Louie Giglio - Because We Can
It’s great to be linked together and to celebrate that right now this is someone’s first Sunday. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but isn’t it incredible to think that every Sunday is a new beginning for someone at Passion City Church? I know that’s happening today, and that’s why we are on this above and beyond journey, actually starting on the trek today, leading to August 15th. I know a lot of you are new to Passion City; that’s what I’ve learned in the last few months. Today, we want to take a step back and paint a picture of what Above and Beyond Sunday, the Above and Beyond season, or the Above and Beyond spirit is all about. The message today is called «Because We Can.»
I want you to know, and we’ve already heard it in the giving today, that Above and Beyond is the moment for us to give above what we normally give so that Passion City Church can go beyond where we normally go. What I want us to understand today is that this whole arc of generosity is about our lives. It’s about a lifestyle; it’s not about a program for an organization. This isn’t our Girl Scout cookies run, even though I love Girl Scout cookies and missed them last year; I know they were around somewhere, but I missed mine. This isn’t a program for our organization; it’s an axiom for our lives. What God wants us to see, to have our eyes opened to today, is that generosity in the kingdom of God is a way of life. It’s not something we do; it’s a way of life. It’s not a season of the year; it’s a way of life. It’s part of the DNA of being a follower of Jesus.
We’ve been in the book of Acts in this series, «To the Ends of the Earth,» which we’re blending into the above and beyond journey. In Acts, we talked a lot about Paul. I want you to see the spirit in him in Acts chapter 20. He’s in Ephesus, a place where he invested a lot of his time and energy, building many relationships and influence. But it’s time for him to leave Ephesus, and Paul is going to go back to Jerusalem, the epicenter of this new church movement that is underway. He knows that his enemies are all still there, so it’s likely he’s going to be imprisoned in Jerusalem. It’s possible that he will lose his life there. What ultimately happens, as we see in the whole story, is that he does get arrested there, but he gets put on a ship for Rome, where he ultimately gives his life for his faith.
He says in verse 24, as he defends the way he has loved and shepherded this community of believers, «However, I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.» Remember, last week we talked about Paul’s win-win mentality: «For me to live is Christ, and for me to die is gain.» That’s a win-win lifestyle right there. If I wake up on Monday, people around me are going to hear about Jesus. If I go to heaven on Monday, I’m going to get Jesus. So either way, it’s going to be Jesus on Monday. That’s a win-win lifestyle.
Someone trying to preserve their life on Monday or stretch out their life until the ultimate day is someone who is in love with Jesus and is called to share the story of God’s grace, the gospel of God’s grace. Then he links this to his own personal view of how his financial contribution works in this process. If you look down just a few verses to verse 33, he comes to the end of his resume, if you will, of how he has hoped to be faithful among them. He says, «I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands, these hands of mine, have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'»
What Paul is saying is that when he came to serve them and preach the gospel to them, he didn’t want it to look like he was benefiting from what they have, and he didn’t want anybody to suspect his motives. So, he just worked on the side to provide his own needs and the needs of his team so that he could freely give the gospel to them, knowing there were no strings attached. This is the best way to live life, by the way—when there are no strings attached, when you’re free. «For me to live is Christ, and for me to die is gain.» Therefore, if I’m here, I’m going to preach Christ, and while I’m preaching Christ, I’m going to work with my own hands so that you don’t question my motives for being here. You won’t think I’m trying to get into your pocketbook. I’m not trying to get your silver, your gold, or anything else that you have; that’s not why I’m here. I’m here as a free choice to serve people, to build up the church, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He did that in the same spirit that we’re talking about on this journey called Above and Beyond.
On August 15th, people all throughout our house, D.C., here in Atlanta, and hopefully some of you who feel like you’re part of our house online, who honestly up to now we’ve asked for nothing, and we’re not going to ask you for anything today, will choose of their own free will to give into God’s work to take the story of Jesus here, there, and everywhere. It begs a massive question today: why do we do this? Why do we give more than we have to give? You know the scripture says we’re to give 10% of everything God puts in our hands; our first fruits go back to God. That’s just an automatic, instant way of showing God that we recognize who He is and who provides for us. When God gives us money and when money comes into our account, the first tithe of that, or a tenth of that, goes back to God. So, we could just check the box and say, «I did that; I’m good.»
So, why do we give above that? The answer is really simple, and it’s really amazing. It’s not because we should, it’s not because we ought to, it’s not because we must, it’s not because we’re required to do that, and it’s not because we are coerced to do that. We give above—are you ready? —because we can! Thank you so much for sitting right in the front row because I couldn’t have heard your «amen» if you had been over there, as there weren’t any coming from up there. So thank you for being close today; I needed an «amen» right there! We’re in Above and Beyond, people. We’re on a journey to generosity; we’re believing God’s going to do a miracle, and therefore we’ll be able to sit in the miracle that God has done.
You know why we’re doing it? Not because we ought to do it, not because we should do it, not because we have to do it, not because we’re required to do it, not because somebody is going to coerce you to do it—we’re doing it because we can! This is the spirit of Paul. No one made him work; they would have been happy to have helped provide for the needs of Paul and his team. But he said, «No, I have skills and ability, and I’m going to make it work, and I’m doing that because I can.» When that is our motive, we are free.
I love how we’ve seen Above and Beyond around us in the last few days. You know that I always nerd out on space stuff, but everybody’s nerding out on space stuff now because you can’t even open your news feed without seeing someone going to space. Apparently, anybody that wants to and has a billion dollars can go to space right now! Are you keeping up with Richard Branson? This guy has so much money; he lives on his own island. Not that you have to have money to live on your own island; you can live on a very small island in the middle of nowhere by yourself with no money if you just row out there. But this guy has done a lot of amazing things in life. He has a space program called Virgin Galactic, and they’ve created this rocket plane, right? Do you know how this works? It launches connected to another plane. Once it reaches a certain altitude, they turn the jet on and take off and go to space.
For a few moments, you’re in weightless space. A few days ago, on July 11th, Richard Branson himself and three other passengers, along with two crew members, went on Unity, the rocket plane, to 53 miles above the Earth. For a few moments, they could take their seat belts off, float around inside Unity, and look out to see the curvature of the Earth, and beat Jeff Bezos to space! Jeff’s been cooking up Blue Origin for a while with a lot bigger space ambition than Richard Branson, who just wants to sell us a ticket to this four or five minutes of weightless joy.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, called New Shepard, which is actually named after a real astronaut, Alan Shepard, the first man to go into space—that’s just a little something free for everyone paying attention. Thank you; you’re welcome! Bezos goes up on July 20th, so he missed the launch moment by nine days. But not to be out, they went to the Kármán line. The Kármán line is 100 kilometers above Earth; it’s the most recognized definition of where outer space is. Branson went to 53 miles, and the Kármán line is at about 62 miles. Jeff Bezos went higher into space for a few moments of weightlessness where they too unbuckled their seat belts in an automated rocket with no pilots and floated in the weightlessness of space.
One of the passengers with Richard Branson was quoted in a BBC article saying, «The view out the window is just phenomenal,» to which I say: no kidding! By the way, people will comment on this and say, «Louie, when are you going to space?» I’m ready whenever one of you wants to make an Above and Beyond gift to send your pastor into space. I’m ready! But it’s going to take that because I’ve seen some of the price tags, and they’re a little beyond my means at the moment. This person went on to say, «Pictures don’t do it justice. It’s so bright and beautiful,» referring to the Earth. «I saw the ocean and halfway up the U.S. and halfway down to Mexico, I saw the green land and the snow-capped mountains.» Because you’re weightless and still and the ship has come to a stop, you can just soak it in a really timeless way.
It’s stuck in my soul, and I asked the question: what did these guys, within nine days of each other, go to orbit, go to space? Answer: because they can! People will say, «Oh no, they have great scientific goals, and they care about humanity and the future of mankind,» and all that is true, I’m sure. But they went to space within nine days of each other because they can. And what did they see out the window? They saw things that were phenomenal. They saw perspective they’d never seen before—an expanse that you can’t see while standing on planet Earth. Their vision was broader than it’s ever been in their life. The colors were richer than they’ve ever been in their life, and it made me think: I wonder what it’s going to look like to look through the window of eternity if that view is going to be phenomenal, if that expanse is going to be greater than anything we’ve ever seen before.
If, in the spirit of that, we say, «I’m a part of that,» you know why? Because I can! I love that we have so many reasons to join God in His mission of taking the gospel here, there, and everywhere. Yes, there’s a great need, and yes, His glory is unmatched, but partly we’re in Above and Beyond just because we can. That’s reason enough, and it’s a spirit that I pray could be infectious in the people of God. I pray that we wouldn’t be irresponsible in the way we manage our finances, but I pray we wouldn’t live like orphans when we’re sons and daughters of a king.
A couple of footnotes: I forgot the earliest one. When Jesus said it’s more blessed to give than to receive, He didn’t say that in any of the four gospels. If you want to track that back, that’s going to be an asterisk for you. You’re like, «Wait a minute! How is it in red in Acts chapter 20, but it’s not in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John’s gospel?» Because John said at the end of his gospel, «If all the things Jesus said and all the things Jesus did were written in books, the earth couldn’t contain the books.» Apparently, somewhere along the way, Jesus had used this phrase often enough that His followers knew: this is an axiom of the Lord; it is more blessed to give than to receive. All of us know that because people have heard Jesus say that in their homes, in conversation, walking on the road, and all the followers of Jesus knew that.
When Paul is in Acts, in the middle of the story of spreading the gospel to the known world, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John hadn’t even been written yet. It could have been that Jesus said that to Paul when He appeared to him on the road to Damascus, but Jesus was known to believe it’s more blessed to give than to receive. We know that that wasn’t just a teaching of Jesus; it was the lifestyle of Jesus. I think the second thing that’s important for us to understand in the process is that our mentality is a mentality of a God who is the God of abundance. So we want to live with that mentality.
Footnote number two is that some of you are not in a position today to say it’s the Above and Beyond season, and I want to be a part of that because I can because you can’t. So, Above and Beyond for you isn’t a season you should feel guilt or shame about, nor should you feel like you’ve got to duck out for a couple of weeks because you’re so leveraged in debt right now you really can’t. Maybe Above and Beyond for you will just be a gift to God: to say let’s do a reset, let’s do a hard reset right here, let’s come up with a three-year plan, let’s decide we’re going to change our lifestyle, let’s decide we’re going to not be indebted to the lender all the days of our lives, and let’s decide right now that on Above and Beyond Sunday, or in Above and Beyond season 2025, we’re going to say as a family, «We can!» We’re on the way right now. That’s our Above and Beyond gift—a commitment to get to the point where we can say we can.
But a lot of us are already there. A lot of us already have margin; a lot of us already have disposable income—that’s what the world calls it. You can throw it in any trash can you want to. We already have the ability to make those kinds of decisions. I just want to encourage us in the spirit of the gospel and the mission we’re called to that we would adopt a mentality that says, «The only reason I need to be generous to you is because I can.» That’s the only reason I really need. I have more reasons than that, but the only reason I really need is because I can.
Let’s break it down to the smallest way: the valet guy—it’s raining; they’re out there hustling around, or it’s 90% humidity, and they’re all pouring with sweat. Here they come with your car, and yes, you paid seven dollars to park; I know that’s ridiculous, and that’s why some of you say, «Louie, I never valet; I’d rather Uber there in a car I don’t know anything about than deal with the valet.» That’s great, but if you did valet and the people are hustling to get your car, and yes, you had to pay seven dollars to park, and I know that’s a joke—and they’re going to give you three dollars back and then you’re not sure whether you should tip the guy or not? I pay them seven bucks; doesn’t he work for them? Do I give him another dollar tip when they pull up?
It’s three dollars, and if you can’t make it or break it on three bucks, you don’t need to go wherever you just went to valet! You should just stay at home and watch Netflix again on your parents' account that you’re signed into. You don’t need to be going somewhere if you’re adding it up in your mind. Again, we paid them seven dollars; do we still tip the guy? That guy’s pouring with sweat; give him ten more! He’s working as a valet; he probably didn’t get his degree in car valet. Most likely, he or she is working their way up. Somebody actually contributed; someone said, «You know what, I don’t care what the scenario is, I’m going to get in and build up my skill set, and I’m going to contribute to the greater common good.» I want to be part of doing something in life because I want to make something of my life.
I want to be able to say, «Look, you seem like a really nice guy; it looks like everything’s still in my car; my sunglasses are still here—great! Here’s twenty bucks; have a great day!» You’re like, «Woo, Louie, you must be rolling! I know it’s ten dollars, hope I’m going to be able to make that.» You’re like, «Well, Louie, I’m in a place right now where I count all my ten dollars.» Once again, don’t valet; once again, you might not need to go anywhere where you do valet. It’s a mentality that says, «I don’t need an ought, a should, a 'have to, ' a requirement, or a coercion; I want to give to a person who doesn’t have food, who’s right in my line of sight, or a neighbor who has a need, or a person who seems like they’re hustling to make it to the next step in life because I can.»
If that’s what I’m doing on the regular, I certainly want to lean into the global purposes of God because I can. It’s the only reason I need. If these billionaires are going to paint a picture every day of what it looks like to go above and beyond, I want to be in a church that says we are on the same mission; we’re going to do whatever it takes to get this story of Jesus to every single person on the planet. We’ve got a global mentality.
On my birthday, I got a watch; actually, I received two versions of the same watch from two completely different people. It’s a kind of fashion-sports, medium-priced watch brand, and it’s not complicated. But I’m maybe not the smartest guy in the world, so I was looking at the instructions to figure out how to set the time. It has several buttons, some of which do things. So, I pulled the instructions out, and it was a little thing this big, a little square, you know what I’m talking about. Until I unfolded it, it was the size literally of a newspaper. I started looking at the thing, and I’m like, «Surely, there’s English on here somewhere.» The instructions for how to set the time and the date on this watch were listed in something like 39 languages on that piece of paper.
And I thought, «When these people made this watch, they were thinking it was going to go around the world. When they made this watch, they weren’t thinking about one kind of person; they were thinking about all the nations, all the languages, all the people on planet Earth.» I want to have that mentality when I’m talking about Jesus! I want to be thinking, «How do we get this story into as many languages as possible to go to as many people to the ends of the earth?» The way it happens is when we have an all-in mentality.
Luke is writing Acts. He also obviously wrote the Gospel of Luke, which contains most of Jesus' teachings on finances. All throughout the story of Acts, Luke highlights the connection between the mission and the resources. Somehow, this physician, Luke, had an eye for the thread that says if there’s going to be a gospel preached, then someone financially has to be leaned in. He shows us this throughout the story. Just to highlight a couple of places really fast: Acts chapter 2—3,000 people just got saved! The church is a movement; it’s exploding; it’s beyond what anyone could have imagined. So, pretty quickly, their needs arise; there has to be organization.
We see that guys are chosen very quickly to serve within this new emerging community. Immediately, in verse 42 of chapter 2, we see the unfolding of community: «They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common, selling their possessions and goods. They gave to anyone as he had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts; they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.»
There was no blueprint for this; there was no manual for how to start a church. There was no manual for, «Oh wow, the gospel is being preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and thousands of people are putting their faith in Christ!» It was just: «Here’s what needs to happen; we need to keep meeting publicly and privately; we need to meet around tables and have fellowship; we need to get under good teaching, and we need to keep sharing the gospel with people.» You know what? We have a boatload of needs all of a sudden. We don’t even have a budget yet! So, what do we need to do? We need to pool all our resources and make sure everybody gets taken care of.
Now, this wasn’t an organized political structure; that’s not what we’re talking about, so don’t get off track from Acts 2. We’re talking about a supernatural movement, talking about people who were swept into a spirit awakening, a revival, if you will! Instantly, people— they didn’t have time to make a budget; they didn’t have time to do projections and ROI—they just said, «Wow! We’ve got lots of people coming to know Jesus. All of a sudden, we’re a family, and we’re a big family, so what do families do? Families take care of each other!» And immediately on day one, the description of the church is that people were generous with what they had.
The second thing we see is that this comes down and is naturally applied to us in individual ways. Acts chapter 4, verse 12: I love that we did a whole message around this a few weeks ago, «Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.» In other words, the message is Jesus, and it’s the only name that saves. You would then understand what’s happening at the beginning in verse 31 or verse 32.
All the believers, again, we see this all-in mentality, were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them, for from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. More specifically, because Luke is into the details, Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, which means «son of encouragement,» sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
So, the all-in mentality is going to have an individual application for you and me. Cumberland is obviously sitting in a miracle right now; everyone watching us online is sitting in a miracle right now. Passion D.C. is meeting right now in a miracle, and at 5:15, you’re all sitting in a miracle. When this property was first acquired, and this building was renovated, I don’t remember the exact cost, but it was many millions of dollars to transform this empty warehouse into a place we could call home. I remember one of the families in our church who was on the brink of buying or renovating a lake house nearby was touched by the Spirit of God. We didn’t have any lake house gatherings; we didn’t have any lake house invitations. But touched by the Spirit of God, they said, «We were about to do this, but we’re not going to do that; instead, we’re going to invest in this.»
And you are sitting in their Barnabas story right here, right now, at 5:15. You are a part of their personal application of the all-in mentality of reaching here, there, and everywhere with the story of Jesus. Then in Acts 16, I just want you to see the speed at which this normally happens. In Acts 16, Paul is in Philippi, and we find this story beginning in verse 11. «From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace.» Then, he goes on to say that they ended up in Philippi and stayed there for a few days.
Verse 13: «On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, 'Come and stay at my house.' And she persuaded us.»
I love the fine print! I love the all-in mentality, and I love the speed at which the Holy Spirit connected regeneration and generosity. It wasn’t like, «I’m a God-fearing woman, you’ve just explained to me the gospel of Jesus. I not only got it, but my whole family got it, and we all got baptized,» which is kind of fast! «So, I’m inviting you all to come and stay with me for as long as you need to stay with me because I’m obviously running a pretty good business here, and I have a decent place to stay, and you guys look like you’ve been traveling around quite a bit, so you and the whole party can just come stay at my house!» Bam! Her heart is opened; the gospel is received; families are baptized; generosity is extended.
Whereby, in a lot of our culture it’s like, «Wow, I heard the gospel and I got saved, and then maybe a long time down the road, I shared that with some other people and they got saved. Then somewhere down the road, I started realizing, 'Oh, there’s something called generosity and giving, and I should think about being a part of that.'» No! Instantly, the church is born, and everybody’s all in as the gospel is going forth—Jesus' name proclaimed as the only name given among men under heaven by which you must be saved. Barnabas said, «Whoa! We’ve got a growing family here; I’ve got a piece of land I don’t need right now; I’m going to sell that, bring it to the apostles, and say just use it however we can; let’s keep the movement going.»
Lydia gets saved on a whim just at a riverside gathering and says to the whole traveling team, «Hey! My house is open to you; what I’ve got is yours. You can eat my food; you can sleep in my beds; what I’ve got is yours.» Then Paul and Silas are arrested and put in prison. We know how this story unfolds in the rest of the chapter, but look at verse 40: «After Paul and Silas came out of prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. And then they left.»
But Lydia didn’t leave; Lydia stayed in the story. Lydia is now woven into the fabric of the church. Lydia is now a generosity factor in the story of the church, being strengthened in Philippi, and Lydia is now a part of here, there, and everywhere; she’s a part of taking the story to the ends of the earth. As you read Acts, what you see is that you don’t have to be a billionaire to be in the story; you just have to be available. You don’t have to go 62 miles above Earth to be significant; you just have to be available. You have to be grateful to have this mentality that says, «I can, and I’m ready to give more. You know why? Because I can!»
They say that in World War II, the unemployment rate in America was the lowest in history, with something like 1,7% unemployment, because every able-bodied person in America took up a role to fight for freedom across the world. Industries shifted! Like, we’ve been making these, but now we’re going to make these! Stay-at-home moms took up roles; elderly people who had already crossed over into retirement got back in the workforce. People planted victory gardens in their homes; everybody was looking for ways to contribute.
In 1964, Dwight Eisenhower said of one person, «This person is responsible for winning the war.» You’re like, «Man, who was Dwight Eisenhower talking about?» Well, Dwight Eisenhower was talking about a guy named Andrew Higgins. Ever heard that name? Thank you!
A few years ago, we were doing a Passion event outside New Orleans, Louisiana. The Passion band, myself, Levi, and friends were there (I say «and friends» because I might have left somebody out, not on purpose; it’s been a minute). Levi said, «Hey, our family is going to the World War II Museum today in New Orleans. You want to go?» I was like, «I had no clue there was a World War II museum in New Orleans!» And I’m guessing a lot of you don’t either because I didn’t think New Orleans played a major role in World War II. But lo and behold, we went, and it was a very impressive museum!
My first question rolling in was, «Why is this museum in New Orleans?» The answer is quick and simple: because of Andrew Higgins. Andrew Higgins owned a boat company, and he had a boat called Eureka. The Eureka was a shallow water boat that could easily access land without a dock or a boat ramp. Andrew Higgins said, «This is what we’re going to need if we’re going on beaches all over Europe and up onto tiny islands all throughout the Pacific.» He modified his boat to become the Higgins boat, which is essentially a people mover.
Each boat can carry 36 personnel, men or women, and it can arrive on a beach anywhere without a harbor. Starting out with just a handful of people, Andrew Higgins ended up hiring 20,000 employees. Over the course of a few years, they manufactured close to 23,000 Higgins boats. They were making a boat every few days, and their boats were used in Normandy and all over the globe. Dwight Eisenhower said of Andrew Higgins, «He is the man who won the war for us.»
The most amazing thing is he hired anyone who wanted to come and pitch in. Senior citizens, women worked alongside men, Black people worked alongside whites, and everyone was paid an equal wage for whatever job they did in the Higgins boat manufacturing process; that was revolutionary in 1941! But the world was revolutionized. In 1943, they could produce one of these boats at a cost of around $12,000 every few days, which were deployed to places carrying freedom fighters all over the earth.
An all-in mentality—not the greatest diplomat of all time, not the greatest war strategist of all time, not the richest man of all time—just a guy who said, «I’ve got a Eureka boat, and I think a Eureka boat is what we need right now.» And if I can beef it up and make it more substantial and get enough people to lean in to put their hands to work, we can create enough of these boats to land on shores all over planet earth, and we can make a mighty difference in the mission of freedom!
And that’s what God’s saying today: You don’t have to have it all, but are you willing to take what you do have in your hands and put that in the story of God? Are you willing to take what you are good at and put it in the story of God? Are you willing to take what you have been entrusted and stewarded with and put it in the story of God? Rally other people around and say, «Together, with an all-in mentality, we can do more.» That is Above and Beyond, and that is Passion City Church, and that is you!
I want to say thank you. We’ve been doing Above and Beyond for many, many years, but in the last three years, we chose to do an arc of Above and Beyond—a three-year journey. Why? Because we had a dream that we could actually have our own location at Cumberland on our own land in an auditorium that we built so that families, children, students, and adults could come together and worship. We weren’t subject to the ebbs and flows of a high school nearby, even though they were amazing partners and are still great friends.
We had a vision and a dream that the story of God’s sovereign grace could land in our nation’s capital and that there could be an expression of Passion City Church in the District of Columbia. So, we sent Higgins boats here and there, and no one person did it all, no one person’s name is on a building, no one person wrote the check. Everybody together said, «I’ll put a Higgins boat in the story; I’ll come alongside it and help do something with what God has put in my hands.» And now here we are at the end of that three-year arc—sitting in that vision of Cumberland today!
Passion City D.C. is worshiping today, and they take no money on a monthly basis to support their operating costs from Passion City Church Atlanta because they are financially vibrant and financially self-sustaining three years into their journey. You were the seeds, with the millions, that got them going, but now they’re standing on their own two feet preaching Jesus and preaching the gospel in the middle of the District, right here and right now! Of this three-year arc, where you gave $19.7 million, not because you ought to, or you had to, or you should, or you were required to do that, or you were coerced to do that—you just said, «I can!»
We were able to see God do more. We were ready to meet a global crisis. We were standing on our own two feet by the grace of God when the global crisis came, and we’re still standing on our own two feet right now. We didn’t take any money from anybody during the global crisis. I’m not saying that’s bad if you did or bad if you didn’t. I’m just saying we chose not to because God had always been faithful to us. We said, «We’re going to believe God and trust God.» We started off strong and ended a year of global crisis strong! You know why? Largely because a lot of Higgins boats came on shore; a lot of people said, «I can’t do everything, but I can do something!»
So resources went into the pantry and into the cupboard so that in a time of need, we could open those pantries and open those cupboards and say to families, «We can help you with your rent; we can help you on your bills; we can help you with your medical costs; we can help you get through the burial of your loved one; we can stand beside you and meet the need that you have!» You’re like, «I didn’t even know we did that!» That’s what the church is all about. Yes—we could provide meals, and yes—we could provide essential services, but we walked beside some single moms who had nowhere to turn when businesses were shattered by other people’s actions. We were able to come alongside them and say, «We have enough in our pantry to help you get your business back open.» Why? Because of an Above and Beyond mentality!
Out of that $19.7 million given over a three-year span, including a global crisis, to the glory of God, $3.3 million of that was given straight through our hands to serve local organizations in D.C. and here in Atlanta and to global causes to do what God is doing. One of those was a three-year gift of $144,000 to go toward Bible translation for the Bibleless Baska people who are still waiting for a Higgins boat to arrive on their shore with the good news of God’s word in their language. But it’s coming because of an Above and Beyond mentality!
A mentality that doesn’t say, «I have a Bible; I’m good,» but a mentality that says, «You don’t have a Bible; I’ll go above and I’ll go beyond!» Not with a mentality that says, «My kids are in Bloom today; we’re good!» They love Bloom, by the way; they’re fired up! They’re going to come out of there talking 100 miles an hour, but a mentality that says, «How many other kids need to walk into Bloom and know that we called it Bloom so that they would grow?» I’ll give Above and Beyond—you’ll hear more about what you’re giving is going to do in the days ahead as we head toward August 15th.
I know August 15th might not all be about one day; there are financial things happening in the world right now that are going to impact your financial situation by the end of this year. So, your Above and Beyond giving could be on that Sunday; it could be on that Sunday, plus something else you do in the fall as laws are changed and dynamics are put in play. But it’s more of a spirit, more of a heart of realizing Jesus—He was the only one who was high above, but He was willing to come all the way to the lowest low to lift me and you up out of the miry pit and to seat us at the table of a king.