The widow of Zarephath shares, even when she has very few resources. What might this story of generosity mean for a congregation who is scared they don’t have enough?

Stepping into the church, I was overcome by hopefulness. They had taken risks to serve their community well and it showed.

Believe it or not, I’ve met churches (note plural!) who need an elevator desperately, have the funds and won’t spend the money. It breaks my heart that these churches are excluding people like Stella.

Objections I’ve heard:

the money should go to missions instead

our church won’t be here in five years, why renovate?

we need to keep that money to support the church as we shrink

Add fear to this mix, a fear that deciding what to do with the reserve funds might cause more conflict than the church can handle.