Movie package, $199 - included DVD, one year public license (unlimited showing), movie trailer DVD, five 11x17 posters, printable movie tickets, 1 large 10' banner, church bulletin inserts, web banners, "No Greater Love" bible study guide. Spent $79.20 advertisement in The Salesman = total cost $278.20. Total from ticket sales, $355.00, total profit, $76.80. This was not a huge success as far as money was concerned, but I believe this was definately what God had called me to do. I learned that even though this whole project was to raise more money, I learned a valuable lesson in obedience to Him. In one of my few journal entries I wrote, "When I thought about doubling my money for the Kingdom Assignment, I had it all wrong. I wasn't doubling my money. It was being faithful to Jesus, it was doing this for others." "Our needs are met when we begin traveling with the greater good of others," Melany Chalker sermon (3/7/10 I think).  

                                                                                                                                                                     Kathy Petrakovitz

 

SPORTS PHYSICALS? The Kingdom Assignment started while I was in Guatemala. Learning about it when I got back, I first thought that the money had most likely already been taken. Then Pastor Melany announced there was still money available for use. My next thought was, would I be able to use it wisely enough to make a profit? After all, what could I make that others would be interested in. I'm not good at fundraising by myself - I convinced myself. My ideas aren't that great, I also told myself. I had given up before I started. The last week of the Assignments approached and I applauded those who were doing well. My part in this would be to support others in what they were doing. That would be something I could do without any creative thinking. But God had other plans for me. That last week I prepared to help my fellow physician assistant with sports physicals. He needed a female to evaluate the girls. I went into this thinking I was volunteering. At the end of the second and last day of performing physicals, I was handed $50 for my help. It took me by surprise, but something happened on my drive back to Concord from Western High School. God was telling me, "I just gave you a Kingdom Assignment." I then realized that I was able to participate after all. I did have something to offer for the Kingdom.     Robin Brigham

 

PROFIT FROM ONE ACRE - I planted one acre of soybeans with $100, took last year's yield and price per bushel and received a profit of $220.    Bill Hubbard

 

I HATE COOKING! Trying to decide what to do with $100 to make it grow was difficult for me. But, in the end, I decided to bake. Not wanting to do this alone, I asked Regis Klingler if he wanted to join me in doing a few bake sales. He then invited Jim and Ruth Sleight to join us. Each of us did our own baking and kept our money separate. After puchasing ingredients at a cost of about $50, I began baking. Oatmeal, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies were frozen for the upcoming events. Brownies and lemon bars also joined them in the freezer. We decided to take it outside of our community, so I called Hutch's and scheduled dates for our bake sales. We set up one weekend in March, April and May. Each of the weekends we sold our goodies, the weather was COLD!! We could have gone inside, but decided to tough it out in the alcove next to the front door. Of course, the bad weather was blamed on me since I selected the dates!! There were lots of laughs and we noticed some of the same customers each of those weekends shopping at Hutch's and also buying our goodies. My goal was to double my money. I started with $100 and grew it to $211!! Did I mention, I HATE cooking!!    Jill Rose-Redman

 

KING'S CHALLENGE! I invested the $100 given to me for the King's Challenge in the stock of a small oil company called Rylund Oil Corp., which was a start up company on which a friend of mine sat on their Board of Directors. I've known Dick for many eyars as an excellent business man and oil finder. So, I felt comfortable that the company was solid along with the knowledge of their land inventory and oil production at the time I bought the stock. I purchased the stock at a price of $0.18/share. I bought 500 shares with the $100 ($9.99 fee to purchase the stock). The stock steadily increased at which time I sold it at a $0.50/share for a profit of $0.32/share or $160.00. The stock is currently selling for $0.35 share. Here is my check in the amount of $260.00. May the Lord use it to bless many others.    Buck Hackworth

 

SUCKERS FOR CHRIST! The Cornell children, Nathanael and Autumn, took $25 at the Kingdom Challenge, and sold candy suckers for Christ. They returned $45.00 for Christ!!

 

SALE OF POP! Melinda Spicer and Bree Spicer pooled their money ($150) and used it to purchase cans of pop to be sold in the elementary school's staff lounge. If we had collected the used cans, it would have been more!! $320.00 returned!

 

IT WAS THE KIDS' IDEA! On the day the Kingdom Assignment was to be given, I knew I wanted to participate but I didn't have a clue what I would be able to do to grow my $100. After accepting, I went home and started thinking about what it would be. I knew my kids always have ideas so we talked it over and came up with the once weekly take home meal plan. I would make a full dinner each Tuesday and they were more than willing to pay for mom to cook (as they all work and agreed they would like a day off from thinking about what to cook). One son-in-law thought I should continue on after the assignment was over, as my youngest daughter doesn't care about cooking. My plan was to do this for six weeks. They came each week and picked up their meals and brought back the dishes the next week. It was hard work at first, and I was out of practice. But it was fun and I was able to raise, $350.00.    Vera Baker

 

MOWER PROBLEMS EARN CASH!! I am one of the few who didn't take 100 bucks that Sunday. I was up front doing music at the time, nor did I intentionally stop by the office to pick up any. In the back of my mind I was thinking I would do service work for others. It wouldn't take necessarily an initial investment on my part. I ended up doing service work on four lawn mowers in my spare time, for a total of $155. I've always enjoyed helping others and always enjoyed working with my hands. But, since I've closed the lawn mower shop two years ago, I've found that I can help others as a consultant for those that are willing to tackle their mower problems themselves. I've answered many questions, and talked others through their own repairs. They are so appreciative of my help and I feel a sense of satisfaction that I am able to help others in this way. I trust God is smiling.    Jeff Brigham