Have You Ever Heard About Microfinance?

The last of three posts on "Go back and report...what you hear and see."

Key Scripture Passage
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”  Matthew 11:4-5 NIV

Reflection
"Have you ever heard about microfinance?"  Jackie called me out of the blue with that question.  I had never met her before, but she had been referred to me by our church's missions pastor and had the guts to give me a call and ask me that question.  She then proceeded to report to me what she had seen and heard about microfinance, and Christian microfinance in particular.  2 minutes into the conversation I was hooked, and my life has never been the same since.

What started with a simple question from a sister in Christ who had identified an effective means of empowering the materially poor turned into what is today PEER Servants.  She took a mustard seed step to make a call.  She put her concern about others before her concern of how I might see her.

It didn't stop there.  The fact is virtually all of PEER Servants' growth that has led to hundreds of volunteers offering thousands of hours of service, giving/raising millions of dollars, and extending more of the kingdom to hundreds of thousands of the materially poor has resulted from normal everyday people reporting what they are hearing and seeing.

While we praise God for the growth He has allowed, we also appreciate how much more of the kingdom of heaven needs to be extended to earth.  Let us not grow weary in our reporting what we are hearing and seeing, and as we report, let us make certain it is God, the One who has truly done the work, Who is receiving the glory for the lives that are being blessed.

Questions to Consider
How did you get involved in more intentionally extending the kingdom of heaven to earth?  Did it result from someone reporting to you what they had seen or heard?

Action Step for the Week
Identify just one example of how you have seen the kingdom of heaven being extended to earth and tell 2-3 people about it this week.