For attorney Bill Flowe, the recent Mother’s Day Offering at First Baptist Church in Liberty was all about being in the right place at the right time...and then, being intentional in connecting all the dots. First there was the devastation of a church member after the death of a friend from cancer and the fundraiser to help the family pay off large medical bills. Second, Bill learned the Mother’s Day Offering committee was all volunteers–laymen and ministers–who received no administrative costs and gave 100 percent of churches’ donated money directly to patients. The third was when a client approached Bill about honoring his deceased mother. It was Divine intervention: Bill told the client about his church’s Mother’s Day Offering and the client offered to match their contribution up to $1000.
First Baptist contributed an impressive gift of $2240, more than doubling the anonymous challenge. “This was our chance to be part of something bigger,” Bill explained. “A lot of folks in our church have mothers who have passed away, so they can’t give flowers or take Mom out to eat. What a great way to honor Mom in a meaningful way.”
This little church is no stranger to showing big love, says Interim Pastor Rev. Jim Wall. They share meals with the seniors at Liberty Village, helped the Baptist State Convention buy a dental van, worked with the church youth to cook and deliver food to those in need, transport people to appointments, and hope to grow a community garden. “I think Love is the bedrock of who we are and what we do as God’s people,” said Rev. Wall, a minister for 54 years who first gave to the Mother’s Day Offering as a child. “This church is very loving, very giving. Jesus went into the world and ministered to a variety of people, not just one type. We try to live like that. We just try to glorify God.”
“God’s hand was in this,” Bill concluded. “I was happy to be sitting at the intersection of these three things when He gave the gentle nudge.”
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. –Matthew 5:13-15
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. –Exodus 20:12
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. – Proverbs 31:28
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. – Proverbs 31:26-27