Erika Schatz

I received 10$ that eventful Sunday and I prayed and thought about how best to use it for a week. As I went through the week I struggled with how best to use it. I decided to use the money to bless two extremely patient and loving individuals I work with. I’m a teacher for children with Autism and I have two wonderful Teacher Assistants who give their hearts to these children day by day/hour by hour. I’m blessed to have God loving coworkers in the classroom praying for the children. It takes a team to shape and teach these children and I wanted to show them how much I appreciate everything they do in the classroom.
On a Monday morning, which usually is a not so favorite day of the week, I decided to buy my TAs Lattes and a muffin. It wasn’t much but to them it meant so much more. They are doing the Lord’s work, even in the toughest of situations. I explained the bless back project and one of my TAs even said “OH well, maybe I should bless someone!” How awesome to see God’s impact on people.

Thank you Sharon and Nancy!

G

My daughter and I combined the money and gave it to a lady at my work who is single, on limited income and just had surgery. She thanked me, cried and said that it would buy her meals for a few days.

Grant Dixon

My name is Grant Dixon and I am 11 years old. Here’s my story. My 12 year old cousin Haley told me about what had happened at church the morning of the Bless Back Project. That same morning my Aunt Robin came over to tell us what had happened too. She asked us what we my brother Chase (9) and my sister Robin (5) would do if we had the money to give away. We talked about a number of things but decided to wait and see what was in Aunt Robin’s envelope. Inside was $10. We then talked about what we could do if we added to it. We first thought about doing an Operation Christmas Child box that we each do every year. Since we already do this we thought we would consider helping somewhere else. I had heard about the Feed the Children organization. We looked them up on Google and saw that if we had $24 we could feed three kids for a month. We all decided to add to the $10 to make up the difference.

Barb Heins

This week my husband John told me to go ahead and give away the money he received in the Bless Back envelope. That day my sister Sally called to say she was in Charlotte, visiting from New Mexico! I took her out for lunch with the money and thanked her for the blessing she has been to me over the years. She is not a believer, but was truly amazed that a church would do anything like Elevation has done with Bless Back. She will be attending church with us this Sunday!

Jessica

I have attended church my whole life and went to a private Christian school (elem-high)–I have never seen anything like Elevation, like Furtick. This bless back project is one example. I can certainly say I’ve never been told to take money out of the offering plate. Nevertheless, I did put off my bless back project for a while. Even though it was only $5, I felt extra pressure to do something special with the money. In the end, I decided to give my $5 to a friend at work. She is a single mom who is always juggling work, her child, and her finances. I told her a little bit about bless back and asked her to have coffee or a small lunch on Elevation. She asked me a little bit about her church. She is a Christian and attends a local mega-church, occasionally. Anyway, she was very appreciative, and I know that she felt blessed. …what a fabulous idea!! : )

Leigh Sherrill

I know this is late coming in. I feel so bad about that. My life these days are so hard. It’s even a miracle I have time to sit down and type this.

My car got broken into last week. The one thing they stole was my gift from Elevation. It was in my diaper bag that I carry to church every Sunday with my son’s things in it. At first I thought who ever broke in my car needed it worse then who I was going to bless. Then I just got so mad, because they invaded my stuff. Then I realized it was really God’s stuff.

This week I finally decided that I still wanted to bless someone. I wanted to reach out. So I did. I even added $20.00 to the mix to match what I had gotten. I felt really good about that. So I set out to the Arboretum Wal-Mart to fine Steve. Steve is the door greeter that sits in the wheelchair at the front door. If you ever go in Wal-Mart after 6 on Thursday thur Sunday, then you know who I’m talking about. I use to work with Steve. He amazed me how he had it in him to come to work with a handicap. He had a strong drive that I thought was awesome.Five years ago I picked up the Charlotte Observer and there was an acticle in there about Steve. It made me cry. I remember thinking “WOW”!!!!! Steve wanted to buy a house and his own mother moreless told him he was wasting his time. That really hit me hard. His own mother. How could a mother be so cold to a child. This was a grown man now. He was really working hard and had a dream. She just shot him down. There was a realiter that went the extra mile to help him get a house. I thought that realiter was a hero to Steve. He believed he could do it and helped him out. What a great person.

So I went this Thursday night and gave Steve the $40.00 blessing. I asked him if he would except it. You know what he said, “I don’t want to get fired!” I can’t take it. I said. yes you can and you will. He said, ask my manager fiirst. I said I told a lady at the front desk and she said it was fine. So then he said he would take it. He also said. Thank you!

I felt so good. I didn’t let some thief ruin my joy of rewarding God’s blessing. I only hope if that thief got the blessing, I recieved, I hope he has God in his life. He needs a little Evevation in his life.

Chris, Debbie, Gray, Madeline

We received $30.00 in our envelopes. We spent a week talking about how we can bless someone. I loved the conversations we had. In the meantime, my husband works with a young lady who is a new single mom and far from God. He asked her if she needed anything so we gave her a gift card and a book of devotions. With the $30.00, my husband has a friend who is a struggling student. My children wanted to give the money to him. It has really been a blessing for our family to put our eyes on others and to look for someone to bless. One thing I have learned from this process is that when we are looking we find so many needs and so many people that need to know the love of Christ. Thank you so much.

Hannah

After I received my five dollars, I waited for the right opportunity to bless some one. It took me a a whole week to find something to do with it, but it made me smile when I did.

We live across the street from and elderly couple, but we never see them. We’re usually just to busy or forget to call and say hi.

So I went to Michaels(the store), and bought a bunch of crafts, and painted them, and made them look all nice for the woman who lives across the street. I added a pine scented candle to my gift bag I was going to give to Mrs. Rutter(our neighbor).

That night, my mother and I headed over to her house to give the gifts to her.

She was a sweety. I can tell you that. She used words like “tickled”. You want that in context?

“Ohh deary, i’m so tickled you thought of me.”

So, now I have an appointment to go over again, and help her make christmas cookies!

The Cottons

My husband and I received $15.00 and added to it.
We bought a children’s bible for a 6 year old girl named Grace, in my Awana group. Her mother has cancer and just had a tumor removed from her spine. Grace is being brought to Awana by a friend of her mother, Grace did not have a bible.
We also let Grace choose a gift for her mom-she chose a guardian angel pin. Grace has just been a blessing. Our prayers are with this precious family. Grace shares with her mom about Awana and what she is learning about God. Praise the Lord!

Evan Mann

My mom, brother and I pooled the money that we received $25 and matched it. We donated the money to a local disadvantaged middle school. They are using the money to help fund supplies for some of the kids who don’t have things that they badly need. They had read about The Bless Back Project in the paper and were so excited that this is how we used God’s money. Cool!

Preston

I am a student at UNCC and I come back every Sunday for Elevation. I received $20 and I couldn’t stop thinking about what to do with it. I had so many ideas, but one stuck out in my mind. I live in a dorm and 12 guys share a bathroom so you can imagine how gross it can get, we have a Janitor that cleans our bathroom around 4 times a week and everytime he cleans he is singing a song and has a smile on his face not to mention that he does an amazing job! I put Gods $20 in an envelope and put it in his mailbox. Now he is really going to be smiling! Praise God!

Lisa Chatham

Well I guess I won’t really be telling my story because I still haven’t spent my money in any way yet. However, my idea is if there is anyone else out there that still doesn’t know how to spend their money maybe we can pull our funds together and find a family to “adopt ” for Christmas gifts. If you can please post this so others can join in I would be very greatful.

God bless to all - Lisa

Kevin

Having that $5 in my wallet to give away started me thinking that I should set aside a small amount of $ each week for such ‘give-away’ purposes. My opportunity to give away the $5 from Elevation came one night at a local restaurant. I had not ordered very much ($15), but I gave a $5 tip plus the $5 from Elevation. I wrote a little note to the waitress stating that Jesus loves her. She picked up the folder with the tip inside and returned a minute later to thank me, and she said that, “it was sweet.”

Beverly Sytz

I gave my $20.00 to Kurt Wiltsey who loves the Lord and needs God’s healing touch on his body. Pray for Kurt.

Michael and Stephanie Wilkerson

The day that Elevation passed out the envelopes, my husband was attending church alone as I was out of town for a job interview in Georgia. When I came home that night, he told me that the church had given out the weekly offering and we had received $20 to bless someone else. I was surprised and excited!

We have dear friends who have been struggling in their marriage (kids, work, and lack of time together). We knew that we wanted to use it to give them a much needed break. So we added some of our own money and took them out to a movie and paid for their babysitter. We told them why we were doing it and about Elevation’s plan and heart to bless others. They were very appreciative and also impressed at the generosity of the church.

Having been a part of other church’s fundraising campaigns, I can honestly say that I am very encouraged and impressed at Elevation’s desire to give before receiving. What a great way to follow the biblical model and to exhibit complete trust in God! Thank you for allowing us to bless someone else!

Barbara Cohn

I was a first time visitor at Elevation.
Great experience and huge suprise about the offering!
I received $5 and wanted to bless my daughters teacher (Antioch Elementary) with “wish list money” for classroom books during the book fair.
Thank you for the opportunity to give!

Laura Beth

Before opening my envelope, I decided I was going to double whatever was inside. I received $10. I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about what to do with the money. After watching the many reports about those people in California who lost everything, I knew God was encouraging me to bless them with His money. I also felt Him telling me, “You can do better than that!” So I sent $40 to World Emergency Relief for the wildfire relief efforts. WER is working with several local churches that are sheltering evacuees. They are providing food, drinks, blankets and other emergency supplies, which will be distributed among the evacuees and firefighters.

Thank you to Elevation for organizing the Bless Back Project!!

Jan and Craven Gordon

I am a local elementary teacher at a Title 1 school, meaning most students come from low-income homes. Of course I was planning to give to the school. Before I could ask guidance about any needs, she approached me about a student in my room and his twin brother in another room. The mother had called and was concerned about the money for our field trip to see the Moving Wall. No doubt as to what need my $5 paid for. Also, my husband has given his $10 to supply the school with shirts and pants that guidance keeps on hand for any emergencies that arise concerning soiled clothing (for various reasons, use your imagination).

Erin

My friend Allison and I were sitting in church on sunday at Butler, when we were watching the pastor on the screen. He said that they were starting a new series called Dominate. I thought it sounded pretty interesting. That wasn’t even the best part! He then said that he was going to hand back the offering, and that everyone got an envelope with different amounts of money in them. We looked at eachother than the rest of our friends and we all just sat there with our mouths wide open. The bucket was passed around as we all took an envelope. We were so anxious to see what we each had gotten, knowing my luck i probably got $5. When we got outside and opened our envelope all of our friends got 5 but Allison and I got $20! We were surprised we got that much. As we thought of what we wanted to do with it a girl in my fashion merchandising class popped into my head. I remember the first week of school and we had to make an about me project. I thought back and remembered her story. She was a freshman and she had 2 young boys. My heart just ached for her and how hard it must be to take care of one child, much less 2. I told my mom the idea about doing something for her and she thought that would be an excellent idea. So Allison put her 20 in and my mom had 5 then added 5 more and i put in my 20. It added up to 50 dollars, so we went to walmart and got a card and a $50 gift card. I went to school that morning and i was having trouble trying to decide how to give it to her, so i pulled her in the hallway and told her about our church and how i thought she was a strong person. I gave her the card and the giftcard inside and i told her how much it was for and she just started crying. She was overwelhmed and we both just stood in the hallway crying and hugging, after i gave her that i felt like such a good person, and that is the greatest feeling!

Matt

I was actually not at church the sunday when Dominate first started, but I got hooked up with some cash through my small group. I recieved 10 dollars, and I felt for a long time that the lord was calling me to give my own money away, but I was very unsure about the exact amount. I didn’t even have a ballpark figure. So I left it up to the Lord. I matched the ten I recieved, and I was off to bless. I work on campus part-time, and these cleaning ladies always work overtime when its offered, and they are always working hard so I figured who better? So I explained the Bless back idea, and said this is for you. I handed her the money, and she was extremely grateful. Here comes the cool part. I started to walk away, and she was like “this is great, my cell phone just got shut off and this will really help.” I said thats great, and I was glad for her, I started to leave, then I was like “wait a minute dummy, this is your opportunity” I turned back around and asked her more about her cell phone bill. It turns out she talked to the phone company, and needed EXACTLY 20 dollars to reactivate her phone. She explained that she uses her phone to talk with her ONLY daughter who is in jail and regularly calls her. Her daughter has started to turn her life around, and this is the only positive connection she has (her mom). So I asked her how much her phone bill was, and I gave her the money for the rest of it. She was overjoyed, gave me a big hug, and said, “The Lord truely is amazing”… Praise God!

John and Annie Broom

We received $100 and $20 at Elevation on the 13th. We prayed all week about what God would have us do with His money. On Sat. Johnny decided to be a blessing to our good friend and neighbor who is not a believer. So, he left $20 on his doorstep in the Bless Back Project envelope.
After that, we went to dinner. We had a really sweet waitress, who said she had been working since 10am and would be there until 1am. She still had a great attitude though, despite her long day. So we both felt like she needed to be blessed! We left the normal tip, and then $100 on top of that!
Hopefully we can keep up the blessings and do this more often with God’s money!

Jennifer

I had the joy to be a part of the bless back project, which was so much fun. I knew a fellow who has been struggling financially for awhile. I ran into him the other night and shared how I felt God asked me to bless him with the money ($20) I had received from Elevation church. He was so shocked and grateful that I had thought of him since we are not very good friends. I was touched to be a part of blessing someone else in that way and thank Elevation for the wonderful opportunity. I love hearing all these stories!!

Honeycutt's

We received $10. We added to it and gave money for phone cards to a soldier (son of a co-worker) in Iraq.

Daniel

Daniel and I were so thrilled about the idea of our church ‘having faith’ the way we were being asked to have faith when we give in the Dominate campaign, and our lives. After receiving the envelopes…we walked outside and decided that we would double whatever we had received before we knew what we had. Our total came to $15….so….we doubled it.

We thought of several different ways to give it. We finally decided to give it to a person that worked nights with Daniel. He had had some difficult times and was living off of water and a 90lb bag of rice. Daniel left an enclosed envelope for him, with a note about the blessbackproject…and the money. Daniel returned the next day to find a really sad note on his computer saying, ‘no one has ever done something this nice for me, but life has me down, and I just can’t accept your gift, sorry, but thank you anyways.’

We were so sad that it was so difficult for someone to receive a gift, free, with no strings attached.

We tried again that weekend, when we felt like we were supposed to give it to our Target cashier. She said thank you, but she couldn’t accept it.

We had to ask the Lord, what he might be teaching us…then it came to mind of how, to some, the free gift of eternal life from Jesus can be so difficult to accept. The Lord offers it, free, with no strings attached..and sometimes it’s hard for people to accept.

Today…Daniel and I each carried $30 waiting for the right opportunity to give it, and we found our opportunity! I ate lunch in Uptown with a friend at a place called Mert’s. Our waitress was so friendly…and I just had an instant twinge to give it to her. I was afraid that I might be rejected again…but just left it on the table with our check

Danielle

When i opened my envelope and discovered a $20 bill, my mind began racing with ideas on how i could bless someone. I thought the idea of giving money back to the community was an ingenious way to set an example to the congregation. I racked my brain for days, trying to come up with some elaborate way to use this $20. Then thursday rolled around and, after a stressful rehearsal, my friend expressed her desire for an icey from the gas station across the street. that’s when it hit me that blessing someone didn’t require elaborate schemes and dramatic presentations. i realized that i had the opportunity to bless my friend right then just by buying her an icey, so i did. Then friday afternoon, still armed with $17, i showed up to school for the football game. Just as i arrived, i got a call from my director in a panic. He had planned to run by lowes and get some supplies for our half time performance on his way to the school, but he was stuck in traffic and couldn’t make it in time. So i offered to get the supplies for him because there was a lowes right down the road from the school. $17 was just enough money to buy what we needed for the show, and it worked without a hitch. just taking that stress off of his shoulders was a blessing, not only to him, but to everybody else in the ensemble, because he showed up calm and collected, which kept the rest of us in good moods and made for an enjoyable evening.

Crystal

I have struggled and pray trying to figure out the best way to use my money from the bless back serman. I have only been going to Elevation for about 3 months. I came from a church that I was a member of for 23 years of my life. It’s a wonderful church that brought me to god and has given me many wonderful experiences but I can say it would ever take such a bold step as Elevation has. My mom works for a school in Union County that is a very poverty stricken school and alot of the kids don’t get lunch everyday because there mom and dad or grandma or papa whoever it may be can’t afford to feed them, or just forget, or don’t care. There are kids that come to school with no winter coats because they don’t have family to take care of them the way I was taken care of. So initally I was going to give my money to mom to use at the school. I also have a friend at work that has been through a tremendous about of struggles latley and she is a remarkble person who spends so much time lifting others up. She doesn’t know how much it means to have someone in your corner supporting you as much as she has me. So I gave the money to my friend at work and hope that it will be a great blessing for her. Not forgetting about the kids at my mom’s school I intend on buying with my own money a couple of coats to give to the kids that need something to keep them warm this year.

Lance Daniel

Me,Skip,Larry,Wayne,Randell,Allen, and Ditto meet at Johnathan’s for small group our waitress is always Linda. Linda has children not much younger than our oldest member(55). She greets us with a smile, knows our drinks from the previous week and obviously takes pride in doing her job well.

I told her we were from elevation. Before I could say my rehersed little speech, she told us she had read the newspaper and how wonderful she thought it was that a church would do such a thing. After she had wonderfully stolen my thunder,I said “What a coincindence you have just been blessed” ,and handed her the $140 we had collected. Linda sat there for a couple awkward seconds gave us all the biggest hug and promptly left. They told us she was in the back shedding tears of joy. At that moment we felt as blessed as Linda.

Bill, Angela, Kabrel

My husband and I and our two daughters received envelopes on Sunday morning and decided to put our money together to give to someone in need. God showed someone to me just a few days later. I found out that my son’s teacher has breast cancer and was going in for surgery just this week. She is a single mom with a 9 year old daughter to care for. We put the $45 dollars in an envelope and added some of our own money to it. My son secretly put the envelope on her desk the day before she was to leave. We never said who it was from but left a note inside telling her that she was part of a bless back project going on across Charlotte. My whole family got to be in on it and they were so excited! Thank you Elevation for letting us be a part of this dynamic opportunity!

Kathy Queen

I too have been praying that God would allow me to bless someone. I gave the envelope - with service times and locations written on the back (containing $10) to the check out clerk in Harris Teeter. He lit up - He had already heard about the Bless Back Program and knew he had been blessed! He commented that he had a college friend who had been encouraging him to come to Elevations when she visits from school . . . How cool is that! I’ll be looking for him!!!

Derek, Angela and Jason

I wasn’t at the service the day you handed out money but my husband was and he told me about the challenge. What an awesome idea! It has made us begin to look at the people around us in a totally different light. He received $5. We decided to add to it and prepare a couple of meals for a family that we didn’t know very well. The husband had to have oral surgery last week and he hurt his knee and will have to see an orthopedic doctor soon. He also went in yesterday to have a turmor removed from his head. His wife is pregnant with their third child and has been very sick. When we showed up with food they were overwhelmed. I told them that we were concerned for them and knew the wife could use a break from worrying over food while helping him to recover. He left a messgage last night telling us how much they appreciated us doing this for them and that it came at such a good time. It turns out that the wife’s father is also having surgery this week. You never know what people are going through until you get engaged in their lives. We will continue to look for opportunities to ‘Bless Back’. Thank you Pastor Furtick for reminding us of why we are here!

Anonymous

Wow… I don’t even know how to begin this story. I am one of the few who received $1,000.
When I opened the envelope, I have to be honest - a not so “wholesome” word came out of my mouth. I was so excited to see what God was going to do and to be able to be the hands of Gods blessing in another persons life.
So…. I began to think and pray and not before long two ladies at my work came to mind. One is a single mom with two kids, living with her Dad and Step-Mom. Struggling to get by and had recently been cut back to only one day a week at work. She had told me the week before that she was planning a trip to go see her Mom but didn’t have the money to do it. So I knew where $500 of the money would go. I gave it to her in a card as I left work one night and said goodbye.
The next time I was scheduled she came in shaking, card in hand saying thank you so much and that she couldn’t believe it.
There is another woman at my work who is 7 months pregnant. She just moved here from Florida and has been struggling to make ends meet and prepare for the baby. Again, I placed the money in a card and gave it to her as I left work. About ten minutes later she called me crying saying “thank you” through the tears and asking “Why did you do this?” I got to explain the bless back story.
What a gift this has been to me.
Thank you Elevation for setting the standard and modeling what it means to trust and give.

Ryan Dexter

I received $5.00 from the service. I put my own $5.00 in and made $10.00. I live near a Macdonald’s so I walked in and gave the cashier the 10.00 bucks and told him that I wanted him to take $1.00 off the next 10 people who come through the drive-thru.

I told him there was a catch though… He had to tell them that the reason they were getting a dollar off is because Elevation Church in Charlotte wanted to bless them tonight.

I had an incredible feeling running through me. I have never given so happily before!!! I know its not a lot of money, but how inspiring!!

alyssa-hope

with my $5 i went to the mall, placed it on someones car with a nice little note telling them God loved them, he cares about them and to never give up on him. yes it blessed them-but me too so THANKS!

Anne Fuller

When i opened my envelope in my car I got $10. I immediately thought of Ms. Rhonda, my best friends mom. She lost her husband to cancer six years ago. I knew she hadn’t gotten flowers in a long time. So I went to Costco to buy her some flowers and I had my dad drive me to her house. I arrived forty minutes after she left but her adopted daughters were there (my best friends) and gave them the flowers and left. The next morning during school (I’m home schooled) I got a phone call and it was Ms. Rhonda. She thanked me a lot and said Irises were her favorite flowers. So thank you Elevation for handing out the envelopes so we can bless backl.

Todd, Michelle,

We received $15 during the bless back sermon and immediately knew we wanted to give back to the people that give back so much to our children - teachers. They work tirelessly teaching and instilling values and morals into our youth and are frequently not recognized for the work they do…even though they spend 4-6 hours a day with our children. We bought movie theatre gift certificates and our daughter Riley (with mom and dad’s help) wrote how much we appreciate all they do. It was a small token for people that build and shape our children’s lives.

Lucia

My son and I together got $10. We left the church and went to Taco Bell to eat lunch. They just started a campaign for customers give $1 for a children’s charity. We immediately felt this was not a coincidence adn that’s where we were supposed to give to bless a child. The manager told us that 100% of the money goes to the charity. I felt even more assured this is what we were supposed to do.
Imagine us having to write all 10 cards that they placed on the wall with the offerings. The cards have a place to put the name of the person donating. In some cards we put ELEVATION CHURCH and some we just wrote JESUS’s name. It was beautiful to see all of those cards, stanging out there on the wall with the name of our church and Our Lord Jesus. Amen?

Heather McLauchlin

I received $20 in my envelope and combined it with my roomate Holly who received $20 as well and my sister Shannon who received $5.00 plus I added $5.00 to make $50. We donated the money to a lady that comes in to my sister’s work who is trying to support herself and her mother who just moved in with her after her own sister passed away a couple of months ago from cancer (her Mother was living with her Sister). The lady has been having a hard time paying bills and making ends meet and just knew that the Lord would take care of her. Even though I have never met this lady, I truely hope our donation to her has helped to take some of the burden off of her. May God bless her!

Don and Ryan Petrere

The moment I recieved my envelope I knew what I was going to do with it. There is a kid on the baseball team I coach whose parents are going thru a divorce. The Mom has been working 2-3 jobs to try to provide for the kids and has missed a lot of the games because she couldnt afford the gas to get back and forth. God placed it on my heart to get her a gas gift card with the $20.00 I recieved. Unknown to me, Ryan had the same idea to use the $5.00 he recieved. When I found this out I was amazed, but not surprised at how God was working. So now we have $25.00 to get her a gas card. End of story, not until God says its done and he had more in store for us. Sunday night at our small group everyone was sitting around telling how they used the money to bless others. I wasnt going to say anything, but before I knew it the words were comming out of my mouth. I explained the Mother and Sons situation and what we had planned to do with the money. I didnt even finish my thought when a member of our small group was digging in her purse and pulled out all the money she had in it to give to the Mom. Believe it or not it was $25.00, the exact ammount we already had. God doubled our money to bless this Mom with in a matter of minutes. Fishes and loaves!!! AMEM!!!!

Jean Stanton

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On Sunday, October 14 after attending church service my friend from California and I ate lunch at the Lava Bistro Cafe at University Place. Since it was his first time in Charlotte and I wanted our date to be memorable, I asked for a table on the patio with a view of the lake. Lunch was great and we can only surmise that we, a couple in our 60’s, must have said or done something unusual because we certainly didn’t appear to need money. However, the waitress presented us with a surprise. Our lunch had been paid for by the couple that dined at the table nearby. They had gone but left a note on scaloped edge paper that read:

Have a Blessed Day!
Love in Christ

We didn’t understand why this happened but after reading about Elevation Church know we were recipients. Thanks for the gift; thanks for reminding me and others that we need and should give out of love.

Donna Newhouse

I finally got to give my money away! I have been waiting and praying that God would direct me to someone in dire need and He did. I offered to take my friend who works with me to her Chemo treatment on Monday. She has been diagnosed with lung cancer and she has already beaten cancer once already. As she has to pay her co-pay each visit and after the Doctor presribed one medication after another, it was so overwhelming, I gave her the 50 dollar bill and told her to use it for her prescriptions, which were so many. She just broke down crying and was so thankful. I am the one who is blessed by her courage and her faith. I just wish I could have done more.

Beth Helms

I took the $20 I received and doubled it w/ part of my budgeted grocery money and gave it to someone who I know is depending on God to provide for them for this season of their life….I don’t know exactly the need, but I do know there is a need…..and the fun part is they have no idea it was me!…..giving IS such a BLESSING, I was so excited to be able to do this, it made me wonder why I had never done it on my own! Thank you Elevation, for reminding me that it is truely a blessing to bless others.

it goes to Michigan

My mom visited last Sunday (October 21) and hear Pastor Steven speak. Here is her email from today (October 23)
“Hi girls.
I just wanted you to know how your pastor’s message impacted me.
I received a Ford Reward notification for a project I worked on. When receiving an award, you are e-mailed a link to a website to choose a gift. On this site today, I received a $100 gift card to TJ Maxx and will use this to purchase Christmas gifts for a needy family in my church.
So � your give back project is extending to Michigan! ”
Isn’t that awesome?!!!

Betty Black and Joan Owen

Betty and Joan added to the money that was in our envelopes and gave them to two painters with three little children. We told them it was Gods’ blessing and they were thrilled.

Johnny and Annie Broom

We received $20 and $100 on Sunday. We both prayed all week about what we should do with the money. Sat. had come and we both still felt unsure about what to do. Then Johnny decided to bless our good friend and neighbor, who is not a believer. So, we left $20 on the doorstep, in the BlessBackProject envelope.
Then we went to dinner, still wondering what to do with the $100. We had a really sweet waitress. Johnny asked her how her day was and she said she had been at work since 10am, and would probably be there till 1am. But she still had a great attitude! So, we decided to brighten her day, and on top of the normal tip, gave her $100!

Janette Eades

As my relationship with Jesus has grown I’ve learned to pay attention and follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting. I received $10 in my envelope. When I was on my knees praying to God asking Him to send me someone to bless, the phone rang. A message was left from a friend that her mother had just moved here and was needing a perm and cut, but was checking around for prices. I knew in my heart at that moment this was who He wanted me to bless. She was a delightful Christian woman. After her service I proceeded to explain about Elevation and our project and also the God incidence was the timing of her daughter. I told her that her service was free and she also would leave with $10 and that the Lord chose her to be blessed and that He takes care of His own. She was speechless and was overwhelmed with emotion and began to weap. I later found out that she had been very worried about her finances because her previous house had not been sold. We talked about the Lord in the time that she was here and she said she doesn’t go a day without speaking to Him. She had been a faithful servant her entire life. So many times we hear about how the Lord has changed someone’s life, which is awesome, but I feel we should hear more testimonies of faithful servants being taken care of by a wonderful God. She wanted more information about Elevation, so I invited her and gave her the website, who knows, she may come rock out with us.
-Janette

Melynda Rushing

It is very difficult for Anne to give up homeschooling her children in order to seek employment. Anne and her husband have separated and she must now go to work and put the children in public school. She got a job at the childrens school as an aide. This job pays very little but it is a start.

I do not know “Anne” but she is a friend of my niece.

I sent a prepaid gas card through my niece to put
gas in Annes car.

Donna Moore

We would like to share our experience with the bless
back project. How exciting to be a part of such an
awesome ministry. My three daughters and I
received a total of 40.00 in our envelopes and we
decided to match what we had been given. My
girls pitched in money that they had earned from
babysitting. We gave 100.00 to the office manager
of the gym where my girls do gymnastics. She has
four small children and her income is the primary
resource for her family. Her husband works part time
and takes care of the chilren. We knew that they
struggled financially and we wanted to share our
blessing with them. They were so touched by this
project and we have already received a thank-you note from them. In the note, they told us that they
planned to use the 100.00 to send one of their boys on a class field trip to Camp Thunderbird. They
thought that he might be the only one in his class
not able to go on the field trip because they did
not have the money to send him. This certainly
shows us that we all can make a difference!
Sincerely,
Donna, Jenna,
Madison and
Lacey Moore

Ben, Ashley and Lindsay

We decided to combine the money given to us and give it to a gal in our office. She recently was notified by the IRS that she owed them 1,000 from her and her husband’s taxes from 2005. The IRS was missing some paper and she cannot find it. ugh. she works 2 jobs and her husband works 3 and never complain about it. In fact, the only reason we even knew about her still owing the money is Ben asked why she was late one day to work…anyway, we had my mom write the note that read “The Lord wanted you to have this to help pay back your taxes, Love in Christ Elevation Church”. We prayed over the envelope asking God to multiply the money for them and to let them feel his love and come to know him. She knows we go to Elevation, and so only 1/2 hour from us laying it in her chair in her office she wrote this email: “Thank you so much. You don�t know how much this is appreciated. I would have said something to you, but I�m not sure I could have without getting emotional. You are truly an amazing person and blessing to have as a friend. I hope you know how special you really are.” She isn’t the type to wear her heart on her sleeve either…We are so excited because God gave us the opportunity to show his love in a way she understands!

JoEllen Quinn

I received $10 in my envelope and after a while thinking about what would be the best thing I finally made a decision. I work with a single mother that has been struggling in the dating community and she always seems to come to me when she needs advice. I went in my jewelry box and took out a pair of diamond earrings that I received as a gift and I gave them to her with the $10. I thought they would make her feel worthy of a really good man someone that I had been telling would be there if she prayed for that. She had tears in her eyes and said thank you no one had ever given her anything like that. I just wanted to show her that I saw her as someone worth all the good things in life.

Travis

Blessed to be able to Blessback!

After much thought and prayer I felt moved to give to a lady I work with. I don�t know if money is tight for them or not but I do know her husband works 2 jobs and goes to school part time at night. I know she is a hard worker and comes in early everyday and leaves just in time to pick her kids up from school. So today was the day to be a blessing, I walked up to her and asked her if she happen to see the article in the paper about Elevation Church and the Bless Back Project? Thankfully she said NO and I was able to share with her how cool it was to be part of a church that wants us to take money OUT of the offering so we can be a blessing to others in the community. She was like are you kidding, WOW that is cool! I pulled out the $20 I had received and told her here, Elevation wants to bless you and your family today. She was very excited�. It felt like Christmas in October!

Thanks Elevation Church for making me feel pretty stink-n good today!

Beth Puckett

I got a $20 envelope to bless back with. I have a friend whose husband had knee replacement surgery and had to be out of work for an extended period of time. Much of his income is from tips which he isn’t getting since he can’t go to work yet. I gave the $ to him.

My husband got a $5 envelope and gave it to Samaritan’s Feet to go toward buying a pair of shoes for an impoverished child.

Mullins family

Our daughter heard about a man from Africa who is working 3 jobs to save enough money so that he can bring his wife here to the United States as well as sending money back home to help the family. So my husband and I and our daughter put our money together and gave it to him

Ty

I’ve always been curious about how Pastor would put his spin on the first “capital campaign” at Elevation. I knew it would be radically different then the norm, and pretty much tear down every sterotypical assumption or fear that people have about giving. The Bless back Project was just that.

Together, we received $25.00 on Sunday. Amy has been playing softball on a coed team here in Charlotte for the past year, and has develped some friendships with a group of folks who spend their Sunday mornings playing more softball, as opposed to attending church. This gave us the opportunity to be stategically generous and show them the church in action, and hopefully, put some feet on the testimony that Amy’s behavior and friendship has been to them this past year.

It wasn’t anything life changing, but we combined our money to bring the entire team a cooler of Gatorade at the last game. It seemed so simple, but it really had a big effect and it was cool to see the faces of people who had seldom seen something done for no other reason than to be a blessing and show them the love of the church.

We’re praying that God will use this to further bring people who are far from HIm to Elevation to experience all that He has for their lives. Beats softball, right?

Sierra

Sorry I’m late. I carried my five-dollar bill with me pretty much everywhere last week, but I never discovered its intended recipient. The week ended, and I still had it. So, yesterday (Sunday) I resolved to add five dollars to my envelope for every week that I held onto it, because that’s only fair.

Then, tonight, as my InterVarsity women’s small group met and began sharing the highest and lowest points of their week, one of our members related the story of her day. It had been absolutely horrible, with exam trouble and car trouble–I can’t explain all the troubles and do justice to her experiences. And I had, just moments ago, shared an amazing low-point-turned-high-point-in-my weekend-because-of-God’s-provision story, and it didn’t seem right that I should be so provided-for while she had such a rough day. So, after our meeting, I took the meager ten dollars to her door and handed it over, explaining that it was “For you from my church.”

Her first reaction: “Are you sure?”

Her second: “Thank you so much!”

I’d say the experiment worked for me; now, I’m in a continual state of watching for opportunities to be a blessing on my campus here at UNC Charlotte–and everywhere I go. May God receive all the glory.

Ryan

in my envelope, I received 20 bucks. I’d been using that money to buy meals for friends and some of the high schoolers I work with in Young Life. But tonight while I was at the grocery store, I saw a man and his son who looked like they could use a helping hand. I didn’t have much cash left from my Bless Back money, so I brushed it off as something that would not have made much of an impact. But as I was getting ready to drive out of the parking lot, and I saw the man and his son walking to their truck, I felt the Lord telling me to give what I had. And what I had was a gift card that I had received for doing some work and I hadn’t used for almost a year - a hundred bucks just sitting idle in my wallet, waiting for something to spend it on. Tonight, I decided to spend it to Bless Back. I whipped my car around and drove over the man and his son. I told him about the Bless Back Project and I asked if it would be ok if I blessed him. He said it was ok and I gave him my gift card. it felt great to let go of something I was holding onto - and use it to help someone else.

nick G

I used the $5 i received, along with a little bit extra and helped “stuff the truck” saturday at Providence for Crisis Assistance Ministry.

Along with the wash cloths, towels, and bottles of lotion i brought, i had the privilege of helping unload everybody else’s contributions and packing the big 27 ft. Uhaul.

Finally, on Monday myself and 2 others delivered everything over to Crisis Assistance. The looks on the faces of the C.A. Directors on Saturday and Monday were priceless. Hearing them say they hadn’t heard of Elevation just a few weeks ago to being completely floored by the amount of stuff we brought was pretty amazing!!!!!!!

CORRIE

Well after a week of not really being nudged in any specific direction by God, tonight I had a true impression from him as to what to do with the $5 that I received from Elevation. My son plays challenge soccer and spends a lot of time with his soccer coach. Since the beginning of the season I have been so blessed by this 23-year-old and his comittment to Gavin’s soccer team. He is the kind of role-model these kids need outside of their fathers. He works a full-time job and still spends about 41/2 hours a week with 9-year-olds. Anyway God impressed him on my heart tonight at soccer practice. I don’t even know if he needs it but I just wanted to say thanks and buy him a Starbucks. That felt really good to see the smile on his face when he realized he was appreciated. Thanks Elevation and let’s DOMINATE!

kari and alaina

first i would like to say thanks for everything i realy feel like i get alot from your teachings. i forgot to do this last week and did not want you to think we pocketed the money (lol) my daughter and i decided to put the money together ( a five and a ten) and we purchased a toaster for a single parent of three going through some tough times

Robyn

I went on several missions looking for the right opportunity to bless someone with my $5 but was not impressed in any specific way. By Saturday night, I was very frustrated. While watching the Red Sox pummel the Indians, I began to think how this was sort of a �reverse tithe� situation since we took from the offering plate this time instead of the usual. Since the $5 I had was 10% of $50, I decided to multiply my $5 by 90%. I added $45 to the $5 to make it an even $50.

On Sunday, I tried two more times to do specific things with the $50 to no avail. My last attempt was to give the money and a note to a mechanic that had gone the extra mile to fix my car. I tried to put the envelope in the key-drop at his business. The envelope would NOT go into the box! Exasperated, I finally gave up and headed home.

At our small group meeting that night, I learned that several others had not given away their money either. Another group member that had received $5 said she wanted to help a neighbor whose husband had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. She said she only had the $5�nothing extra to give so I gave her the $50 to give to them. I was so happy to be free of the responsibility attached to that money! Truth is, of course, we are just as responsible for all of the resources that flow though our hands.

Mike

We have a close friend who hit rock bottom in her marriage recently, so we decided to buy flowers and deliver them in person to cheer her up. Her eyes lit up when she answered the door.

In addition, Kathleen saw a single Mom in the parking lot at Carolina Place Mall, walked up to her and randomly handed her $5. She looked shocked, and said “what?” Kathleen proceeded to tell her to “Have a blessed day!” She said, “ohhhh, kay.”

We felt blessed to be a blessing! What a great challenge to think outside of ourselves wherever we are. Thank you Elevation for this priceless lesson about Spirit-filled generosity. We are realizing and truly understanding more today than ever before, that ALL we have is His.

Sharon

What an awesome and memorable way to teach the gift of giving! I have been a christian a long time and years ago I discovered it was more blessed to give than to receive. The Lord has blessed our family financially and we have had the privilege of giving a lot. (However, honestly, it has not been until it hurts.) Before I opened the envelope the Lord brought someone to mind and I decided whether the envelop contained $5 or $1000 it would go to them. Well, the $5 wasn’t much, but with a little extra padding, the family where the husband had lost his job was encouraged. Thank you for the godly example of giving and the lesson where all the money we receive is really from Him. May God be glorified in His church!

Steven Gamble

I recieved $20 on the Sunday of the blessback project, the following day I gave the money to a fund drive for the Musclar Dystrophy Association at UNCC.

YVETTE GAHAN

FIRST LET ME TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I WAS TO RECEIVE MY ENVELOPE. BEING THE GIVING PERSON THAT I ALWAYS BELIEVE I AM I WAS SURE THAT I WOULD RECEIVE A LARGE AMOUNT AND THAT I WOULD SURELY DO SOMETHING WONDERFUL WITH IT. HOWEVER MUCH TO MY DISMAY WHEN I OPENED MY ENVELOPE I ONLY SAW FIVE DOLLARS. I HAVE TO BE HONEST AND TELL YOU THAT I WAS A LITTLE TAKEN BACK BY IT. HOW COULD GOD KNOWING WHAT A GIVING PERSON I WAS ONLY GIVE ME FIVE DOLLARS TO GIVE AWAY! HE KNOWS ME BETTER THAN THAT! HE KNOWS WHAT GOOD I WOULD HAVE DONE WITH MORE. WELL LUCKILY FOR ME IT IS ALL ABOUT WHAT GOD WANTS AND NOT WHAT I WANT. I WENT HOME AND CALLED A FEW FRIENDS AND TOLD THEM ABOUT WHAT MY CHURCH HAD DONE BUT OF COURSE I ENDED EVERY STORY WITH BUT I ONLY RECEIVED FIVE DOLLARS. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH FIVE DOLLARS. EACH ONE OF MY FRIENDS JUST TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY THAT I WOULD FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. I’M SAD TO SAY THAT AT THE TIME I FELT NO COMFORT IN THAT. I JUST KEPT ON SAYING FIVE DOLLARS, WHY ONLY FIVE DOLLARS. THE NEXT DAY I WENT TO WORK AND TOLD SEVERAL OF MY CO-WORKERS WHAT MY CHURCH HAD DONE. EVERYONE WAS SO SURPRISED AND ASKED ME WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO WITH THE FIVE DOLLARS. I SAID THAT I REALLY DIDN’T KNOW BECAUSE THERE WASN’T MUCH I COULD DO WITH FIVE DOLLARS. WELL SEVERAL DAYS WENT BY AND I STILL HADN’T FIGURED OUT WHO OR WHAT TO SPEND MY FIVE DOLLARS ON. IT WAS REALLY STARTING TO BOTHER ME. I JUST COULDN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. WELL I CAME INTO WORK THIS MORNING AND I HAD TO SPEAK TO ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS OVER THE PHONE. I COULD TELL BY HER VOICE THAT SHE HAD BEEN CRYING. (SOMETHING THAT I AM NOT USED TO BY HER) I ASKED HER WHAT WAS WRONG AND SHE JUST SAID THAT SHE WOULD RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT IT, ONLY THAT WORK AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HER WERE REALLY STARTING TO GET TO HER. AFTER I HUNG UP THE PHONE I TOLD MY OFFICE THAT I KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO WITH MY FIVE DOLLARS. I WAS GOING TO BUY THIS CO-WORKER SOMETHING TO BRIGHTEN HER DAY, AND YES IN T

Beth

Thank you so much for the opportunity to bless someone with the gift from Elevation! It has brought me back to realizing that it is the things I hold onto, as Pastor said, that cause the most stress. With little or much, God has always provided for my needs.

I got $10. You can do so much with $10! I got to take one lovely friend to dinner who doesn’t know Jesus yet. She was so thankful, and amazed at the story from Elevation. And it cost only $4 - Oh, the beauty of Mexican food.

So then I had $6 left to give a Starbucks card to another friend who is a single mom and recovering from surgery to remove cancer. I’m hoping she enjoys just sitting down over a cup of coffee one day and forgetting the craziness for a moment.

The blessing back to me? Getting to share Christ in new ways with people I love. Getting to bring one friend’s child to church twice now. Opening the door to show another the ‘loving’ side of church. Finally: I’ve been looking for side jobs for a while now. Yesterday, I gave the last of the money away; today I got my first call for a job!

Thanks Elevation. Thanks BIG GOD!

Lisa and Morgan McCloy

My daughter Morgan was walking in the CROP walk Sunday Oct 14th with her Key Club from Providence High. Of course, as a teenager, she had forgotten to collect any money or get sponsors for the walk. She received $20 in her envelope and I received $5 in mine so we put it together to donate to the CROP walk to help fight hunger in Charlotte.

Ashley

While I was sitting in the service last Sunday I was quite confused on what was going on with Pastor Steven giving us money. However once I grasped the concept I was eager to use my money ($5) to bless someone. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do yet and my Mom who received $20 wasnt’ sure as well. A couple days later I think it was on Tuesday we discussed what we could do and we both had the idea of donating our money $25 to the Crisis Pregnancy center. So I gave it to my friend who’s Mom works there a couple days a week and she passed on our blessing. I hope that our money showed a young woman how the blessings of God work.

The Ackers

I was at church with my brothers that Sunday when you said that you were going to pass out the offering. I thought you were kidding. I wasn’t sure if I was really supposed to take it, but then I heard you say that you wanted us to bless someone else with the money. ( and everyone else grabbed the money to so I figured it was ok)
Me and my brothers all got ten dollars. ( making it $30.00 all together) while I was sitting there a million ideas of how to bless someone with that money went threw my head. We all desided to spend the money on things to put in a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.
God has blessed my family and I’m so glad we got an opertunity to bless others with that money!

Janet, Michael, Ellein, and Jimmy

My husband and I received $55.00 in our envelopes. I had another $40.00 my brother had given me for my birthday about five days before he died of cancer. I wanted to use that money to glorify God and to thank God for the look of Grace that was on my brother’s face when he passed away. I work in a school with a lot of underprivileged children some of whom are homeless. The social worker at the school told me about a mother and her two daughters who had an opportunity to get a rental house near the school with a yard for the children to play in. We decided to give our Bless Back gift to this family.

When I told a friend in my small group (who had retired from that same school) she and her husband decided to give their $110 Bless Back gift to the same family.

Paige-Wilson's Mom

paigemckinney@bellsouth.net

You can’t imagine how excited my eight year old son was to reach in the bowl and receive an evelope of money. In his eyes it was like Christmas morning. “Can I keep it mom”? “No, son it is to bless someone in your life”. “I can bless you mom and then you can bless me with my money he said.” As he opened the envelope he noticed that it was a crisp 100 dollar bill. This was alot of money to him. All the way home we talked of the purpose of the money and his heart. He decided that he wanted to bless his former teacher who is currently single and pregnant. He wanted her to get something special for her baby. He told me how much she meant to him and he thought he would thank her. I was out of town the day that she received her money so the next day when I entered her classroom, her eyes filled up with tears. How could such a little boy have such a big heart. He explained that he remembered every detail his pastor had spoken that sunday morning. The big responsibility he had to make sure he used the money for someone else. And that he wanted her to know that she was being blessed by him, his church and God. I was so proud of my little man and want to thank Elevation for making these lasting teachable moments in his life. His teacher did purchase something for the baby and also gave half the money to a friend who is suffering from cancer just after the birth of her own child. Thanks again. Paige

Leslie VanDeVelde

I have to admit what I did with the money wasn’t very creative but, of course, God showed me something anyway. My assistant in my classroom has been going through alot of stuff this year with parents being ill, a house sale falling through and more. I have only known her for a few months and she just seems sad a lot. Anyway, last week after work I told her about what Elevation was doing and I gave her the 20.00 so she could use it to do something for her parents. She seemed very uncomfortable taking it and I admit for a moment I felt awkward but then I said to her “It really isn’t mine so don’t feel wierd, just take it” Immediately after I uttered those words the realization that NONE OF IT IS MINE sank down deep into my pores and I felt something I can’t describe. I really wanted to start laughing! Since then, every time I see the cash in my wallet I literally look at it differently and I want to laugh out loud every time I open it. Thanks Elevation for allowing me to participate in something that really has changed my perspective on money and “stuff”.

Tony, Alissa, Brittany and Abby

We went to second service and were so moved by the message that we came back to third service so our kids (7 and 9) could hear the vision of Dominate straight from the pastor. Brittany got $20 and knew right away what she would do. We sponsor a boy from Compassion International and she reads all the mail we get from the organization. She had just read that $18 would give her “brother” a great Christmas. The rest of us decided to use our money to buy some school supplies for Brittany’s teacher. He needed dry erase markers (which I thought was crazy) But when I told my “teacher” friends what we did…they ALL told me how desperate teachers are for GOOD dry erase markers. That was news to me! Abby caught on to the idea that the campaign would last 2 years. So she donated her “piggy bank” to our small group and has asked all the members to bring their loose change so we can save it to “Change Charlotte”. So, the “Garshnick Group” will be making a one time donation at the end of the two year campaign with all our spare change. Thanks for inspiring not only us, but our children also.

Christopher, Kristine, Casey, Brittany, Ryan McGuire

Our family decided to pool our money to bless our next door neighbor. She and her boyfriend just had a baby boy and we felt they needed some encouragement. We made them dinner and gave them a $50 gift card from Walmart. In the card I explained about Elevation’s Bless Back Project, Pastor’s instructions for using the money, and that we were praying for them. She kept saying we did not have to do what we did. In my heart I knew that we did not have a choice because it is what God calls us to do!

Abby Stack

I go to the university of georgia but i am from charlotte and try to come home and go to elevation as much as i can. for a week i had no idea what i was going to do with my money until today. I was given a little book called “The bible promise book” about a year ago from my aunt. it is a small little reference book that i keep in my purse and is perfect for a quick look up. (i recommend it to everyone). anyway… i do gymnastics down here and a lot of the girls on my team go to church. whenever i pull out my little book they always comment on it and fequently ask to borrow it. so today when one of the girls asked to borrow it from me, i decided to buy all of the girls one of these books. i thought i would be a great idea for everyone, even those who don’t attent church. the books have not come in yet but i am SO excited to give them away…giving feels so good.

Tara Gazak

I wasn’t sure what to do at first with my $5, but then I decided to add to it the amount of my tithe that I would’ve given that morning. I thought and prayed, and a friend of mine was on my heart. She has been unemployed for a couple of months, and recently had surgery. I added some extra money to make it an even $50, and got her and her husband a Target gift card. They were very grateful, and said it was much needed. I am so excited to be part of Elevation and the Bless Back Project, and I pray that our gestures of generosity would catch on like wildfire in our city!

mike

my girlfriend and I gave the $15 we had to a christian boy scouts group that was we saw trying to raise money. They were selling little goods and food but we put the money in the jar and asked for nothing in return. “It’s God’s, not our’s,” my girlfriend said. Some of the boy’s shocked and exited faces was all we needed.

Im hoping this will help them buy a GPS system so all those boy scouts will stop getting lost in the mountains.

Anna and Miriam

My sister and I both got $10 at elevation last sunday and really didn’t know what to do with it.. But today we were walking around in downtown Charlotte talking about it and we saw this family (a mom, dad, 2 little girls) and they didn’t look like they had that much.. and my sister and i looked at each other and i was like “give me your 10!”and she was like “totally!” so we chased them and i handed $20 to the mom and was like “God loves you” and turned and walked away.. she looked so stunned and like, completely confused.. she turned and told her husband and he started to follow us but then just waved and went back to his family.. I really hope they wonder about what happened and even though 20 isn’t all that much, maybe they’ll be curious and want to know more about Jesus. It was so exciting walking around looking for people to give to! I want my life to become like that.. it felt awesome. So thanks a ton for giving the seed and letting us be the ones to plant it! This was a amazing experiance to be a part of!!

Deb Zubel

My daughter Ali and I put our $5 and $10 together, added a little more to the amount and got a grocery gift card for an 18 yr. old friend (who we’ve known for 14 yrs.) that just moved out of his parents house. He was brought up in a christian home but has recently decided that he wanted to be on his own and that he doesn’t believe in God anymore. We are hoping that the bless back project might help to change his mind.

Devin Shehan

I may be 12 but I still sent $100 worth of popcorn over to our men and women in Iraq. Thanks for helping me help others and LETS GO ELEVATION !

Darren

I gave the money i received(5.00 my own) to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to further God’s vision on more Universities throughout the world. To allow God to work through InterVarsity to reach lives that may not be reached without community and relationships. May God continue to bless this church and others so that blessings will dominate every person to bless back others.

wendy weeks

My oldest daughter left for college for her first year this august. At some point she called to tell me about her new Buddhist friend, which she is trying to influence for Christ. ( He is red blooded all american young man- that has developed an affection for eastern “niceness” thought process - having been somewhat jaded by Christianity in his childhood)

They came home for a visit this past weekend for a sporting event in which he was a participant . I received $5 in my envelope. I matched the gift and then some by buying the young man a nice lunch after his event and treated for a movie afterwards. During lunch he told us that his own parents would not have bought his lunch that day he would have had to buy it himself.

I like to imagine the lesson you are instilling in us as a church (that all that we have is not our own - but Gods’ entrusting it to us) is one that God taught me long ago. It has, however, been a great pleasure to be a part of this whole process with everyone.

Thad Clark

I attend Elevation Church with my girlfriend Crystal. Collectively, we received $15 dollars in the offering last week. We both attend UNC Charlotte, and there was a student that lives in my dorm building that I wanted to bless the money with because he had been having some financial issues. However, God had other plans. I see this guy every single day, but after receiving the offering, I didn’t see him a single time all week. After the service this week, I stopped an elderly couple in the parking lot at Wendy’s and told them that lunch was on me today. They tried to refuse the money, but when I said “This isn’t my money, this is a gift from my church, let me at least bless you with lunch today on behalf of Elevation Church. God bless you.” Their eyes lit up and they smiled and were very grateful. It’s an amazing feeling of knowing that such a small donation can make a persons entire day. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in Charlotte through our church.

THe Elrod Family

Our family received a collective total of $35 at the service, and wanted to do something that our kids could participate in. We thought about it for a while, and decided to add more to it and bless a child with the upcoming Angel Tree Christmas Wish List. I work at a preschool, and every year, there are many needy children who don’t receive much for Christmas. I’ll choose a child, and then my children and I will shop for him/her with the money we received. Thanks so much for blessing us and for making one child’s Christmas come true.

Justin

When I received my envelope in the offering plate, I got $5. I didn’t take the opportunity to use that as a blessing to someone until the following Sunday. I went out to eat with a few of my friends after church. I saw a man in a wheelchair with another person a table over from us. I used my $5, and another 5 or so of my own to buy his lunch for him. I also wrote him and his guest a note and left him an Elevation Church card.

Sheila

I have been blessed. I attend Elevation but was not there when you handed out the money. However a young co-worker of mine was there when you did this amazing thing. At work she told me all about how I missed such a great service. She informed me that she received $5.00 and that she was praying about what to do with it. Later that day she had left work for the day and then came back holding a Coffee Cooler from a certain coffee shop. She lovingly handed it to me. I thanked her and gave her a hug.I have since learned that she blessed me with that coffee drink. Yes, she took that money and brought me a drink cause she knew I needed a lift of some sort. She knew how much I loved those drinks and blessed me with it. This may not seem like the thing to do with the money. However, she also knows of my financial stuggles and how I give of myself when there is not much to give. I think she did an amazing thing and I thank her for it. But most of all I Thank God for blessing my life with such a wonderful person and a blessed church family. Amen

Erin and Taylor

Today we took a 14 year-old girl from our dance studio on a shopping spree at the mall with our combined $20. We each added more money and gift cards to make it a total of $100. She comes from an underprivileged family whos mother is in the hospital. We took her to many stores, starbucks for her first time, and took pictures in photobooths. She was incredibly grateful and had alot of fun. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to help others and serve God in this special way!

Tim Devens

Was in Charlston, SC for the weekend, when an older worman with a young child simply came up and asked for money for food for her and the baby. Said she was the Grandmother of the child and that the mother was in jail. Needed help! I simply provided with the money provided by the church and sent her on her way.
Really didn’t feel the need to provide any real message when providing the money, but did get the opportunity to explain to a friend that was watching where I received the money and how we were supposed to use it! Believe that this did make an impact on my friend in some way. That’s it.

Darren and Renee Curtis

A coworker of mine confided in me that her granddaughter was not doing very well. Her son's one year old daughter received some negative results from an ultrasound their pediatrician had ordered on the baby's skull.

The pediatrician had noticed that the soft spot on the baby's head had not closed sufficiently and also felt her granddaughter was not progressing at the same rate as other babies were at that age.

As a result of the discouraging ultrasound test, which showed what looked like a cyst on the baby's brain, the pediatrician ordered the baby to have an MRI done on her skull as well.

The following week at work, I was able to share with my coworker about Pastor Steven's Bless Back message and how our church gave $40,000.00 to the congregation to give back to the city of Charlotte. The leadership felt God was leading them to begin a season of giving back because God has blessed us so much.

My husband and I each received an envelope that held $20.00. We combined our money and gave my coworker the $40.00 to give to her son to use towards her granddaughter's medical expenses.

Jeanette Elaine Eads

As my relationship with Jesus has grown,I’ve learned to pay attention and follow the Holy Spirits promptings. I received 10 dollars in my envelope. When I was on my knees, praying to God to send me someone he wanted to bless, the phone rang. A message was left from a friend that her mother had just moved here and was needing a perm and cut but was checking around for prices. I knew in my heart at that moment that this is who He wanted to bless. She was a delightful Christian woman. After her service, I proceeded to explain about Elevation and our project and the God incidence with her daughter. I told her that her service was free and that she would leave with 10 dollars. Also I told her that the Lord chose her to be blessed and that He takes care of His own. She was speechless and overwhelmed with emotion and began to weep. I later found out that she had been worried about her finances because her previous house had not been sold. We talked about the Lord during the time she was here and she said she doesn’t go a day without speaking to Him. She had been a faithful servant of the Lord her entire life. So many times we here about how the Lord has dramatically changed someones life, which is awesome. I feel like there should be more testimonies of faithful servants being taken care of by our Wonderful God. She wanted to know more about Elevation so I gave her the website. Who knows she may come ROCK OUT with us.
Jeanette Eads

Amy

I was given $5. I put $5 more with it, and I gave it to a family that I felt God led me to. My husband commented that he didn’t realize the family was in need, and I questioned my decision at first, but God answered that for me. I don’t know for sure their needs, but God does, and it’s not just the families “in need” that are far from God. Sometimes it’s easy to under-estimate the value of $5 or $10, but I pray that they will see God through the act of giving.

Kemp and Teri Miller

My wife and I both received $10 in our envelope. We weren’t quite sure how we wanted to bless someone until we were listening to the news last night. A nine year old Charlotte boy has been fighting for his life for a few months and he almost lost that fight. He has been battling the staph infection, MRSA. He was in a medically induced coma for a month while his parents prayed over him. Now home, but still connected to an IV, he will lead a normal little boy’s life soon. We don’t know this family. We found their address on the internet and mailed them the money anonymously with info on the Bless Back Project. Their story touched us, so hopefully God’s money, and more importantly, our prayers will bless them.

Myron and Cindy

Hmmmm….$5. What in the world can you do to bless someone with a “measly” $5? Then I remembered (or was reminded) that when I need to know that God sees my circumstances and that He cares about my struggles, He often uses something in His creation to focus my mind on who He is. I remembered that a favorite greenhouse sells gorgeous huge-crowned chrysanthemums for $5 per gallon bucket. I bought a pot with my $5 Bless Back offering and another with my husband’s $5 Elevation offering. I wrote a note of what I hoped would be encouragement, explaining that “as beautiful as these mums are to you and me, we are so much more beautiful to God, Who longs to be with us for eternity.” I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead me to a place where encouragement was needed. Driving into a section of town which was unfamiliar to me, I scanned yards and porches and tried to listen to a voice that was soooo much quieter than my own fears of rejection. He led me to a house where I saw three women relaxing on a tiny porch. One of the ladies said, “These flowers do lift my spirit because my house caught on fire this morning , and my dog woke me up and got me out . We have been working to clear the smoke and damage from the kitchen.” It blesses ME to know that God not only sees her need but also my need to know that “He is [truly] the God who sees me.”

Darren and Tina

We, as a family, have practiced this Bless Back belief for years…. From buying groceries for single moms, sponsoring an orphaned child through World Vision, paying for car repairs, or just sending money orders anonomyously to those God places on our hearts. It’s been our deep conviction that this is what God has called us to do…. Love people. Help people. Have compassion and Mercy. To see Elevation actively promote and demonstrate this on such a level, renews our faith in the Church. We are also convicted. Although we routinely give into the lives of others, It has been years since we have regularly tithed into the church. Something we now plan to remedy!
We chose to use our money to buy a gift for our neighbors who do not know Jesus. We had them over and served them coffee and dessert around the fire pit. We presented them with the gifts and spent a couple of hours laughing and getting to know each other better. We look forward to telling them about Elevation, Bless Back, and God’s love for them!

barry bertram

Like most of us who attended last week I was blown away with the news that we would be receiveng money to go out and bless someone with. When i got my envelope with $5 dollars I knew I wanted to add to it. All of last week whenever I gave a tennis lesson I would take $5 of the fee and add it to my original $5. I told all my clients what i was doing and most of them gave me and additional $5. It was cool to see how the original $5 dollars continued to grow by five. By the end of the week I had a total of $500.
I have a friend that does some work in a Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood in Matthews so I contacted him to find out some info on some of the families.
We have’nt decided who to give the money to as of yet but when we do I am going to ask the person if he will take that original $5 and bless someone.Hopefully that same scenario will continue to take place

Kim Trouten

I received my $5 last week and was determined to seek the Lord as to exactly how I should use this money. I prayed expectantly for several days. On a visit to the grocery store, I glanced down at the counter and saw that they were seeking $5 donations for a local food bank. I felt a twinge. But no, I wanted a great experience, a story, something wonderful I could share with others as to the magnificent way God had used MY $5. That night, I was prompted again by the Holy Spirit, that I was meant to quietly give my $5 to a bigger ministry. The next day I went back to the grocery store and made my humble donation. The lessons you are teaching, Pastor Stephen on giving everything back to the Lord and humbling ourselves returned to me. It’s SO not about ME! Giving isn’t always glamourous…it’s the obedience He wantes, not always the sacrifice.

Casey Brown

Last week I was actually going directly to the Charlotte Crop Walk right after Elevation Church. I contributed the $50 to the Crop Walk organization to end world hunger. The money came exactly at the right time for me to make this donation to this organization and it really seemed like it was God’s way of putting in His own contribution to this cause.

Peter

My husband and I received a combined total of $105.00. We were not sure what exactly we were going to do with it, but had prayed that God would place it in our hearts to whom and what we should give it to. It wasen’t until this past Saturday, Oct. 20, that we were driving around and we saw a sign that a group of people were selling BBQ plates to raise money for something. We stopped, not to donate anything, just because we were hungry. When we ordered our plates, we saw that they were rasing money for someone named “Casey Hand” I asked who that person was and what was the cause.

She is 18 years old, she had to cut her Senior Year at Butler High School short and had to undergo several brain surgeries, at that point that is when my husband and I looked at one another and we felt that the Lord had taken us to that place to contribute the money that Elevation had given us to pass it on to Casey Hand. I am not quite sure exactly why she is having to undergo so many surgeries. Please keep Casey Hand

Steve and Lynn Hill

Lynn and I were attending Elevation last Sunday when the bless back program first began. Upon arriving home we opened our envelopes to find that we had been entrusted with $70.00 of God’s money to bless and enrich someone else’s life. We decided to ask God to show us His will and guide us as to who to bless. We had agreed that we could bless more than one person if that was God’s will. This is where our story takes an amazing turn. After four days of praying and trusting that God would give us His guidance I informed my wife that I now knew who God wanted me to bless. “Me too!” she exclaimed excitedly. We both said “Judy” at the exact same time. We had not discussed with each other who the recipient may possibly be or who we may bless before this moment of revelation. Judy has recently suffered the lose of her mother and has incurred the funeral expenses, which she is struggling to pay off. I did not know this information until my wife informed me of her situation. All I knew was God had shown me who to bless and had shown Lynn the same person. When we called on Judy and explained the reason for our visit, she informed us that we were the second people to bless her. Another person who was present during the bless back project had called on her two days before with $40.00 of God’s money to go towards her mother’s funeral expenses. This only serves to prove what we already knew. We had asked God for guidance and He had surely shown us His will. Lynn and I feel that we have truly been blessed by this wonderful experience.

Colleen

My son and I attended for the second time last Sunday. I was surprised by the kick off of such an important project. I have been involved in two other large churches as they started similar campaigns, never like this!!

I received $20 in my envelope and began to pray how the Lord would like to bless someone through me. I gave the $20 and added my birthday money of $60 to it and gave it to a single mother who is having trouble making ends meet on a regular basis. I gave it through a ministry called Christ Our Shepherd whose main goal is to minister to single parents having a hard time with jobs, finances or child care.

I pray that the family was blessed and that the Lord will continue doing a great work in this families life.

My 15 year old son was given $5 and he bought some classroom supplies for a teacher.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to bless back .

Colleen

Rochelle English

There was a girl in my class who had previously asked me for lunch money, so when i got my $5,
i thought about giving it to this girl who needed lunch money.

Once I’d explained that Elevation was
blessing back and gave her more details
she was SO happy and tried to bless me back.
(we still argue about who owes who
a blessing, which is more fun than taking notes..)

So thank you for the opportunity!

Robert Horneman

Ok…so I was the only one in the service praying really hard NOT to ge the $1000 from the offering plate. I have a friend that I have been trying to get to come to church with me and hasn’t yet. I knew that even though he has not been struggling financially that I should give him the money and match whatever was inside. So I left the envelope sealed and called and told him that I had to see him in person and give him some money. He of couse wanted to know the catch and asked if this was one of those pyramid selling things. I assured him it wasn’t and we met up on Saturday. I explained to him that the God I serve is generous and has abundantly supplied all my needs and that the reason he has given me blessings was so I could bless others. I told him that I would double whatever amount God put in the envelope for no other reason other to be a blessing in his life and that there were absolutely no strings attached. He opened it and said ” (bleep) Robert. That’s cool as (bleep). That makes me want to check out your church.” I don’t know if he will ever will but now it’s in Gods’ hands…may His name be praised forever.

Roderick English Jr.

With my $5.00 I chose to give it to my friend Ben. He is a good friend to me and I just wanted to be a blessing,

Antwan English

With the $10 I got from church on Sunday at school I was able to bless a 8 year old classmate with lunch money. He did not have any lunch money.

Heather Heath

I received $10 last Sunday at church. I bought two $5 gift cards to Wendys with it. I’m giving them to 2 of my co-workers as it is a fastfood restaurant near work that they often go to on their breaks. I’m hoping it will be an encouragement and life changing act of kindness to them. Thanks for setting the example! It’s great to be a part of!

Amanda English

I work in a senior mid rise of low income affordable housing. A senior citizen had expressed to me that she did not have enough money to pay the pharmacy that was on their way to deliver her medicine. I was able to bless her with the $5 that I received that Sunday, so she could pay the $3 co-pay.

Bradley England

I am nine years old. On Sunday, 10/14/07 I went to church with one of my Pop warner football coaches and his son. I was at the service where you handed out the envelopes with money in them. My envelope had $50 in it. I decided to give the money to another football player on my team who has only a mother. I know it is hard for single moms to raise children without help, so I wanted to help this family. I hope my money will make their life a little easier. Thank you for doing this. It made me feel special helping someone else.

Elauria

i gave to africa at my school before they were all happy i gave about 25/30 dollars to them

Suzie

My envelope contained $100. So I bought a GOAT! Yes, I said goat. Through a wonderful organization, Heiffer International, one struggling family will receive one goat — providing up to a gallon of milk every single day. That’s more than enough milk not only to drink, but to use to make cheese, butter or yogurt, PLUS to sell whatever’s left and buy much-needed clothes, school supplies and medicine.

Heiffer International helps children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant.

Go to www.heifer.org and read their cornerstones for PASSING ON THE GIFTS. The synergy in all of this is God-inspired!

Heiffer’s mission is “Bringing an End to World Hunger Through . . . UNIMAGINABLE BLESSINGS.” Because God blesses me beyond my imagination the money I received at church today was used to purchase one goat and to help fight hunger and poverty around the world.
THINK GLOBAL!
God IS good ALL the time!

Craig

Addressing hunger is a pressing on my heart and the $5 that I received was included with a donation to The Second Harvest Food Bank.

Thank you for the opportunity to give back to the local community.

Jason

My wife and I passed a cub scout selling fund raising items on the way into a store. After nervously discussing what we should do we decided to give him the money (our combined $25). We came out of the store, bought one of the items he was selling, then handed over our gift to him explaining that we thought it was great what he was doing. After he fully understood that the money was his and not for the fund raiser, his eyes lit up. It was great to see. We explained why we were giving him the money. One of the two adult scout masters said, “usually churches try to get your money.” Not this time.

Lynne Holcomb

Every time I would drive past the woman at the Arboretum holding the sign “Homeless, please help. God bless you”, I would try not to make eye contact. I recently heard someone say that it isn’t our job to decide if those people used the money they received to buy alcohol, drugs or groceries. So I gave the lady holding the sign the $5 I received from Elevation and said God Bless You! She blessed me back!

If she had been standing there at 12:30 last Sunday, she might have been $40,000 richer! : )

Camryn Stahlman-Dwyer

I was given $5, and my friends were given $10 and $50. We decided to put our money together to make shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Combining our money together, we were able to create six boxes to give this year to touch six children’s lives.

Abby Stack

I go to the Universtiy of Georgia but I am from charlotte and come back in town as much as i can. for a week i did not know what to do with my money… then it hit me. I do gymnstics and i have 13 other teamates. most of them go to church but are young in their faith. I have a little book that i carry with me call “The Bible Promise Book”. this book is full verses that are organized under God promises. (i recomend the book to anyway…it is little and good to carry in your purse for a quick look up). anyway…a lot of the girls ask me if they can borrow it and they all really like to look at it. i decided that i would order them all one. even for the girls that are not christians i figured it is an easy way to look up things if you have questions about faith. they will be here is about a week and i can not wait to give them out. it feels so good to give…

Katelyn Kaiser

Hi my name is Katelyn Kaiser I’m 15 years old and I’ve been going to Elevation for about a month now. After the service I waited till I was in the car to open my envelope. In my envelope was a 20 dollar bill, immediately the ideas came to my head. Earlier in the service when you were giving the money out and before I even knew I had to give it away, I leaned over and told my mom i was going to give it to the first homeless person that i saw, and that exactly what I did with it. My mom and i were in the car going up to Lake Norman, we pulled off onto exit 33, and there he was. The same homeless person that we’ve seen for the past 2 years. After we gave him the money and drove away there was no doubt in my mind that that wasnt’ the right thing to do, I knew it was the right thing to do because when we handed him the money he said, “OOH GOD BLESS you kind people, thank you so much you don’t know how much this helps.” And I just wanted to say thank you so much for giving out that money becuase of that i was able to help someone’s life. O and i just want to say thank you for having such a nice church because I’ve never been so happy to go to church in my life, and now when Sundays role around me and my friend Brooke are the first ones at the car with our new elevation church Bibles in hand. Can’t wait to see you this week…..
Katelyn Kaiser

chelsea axtell

There is a mentally disabled lady that my mom takes care of who has very little friends. She has been complaining that the church doesn’t give back to the community enough to her. So i went to the store and bought her a variety of her favorite things and took it to her house and explained what Elevation was doing. It made her day and she was so excited opening her goodie bag. I know it made her day.

ginger buffkin

Our family combined our money $40, and bought items for foster children. We felt they would enjoy something of their “own” at an uncertain time in their lives.

Scott Cornell

I really like this concept of blessing back the congration to dominate the charlotte area. Only God could come up with such a brilliant plan. I gave $20 God’s gift to a restaurant owner who is really hurting with so business. The day I went there, they were getting ready to close the business down to 2 days a week. The gift brought tears to his eyes and put so much joy to him I believe it was what he needed to overcome his setback mentally and spirtually. I cant wait to see what Pastor Furtick has in store for us next.
God Bless, Scott

chad gallagher

I received $100 in my envelope. I immediately knew who I would help with the money. There is a single mom that I work with who has had a very difficult couple of years. She is buying a home for her and her son and I knew she would appreciate the money. I placed the $100 bill in a card congratulating her on her new home and left it on her desk for her to find.

Carla

My husband had a $50 envelope, I had $20 and my daughter had $5. We are doubling the money and making a $150 contribution to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

John

Last Sunday, the lord blessed me with $100 in my envelope. On Monday I left on a business trip and did not return until Wednesday. The whole time I was gone, I kept Praying and asking the lord to show me who. . . This evening my wife and I went out to a local superstore for the soul purpose of finding the person the lord wanted me to bless. while we were walking around, I saw a young man and immediately had the impression that he was the one the Lord had selected.

I said some thing to my wife and she said, if that is the one, then go. I approached the young man, who by now I am sure thought I was stalking him, and told him that my church had given us a project to go out and find people in the community to bless, and that the Lord had impressed on my heart that he was it. I gave him the envelope with the money and the little card with the directives for the project. He looked at me like I had a third eye and I started to walk away when he opened it.

Then the tables turned, he came after me and asked what church. . . I said Elevation. He said he was sure there were other people who could probably use it more than him and I think he expected me to take it back. I told him I am sure what he said was true, but I was being obedient by giving it to him and it was now his to do with as he pleased, spend it, save it, or pass it on. We then discussed more about the Bless Back Project and Elevation. As it turns out, Nathan currently attends Hickory Grove. He was amazed at what we were doing. I hope he is truly blessed. . .and if nothing else I am sure God used this encounter to touch and bless a young man in an unexpected way. Nathan if you read this, bless you!

Renee

My daughter and I felt led to pool our money and give a gift card to a person in her class. He seemed to be having a hard time lately. Since he was already a believer, we used this opportunity to encourage him that the Lord loves him so much and had great plans for him. Also, we told him he has great gifts that God has given him. We told him to look at this gift card just like the Lord had reached down from heaven
and put it in his mail box. We mailed it, anonymously–careful to hide our tracks. It felt WONDERFUL!! I hope he is half as blessed as we were–I just hate we weren’t there to see the look on his face!

Jack

After some thought we decided to help the least among us, meaning the tiniest of God’s children. We matched the money in the Bless Back envelope and bought a card, a pack of newborn diapers, wipes, and a gift bag. We wrapped the gifts for the newest addition to our community, arriving by way of the nearby Crisis Pregnancy Center, and that’s where we delivered the “welcome” package from the friends of Elevation Church.

Teresa Scism

I received $5 last week. A 22 yr. old young man I know is in boot camp at Parris Island. I had sent him one card and he responded by telling me he really appreciated it because he doen’t get many letters. He is scared and lonely. His mother died when he was in middle school, his father “checked out” because he couldn’t cope. I bought a fall card and a “pumpkin” candle to send to him. I included a verse reminding him God would never leave him or forsake him.

Simons Family

Our daughter Jenn is on a Charlotte Soccer Club team through the Siskey YMCA. A mom of one her teamates just had a surgery on her achilles tendon. Our family put in our $20, $5, $10 and an extra $15 from us to buy them a $50 gift card to On The Border, Macroni Grill, or Chili’s. The were quite surprised that we - and our church - would do this and very appreciative.

Debby

What a great idea!!! It was bold, but will come back many times over. My first thought was to give my $10.00 to Jackson Park Ministries where I do weekly volunteer work. (By the way, I think Jackson Park and Elevation Church would be very natural and productive partners in ministry) I took the money with me this week, but prayed that God would send me a person to share this with directly. If not, I would donate to the ministry. It was a very busy day with many people coming in for food and clothing. While I had a great day of sharing, it wasnt’ until the end of the day that I knew who was to get the $10.00. I spent time with a mother of 4 children, including an infant. She had just had difficult surgery and was out of work longer than intended. As a result, her paid leave was up and she was very short on food, money, etc. I knew that $10.00 would not make a significant impact on her situation, but along with what she recieved at Jackson Park, it helped. I explained where the money came from, and her comment was “why don’t more churches do this?”. She was so grateful and asked me to “thank the church”. So thanks Elevation for caring.

jeremy fiske

i’ve gotta tell you that when i first heard we’d be GETTING an offering on sunday, rather than GIVING one, i was pretty stinking excited!! the potential for this crazy project to blow the people of charlotte’s minds is seriously off the charts! the idea of being blessed in order to bless is not a new one to me, but the thought of equipping our entire church with the means to bless people all over the city of charlotte (and perhaps even further) just pumped me up so much.

well, my heart raced as i waited patiently to reach into the bowl and take my envelope during service. i couldnt wait to see what amount i had received… that is until i realized that i could possibly have picked the one containing $1000. “what in the world would i do if i get the $1000 envelope!?”, i thought to myself. the desire to use my blessing wisely and responsibility totally freaked me out! i mean if i got some great amount of money to go out and bless anybody in the world, who should i spend it on?? such a difficult question. so after the service it took a bit of coaxing from friends for me to go ahead and open my envelope, but i was happy to find that it was “only” filled with $20. “thank goodness i dont have to figure out how to use $1000″, i thought. i stuffed the envelope into my bible and proceeded to help tear down.

after finishing up with tear down a group of us left church to grab some lunch at a place nearby. my drive over was spent talking to God about how i should spend his $20 blessing that i now had in my possession. after a short discussion he hit me with the knowledge that if it’s his money in the first place then he could “probably” show me a good place to use it if i needed him to (and i NEEDED him to).

so our group eats lunch and as we enjoy some great fellowship with one another i notice a good friend of mine staring off into space as a couple of tears run down their face. i slide out from the table and motion for them to join me outside. so we talk about whats going on and the situation is that good friend is a broke college student who desperately needs gas money to go home for a few days. immediately my mind jumps to the bless back offering. THANK YOU GOD!! haha, he is so smart! i tell good friend to make a few necessary phone calls while i walk back to “refill my cup of water” and as i get to the door of the restaurant i sneak over to my car, grab my bless back envelope and add the remaining $23 from my wallet into the envelope. “CRAP!”, i thought to myself, “why couldnt i have received the $1000 blessing… then broke college student good friend wouldnt have to worry about gas money for like forever!” God sure has a funny way of showing me to be careful what i ask for and just how silly it is for me to even ask for those things in the first place!

so i casually walk back over to the restaurant to “refill my drink” and as i slip inside good friend walks in behind me, not noticing what i’d been scheming. i tell good friend that i changed my mind and i dont care for a refill any longer since there are other people in line ahead of me and we leave. good friend and i walk over to their car and i tell them to let me sit with them for a moment while they make another necessary phone call. as we get into the car i’m looking for a good place to leave the bless back envelope without being conspicuous. i find a book and exchange the envelope in place of the page holder and then proceed to say my goodbye to good friend.

all of that said, the bless back project seemed like this great opportunity to bless others, and it was, but i found it rather ironic that it was such an incredibly huge blessing to me! God showed me through this project that it doesnt matter how much you have. it matters how much He can do with what you have. you dont have to go off on some great quest to make God proud of what you did in His name. all you have to do is be willing to do something. anything! He will take care of the rest

Ray Harper III

First I was going to give the money to someone I didn’t know, but I thought, “wheres the risk in that?” matt 25:14-30. I need to risk a relationship for the chance to see atleast one life changed for Jesus. The lifechange of one coworker may be the start of a chain reaction. Thanks to my small group. Shout out to my small group leader Dan and Donna.

But anywho. I observed my team for a full week. I just wanted to bless all of them but I new there was one specific person for the blessing. I never want to draw attention to myself because I wanted God to get all the glory through the way I live and my testimony Revelation 12:11. So, I made one rule. I wrote on the envelope “rule

Dennis

My husband and I put our money together (he received $10 and I received $20) and gave it to a young couple that have only been married for one year. Her husband injured his knee and has been out of work for 2-3 weeks with probably 3 more weeks out - and not getting paid. We know that if we were to receive a gift like that - how much it would lift our spirits.

We certainly felt blessed being the “middle man” in this project!!

Chase Taylor and Mary Rose Taylor

After the service on Sunday my mother and I combinded our money (10 5.) We purchased books for Thomosboro Elementary during the Elizabeth Lane Book Fair.

Deanna

Choices, choices everywhere. I was having a hard time deciding what I could do with $5.00. Everywhere I looked and everything I thought of could have been blessed by a simple $5.00, but I wanted to make sure that it would be useful. It must have been God at work, because I found out that the daughter of an ex co-worker of mine has had to have multiple brain surgeries. She’s only 18 years old and is in her senior year of high school. They are having a BBQ to raise money for her excessive doctor bills. I contributed my $5.00 blessing because every little bit helps. Plus, it was a blessing, and hopefully she will be blessed with good health and a happy life.

ethan neville

i took my $10 and wrote a letter to my sister (with the money ) since she is in college i know that there would be a financial struggle while living on campus.

Michael Brown

I was driving past the mall exit and decided to get off and goto the chrisitain book store there in pine ville, and pick out a new cd to listen too while I drive around for work. After I find my cd (shawn McDonald) I predede to the counter to check out. Waiting in line, I scan around the counter checking out little nic nacs, and see that you can purchase gift cards. God spoke to my heart to get a girft card for my buddy who Ive been having an on going battle with to get him to come to church with me. So I spent my $50 on a girft card to the christian book store. I gave him the card, and he was happy, but still alittle uncertin about what he could buy there. He thought it was very thoughtfull, I told him Id go with him and help him pick out some stuff. He said he was going to come to church with me this week, so well see. Pray that God impresses onto his heart his love and kindness, and that he opens his eyes to the truth.

Tim Ryan

As a family, plus a friend of one of my daughters we decided to pool our money and give it to a lady at my work as she has some very large medical bills. The medcial bills were for her son who was stabbed when he confronted a man trying to stealing his dads wallet.

Amy

I received $5 the morning that the offering was given to us. I couldn’t figure out a good way to use it at first and then it hit me…I am a kindergarten teacher assistant and I have a couple of kids in my class that need to be on free lunch but downtown is taking a while to process the appropriate paper work. I decided that the next time the cafeteria sent home a letter to the parents telling them that they owed money I would use the five dollars and just pay it off. Well five dollars turned out not to be enough. One child’s bill was up to $18 and the other child’s bill was up to $16. I used the $5 and added $15 of my own to apply $10 towards both of the children’s balances. I know this wasn’t a lot of money, and it didn’t pay off their debt, but to a family who needs that money to pay an electric bill or something, this might have helped. The parents don’t know that I did this and might not figure out that someone payed on the bill, but a little bit sometimes goes a long way.

mary ruth diffey

I’m a fulltime nanny and have come to know this family’s 30 year-old housekeeper..single mother of 2 sons….She is a very hard worker but lives from pay check to pay check. The 3 yr. old son who has serious physical challenges was hospitalized last week for 4 days..fever over 104. at the same time her car broke down.. When i gave her the $20 that elevation (God!) blessed me with she inquired,”So you trying to tell me i need some Jesus?!” I looked her in the eyes and said “I just love you and care about what you care aout and I know He wants to encourage you through this small love gift. HE LOVES YOU SOO MUCH!

Vivienne

My boyfriend and I were extremely late getting into the 11:15 service at Butler on Sunday. We contemplated even going in. Something in both our spirits said, “Just go!” We slipped in the back of the auditorium in the middle of the sermon. When it came time for Pastor Steven to share about the bless back project, tears came to my eyes. I was so overwhelmed with the tremendous faith that it must have taken the staff members to follow thru on this thing! I whispered to my boyfriend, “I’m so glad we came in!” I started getting very excited about recieving my envelope, hoping to be the one to recieve $1,000. I already knew I was going to give it to my sister and brother-in-law as they are having trouble making ends meet and have 2 babies. After the Dominate lunch, we walked out to the car to open our envelopes. I recieved $10. I have to admit I was a little disappointed because I just really wanted to bless my sister in an overwhelming way. However, I took her out for coffee on Thursday night and shared the story of what Elevation is doing with the bless back project. I gave her the $10 and told her to get a coffee with her husband. She was really happy and thankful and that little bit, I believe, went a long way. So, thank you so much Elevation! I love hearing all the stories of how God’s using this act to bless so many people!

chris and holly

This project was so much fun!

Chris gave his money to a young lady at his office whose husband just lost his job, and consequently they are having a hard time financially.

I put my money together with the teen girls in our small group to buy something special for one young lady in our group who is in the midst of difficult season in her life.

Goddards

My wife and I got $10 and added to it. We decided to ‘bless’ our son’s daycare teacher - Miss Anya. He often tells us he loves his daycare teacher Miss Anya and says she is one of his favorites (he has 2 favorite teachers at Christ Our Shepherd Ministries).

Miss Anya is so gracious, patient and kind to our son. I’m SURE he tests all these virtues listed above daily.

The Lord led us to bless Miss Anya today - so if you are reading this, “thank you Miss Anya!”

Lisa

Our family of four received $65. We multiplied it several times and sent a gift to missionaries from Charlotte who are serving in the Republic of Moldova. Our prayer is that this gift will encourage them.

Chris P.

Please enter a comment before submission.
Absolutely incredible where God is drawing me as a man, husband, father and employer. I find my typical morning is in to work a couple of hours before others arrive. I have time to pray, read and focus my day properly. Now asking God to share with me about what to do with $5. I shared with our employees about Sunday at Elevation, as often I do, I explained the purpose for the Bless Back Project, explained more about what ot going to go on over the next few weeks, giving back to our community. We had a huge peice of cabinetry to move for a job, called someone who could help us move this peice. He sent a truck to move this and one of his employees, he is struggling to make a living, has some medical bills, and has not been to church for a couple of years. After this was delivered, I paid my bill for their services and handed him the envelope, shared why I was giving him this envelope. I encouraged him to do whatever he needed with this money, told him briefly about Elevation Church. He would like to come to Elevation to “check it out!” I know he will hear of God’s goodness and provision. Perhaps the miracle of God is that $5 multiplied into $100, through our contirbutions of those I work with, most of which are skeptical of Church

Kelly McNamara

I’m extremely excited to say that I have been on both ends of this project, and it is amazing.

From the minute Pastor started talking about giving money, I started praying. I had NO IDEA who I would give the money to. I prayed about it this week and held on to it. When I was at our Baptist Collegiate Ministry I ran into a girl who has been there for me in the past a lot. She seemed stressed out, and I felt compelled to give my $20 to her. I asked her how she was and eventually asked if she was having any financial problems or needs. She said no, but I still felt led to give it to her anyways. I thanked her for being there for me in the past and told her what the deal was with Elevation and that I wanted her to have it, and I’m hoping that she will find something great to use it on.

I’ve also been on the receiving end of this project. The other night, I found a BBP envelope with money in it, hidden in a book. Immediately I knew who left it for me, but he left it anonymously, so I won’t bring it up. I just want him and Elevation to know that this project is amazing and is blessing so many people in so many different ways.

Ashley Gordon

I left the $20 I received during service as an added tip at a restaurant (on top of the that I paid).

Jeremiah Luithle

Well I had no clue what i was going to do with the $20 that I received in church Sunday. I really wanted to give the money to someone homeless on the street hoping that they might put the money to use but I never saw anyone on the streets this week. But since I work at Quiznos I see people all the time struggling with buying food there since it is so expense. But when I was working tonight these three kids put their money together to get some food but they came up short, but one kid offered his $5 he had for lunch money to pay for the rest. I ended up telling him since he gave up his lunch money that I would give him $20 to eat lunch but he ask why and wouldn’t take the money. He told me to give to someone who actually needed the money. Though later that night one of my friends and my employees friends came in, one kid actually who is unemployed was trying to buy food with all the money he had, he only had 3 dollars I told him and my other friend I have been trying to go to church me to extend his Christianity since he says he believes in God. I end up paying for both of their subs, the kid who was short actually thanked me for paying for, But im hoping that the kid who thank me I could reach out to him and get him to come to church with me Sunday even though I have no clue if he is Christian or not. But maybe he will look at this as, “hey he was nice to me, maybe church wont be so bad” but I will see in the future if i can get to go to church, and I’m hoping the kid who turn down the money comes back to learn more about elevation church and how much effect it is bring. So hopefully the $20 will effect the kids in my area I live in and actually bring more Fort Mill, SC kids to elevation church.

Christina

I was excited last Sunday when leaving church and my mind was racing as to how I could bless someone with the 50 from the Bless Back Project. My husband and I were out of town until today and we’ve spent the last week in debate about who and how and what the money should be used for. This evening we went out to dinner and decided that our waiter should be the one to be blessed. I ran out to the car and grabbed the envelope. I had my church notes from Sunday written on the outside, so I grabbed a napkin and said thank you for being so nice and quoted John 3:16. We left the extra tip under the napkin. As we were driving away the waiter was bringing the last of our dishes inside, we could see through the window as he showed someone at the soda bar. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. The Lord has blessed us with so much and giving a little inspires me to want to give so much more for His glory.

Sanpri Purdy-Porter

Hello!

In my envelope was $10. I am a physical therapist at a nursing home and I know there are many residents who dont have visitors to come and give them gifts or just to talk with them to make them feel loved. So, I went to a nearby Christian store and brought a little picture that had a beautiful verse about having faith in God. I was not able to identify a specific resident in need, so I gave the gift to our activity director so that she could decide who would get the most joy out of the gift. I really enjoyed being able to give back in such a small way. It felt really good!

Ted and Anna Turner

During the 11:30 service we were amazed that the Church would give back $40k to the community. We thought it was a wonderful idea and that it would bless so many people in the Charlotte area. When we got back to our car we explained to our kids what the Bless Back Project was and what it could mean to so many families. Our kids were very excited about how we could help as a family in this project. Anna and I told each other that what ever the amount was we would at the very least double it. Whe we opened the envelopes we each received $10. We decided to add another $100 to it and give it annoymously to a single MOM that we know. She has two little boys and is on a limited income. We wrote her a nice letter on behalf of Elevation and told her that the people were praying for her and that she should try out the church. We drove by their house while they were not home and put it in her mailbox along with the invitation and some elevation brochures. We prayed over the money and hoped it would do some food for this family. God has blessed us all so much and even in this project blessed our family. We are very excited about the impact the Church can have on the community.

God Bless!

The Turner’s

bentley and lynn jones

we received a 100 and 5 dollar bill. We talked and prayed a lot about how to use the gift to bless. we discussed the parable of the talents and eventually decided to take the “seed” and add an equivalent portion to the money and then seek a christian based organization in the charlotte area that was approved for matching funds from our employer. we finally settled on the charlotte rescue mission, a christian faith based organization that helps men and women work out of addictive or destructive behaviors through a program centered on the love and support of Christ. We donated the seed double ($210) and then our employer will match an additional $105. our explanation to the rescue mission was that we were challenged to bless back to the charlotte community. we feel that this can help.

Ashley Turner

I choose to bless my friend Lexie, her mom has been sick with cancer for almost two and a half years now. I have noticed that every time Lexie’s mom is in the hospital Lexie is miserable and looks so depressed. I have been praying for Lexie and her family ever since her mom was diagnosed.I always pray that God will heal her mom, Donna, and I still belive that he can but a month ago hope fell when Hospice was called in, my mother told me that she might die soon because that is how bad she has gotten but I refused to give up. During the sun stand still series when Paster Furtick said to write down the thing that you want god to make the sun stand still in your life I instantly put “Heal Donna” thats the only thing that I could think of. So I hope that God answers our prayers because lots of people have been praying for her and I don’t know how Lexie feels about this but I keep praying that God will heal Donna because I know that with out my mother I would have a really tough time because I know I can go to her for any thing and I won’t be judged or criticized and that is what Lexie needs. So on Sunday I got 5 dollars and I had another 20 dollars ( half I was going to give to offering) So I decided that Lexie deserves a little shopping time ( since she was stuck with her brother and dad alot she deserved some girl time!).So my parents chiped in another 25 and I sent it in an envelope saying that this is her money to spend and no one elses.

Laura Bird

When I left church on Sunday afternoon, I had no idea what to do or who to bless with the 5 dollars in my Dominate envelope. In fact, it didn’t become clear to me until Wednesday morning. After getting together with some of my small group on Tuesday evening, I couldn’t get one person in particular off my mind. She just moved to the area this summer and didn’t waste any time getting involved with Elevation. She is so energetic and so giving, but she’s also living far from her family and in the midst of a stressful job situation. When I woke up on Wednesday, I knew I needed to do something to brighten her day, so when I got home I ordered some flowers to be delivered to her at school on Thursday. It was a great way to bless back!

Lawson McWhirter

Finally just now, I was able to Bless Back! I recieved $5.00 Sunday. At first I thought I’d just add it to someone elses. But the Lord put it on my heart that that was not acceptable.(SHUCKS) So daily I’ve looked for just the right person. I’m at work at the sation. We have a volunteer firefighter who comes by from time to time to hang out. A couple of us have witnessed to him on several occasions. In fact, he went to a co-worker’s church and was saved just last winter. Since then life has been up and down for him. He comes by here sometimes just to share his troubles and seek guidance. After we give him our firehouse logic we always remind him to lean not on us but on the Lord. We remind him that life is not supposed to be all that Heaven will be! Tonight was one of his down times. I could read in his eyes that he was toubled. When we sat down to eat one of the guys asked him if he was gonna eat with us. “Naw” he says,” I’m good”. After supper we had a call, then the other company here left on a move-up to another station, Sticking me with the dishes ! (YUK) He came in the kitchen and was gonna help me do them. I asked him why he didn’t eat and he replied, “I didn’t bring any money.” Right away I told him of our Bless Back project and treated him to some fine Firehouse quizine! I told him that this was a small but undeniable token of God’s love for him and invited him back here for Sunday lunch! He left soon thereafter with a little more pep in his step! (and a full belly!)

Jamie and Vicky Ross and Beverly Joye

Prior to coming to Elevation God had laid it on our hearts to start paying more attention to the needs of others. Last Sunday was our first visit to Elevation and your sermon confirmed that conviction. I received $20, vicky received $10, and Beverly received $10. We decided to put our money together and start the giving process. Once it started it hasn’t really stopped. We’ve paid for a single mom’s rent for a month, paid for a couples breakfast at IHOP, and generously tipped our gracious waiter. Like Pastor Furtick said….It’s not our money in the first place, it’s God. So we plan on giving it back continually. Praise God for the opportunity to give!!!!

The Luther Family

We pulled our $20 together and gave it to a young girl at Mint Hill Middle School. She was going on a field trip for the day to Cherokee, NC, and needed lunch money. Her mother is a single parent, hard-working woman. We told the young lady about the Bless Back Project and was thrilled to not only have lunch money, but a little spending money as well.

Jessica

Well, I’m crying again. I tear up every Sunday at service, everytime I watch an online sermon or read an Elevation blog - and I just wept like a baby reading everyone’s touching Bless Back stories. I am so incredibly moved by what is happening in and through Elevation Church. I added $45 dollars to my $5 envelope and donated it to the Susan G Komen fund, in honor of my grandmother. Thank you, Elevation, for continually challenging us. God Bless You All!!!

Alex

I used the $10 from my envelope to send home-baked brownies and cookies to two of my friends in college who have been living off ramen noodles for the past 2 months!

Quinnton and Brandi

This past Sunday was such a blessing to our family. After receiving our envelopes I placed mine in our Bible and began to pray for God to show me who I needed to blessed. After the sermon on our way to pick up our daughters we had already decided that what ever the amount may be that we were going to match it (even it was $1000) plus put it with our original offering. When we got the car we open our envelopes together we have $30 so we matched it as well as putting it with our offering which gave us $160. We had no idea what to do with it so we decided just to wait and pray until our decision was clear. At work on Monday I found out that my co-workers husband has been in a terrible accident on Saturday. He was covered with 3rd degree burns from his waist down. They have no insurance and now they are both out of work because he has been placed in a burn center not around here and she is trying to spend as much time there as possible. We decided that no one could used the money more than Marybeth and her family. So I sent to check to her for $160 with a card letting her know that it was a gift from God. I knew that money could not heal his wounds or pay the bills, but I did know that with all the LOVE and PRAYERS that came along with it would someway bring them peace and comfort that only OUR GOD can provide. Now we are ready for our next challenge….Bring it on Elevation……Lets DOMINATE. Thanks to all you do. The Jones Family

Karen

My family and I moved to Charlotte in August. It was a “Go and then I’ll show” situation. Our dear friends also moved here. The wife and I are very close. She was not dealing well at all with this move. She was often tearfull and noticably depressed. She kept asking me how I was managing this change so well. I told her it wasn’t me, that I was able to find joy in everything because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I invited her to a Community Bible Study and she reluctantly joined. She just finished her fourth week in the study and is a changed woman. She is joyfull and smiling and transformed. When her 9 year old son saw her reading the bible in preperation for her lesson he said, ‘Mommy, I’m so happy for you!”
She had a root canal this week and was in quite a bit of discomfort. I purchased a small bouquet of flowers and a chocolate bar with the $5 a received from the Bless Back Project and dropped them off at her house. She was so thankful.

Lee

My helper at work is expecting his first child so funds have been pretty tight for him lately. I got $5 in my envelope and used it to buy him lunch this week. He was very thankful!

Marla

We attended the 11:30 service at Providence Hi this past Sunday. Both of us received $20 in our individual envelopes and decided to pool these blessings.

Our son (who received the $1,000 envelope and will have a great story to tell) is a varsity athlete at Winthrop in Rock Hill, SC. One of his campus apartment roommates, Henry, is from Uganda and is a team mate, as well. This young man’s mother has been in and out of the hospital frequently and is currently close to death.

A couple of weeks ago, Henry came into our son’s room with his famous toothy smile. “Douglas”, he said, “what game is it where the main character jumps and spins”, and with that Henry did his best imitation. “Is it Sonic the Hedgehog”, Douglas asked. Henry replied with his African accent, “Jess, dhat’s it — I love it!”

Douglas showed Henry Sonic games online and Henry played, But, the games were short and ended more quickly than he would have liked.

To help take Henry’s mind off of his Mother and provide some stress relief, we all thought that a vintage Sega Genesis game console with all of the Sonic game packs would really be enjoyed by Henry.

eBay was searched, and a pristine example, with all Sonic games plus 7 others was found and purchased for just a few dollars over our $40, which we were thrilled to add. We cannot wait to see Henry’s face when it arrives and we can deliver it!

By the way, Henry is a Christian, who came to America for an education on scholarship and to play soccer. He is an extremely gifted player and will likely play professionally in his future. He is from a dirt poor family and village, but walks talk, with an almost constant smile on his face.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Robin

I’ve been praying all week for a”cause” to give my elevation money to. Lord, please let me know where this blessing should go, I prayed. I stopped in Aldi’s for a couple of items when I noticed this older lady in front of me having difficulty getting her things onto the conveyer belt. As I was helping her, I felt the Lord nudging me, pay her tab. How awkward, I thought. I recited a million excuses why I shouldn’t-everybody will see me, she’ll think I’m weird,what if she refuses? She payed for her own groceries, but the feeling would not let me go so easily. I offered to help her get her groceries to her car for her, but she said she would manage. I went on to my car and called my husband-he said if God is telling you to give her money- then do it! At the risk of her thinking I was stalking her I found her in the parking lot and explained that I felt led to give her $20 to bless her because of the “bless-back” project at our church. “What church is that?” As I looked at her, I thought-she’s the last person who would go to Elevation-her Grandson is probably older than the preacher, but I told her about Elevation anyway and told her that we met at Providence High School. My daughter is a teacher at Providence, she said. COINCIDENCE? I don’t think so…maybe her daughter will be curious as to why a stranger would give her mother money…maybe she’ll visit… and hear the WORD. How great is our God?! Thanks for the challenge, Pastor Steve.

Reese

On Sunday at our small group meeting, we decided that we would pool our money to make a bigger difference.The combined total was $220, giving each family $110. We choose 2 families that we wanted to bless - one is in our small group and the other is a mother and her 11 yr. old daughter that was burned out of their home, losing everything. One of our members was telling a women what our church was doing and the part our small group was playing in it. The woman was so moved that she said she wanted to give something to the family that was burned out. She handed our member a $100 bill !!! God sure does know how to multiply!!!

Meghan

I recieved $10 in my envelope on Sunday and I was not sure what to do with it right away. I was going through the drive thru today at lunch and decided to pay for the car behind me. I could see it was a mom with her young son and I hope the free lunch and some change helped to brighten her day.

Christy

First of all…thank you Pastor Furtick for such a cool opportunity! It’s been awesome.
My husband and I decided to pool our money, a total of $30, to give to a women that I work with anonymously. About a month ago, this woman’s 30 year-old son was beaten and left for dead at a local ATM machine. His head was severely bashed in. He was only found becuase a parking lot cleaner happened to look down the hill behind the bank and see him early the next morning. Anyway, her son has been in the ICU and has been slowly making some gains like moving a toe and breathing on his own. My co-worker is single, has no vacation left, and is financially unable to lose her job or go without pay to sit with her boy everyday. So…she has to come to work (where she provides counseling to disadvantaged, sick, and often unloved kids) all day and then she goes and sits with her son in the evening. Since I assume there isn’t much time left to take care of herself, I figured that she could use the extra cash for a bill, a few dinners at the hospital, or for something nice to relieve some stress. I put the money, along with an anonymous note in her mailbox, describing the intent of the Bless Back program. I hope that she sees it as a blessing, as I did. Thanks.

Logan and Graham Strom

Graham and Logan are 11 and 12 years old. They received $40.00 between them. They choose to purchase two hooded sweat jackets and 10 bibles. (We paid the differance) They highlighted Romans 10.9 and placed a dollar in that page. We are going downtown to find people in need and pass them out. This was their idea and will be the 2nd time they have done this.

Dean Lovett

I wanted to tell the church, and especially Pastor Stephen, that I have NEVER received money from a church. I’ve been a Christian for 12 years and been very involved in several churches. I believe that Pastor Stephen’s gesture was straight from God and that the Lord will work great things through this obedience.

I received twenty dollars last Sunday. The Lord put a homeless man named Larry on my heart, whom I had met about two months ago. With the weather getting cold, I decided to take my heaviest coat and the twenty dollars from Elevation and give it to Larry. While I could not find Larry, the Lord led me to another homeless man that I could see needed the coat and the twenty dollars. So, I gave the jacket and money to this man. I’m sure this man was the one God intended to receive them both.

God bless your ministry. He already has and I know He will continue to do so as you remain passionate for and obedient to Christ!

Dean Lovett

Dave and Sharon

My husband has a business aquaintance who works in his office building and we decided along with our brother-in-law to pool our money and give it to her. You see, she is a single mother who has 3 children and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer one year ago. She still goes to work everyday except when she is receiving treatments which are now in Texas. She says they are the only place that can treat her with drugs through research. With our $50 we doubled that and gave it to her in the Elavation envelope. My husband explained to her about the new series the church was starting and that we wanted to share the blessing with her. She cried and said that this could not have come at a better time. This was truly a blessing for us to have been able to bless someone else.

Keith Hibbard

I got $10 Sunday, and nothing came immediately to mind as to how to use it. Our family talked about several options, but I kept asking the Lord to tell me how to use it, not just do something that made sense. It wasn’t until Thursday that the Lord spoke.

I was at Monroe Airport getting ready to leave on a flight. A guy who didn’t really seem to fit, patiently waited until I finished what I was doing and then explained that he needed some money for gas, to go meet with his daughter’s teacher. He’d recently been diagnosed with diabetes and had lost his job. God said, “this is the one”, so I handed him the money and told him how I happened to have it. He explained that he didn’t really even have money for food either, so I added to what I had given him. He wanted to know which campus I attend, and which service I go to, so that I would make sure and see that he was taking me up on my invitation to visit Elevation.

Did I get ripped off? I don’t know, maybe. But that’s not my worry. If nothing else it gave me an opportunity to talk to someone about God, and invite them to come hear the gospel!

Keith

Greg Carpenter

I had no eartly idea what to do with my $10. I didn’t even want it, at first, because it’s easier to give my tithe every week than be responsible for additonal money, I guess.

Well, I prayed that God would shine a light on an area crying out for $10. This led to a conversation with a co-worker, and as the conversation progressed, I could see God all up in it. We were talking about an event we have at work every year, and last year, I helped one of our co-workers move into a new apartment after the event was over.

I asked this co-worker how our mutual friend was doing, as she works more closely with this person than I do. She told me that our friend was stressed because she is taking classes, she is a single mom, and she has lost some financial help she had come to rely on.

I asked my co-worker what restaurant this person liked, so I could buy her a gift certificate, and she said that our friend loves Starbucks. She also said that if I got her a gift cerfiticate anywhere else, she would spend it on her son instead of herslef, and she loves Starbucks but really can’t afford it. That sold me. This was the person who needed to be blessed, because she is such a blessing to her son.

The money is being spent on a $10 gift card to Starbucks, and I pray that more than coffee is the result of this transaction.

Jamil and Dawn Massey

Upon leaving church on Sunday, I checked my voice mail and listened to a message from one of our girls who is in her last semester of college (student teaching) at ASU. She was on her way to Charlotte and wanted to visit our family. She is our kids’ most favorite babysitter. On numerous occasions she would care for our children for little or no payment. When she came over to visit, we stuck our combined money ($25) in an envelope with a note to encourage her and let her know how much we love her and gave it to her.

One of our own personal prayers has been for God to be in control of our finances so that we could give to Elevation and to others, we felt like being able to do this was the beginning answer to our prayers.

Joseph Rebello

A couple days ago one of the older ladies in our company had said that she enjoyed Starbucks coffee but it was not in her budget . She is very nice and polite , but I am not sure of her fiancial situation . So I took the “Bless Back Money” and bought her a small gift cert for Starbucks . She was very appreciative and thanked me more than once !

Derek Heins

I gave my $10.00 to second harvest food bank.

Dennis, Mary, Dawn

Between the three of us we received $35. On the way home we were discussing options for blessing people when we stopped by a restaurant to eat lunch. Our waitress was an acquaintance of Dawn’s, a single mom, who had just had a child and was working to try to get on top financially. As we ate, all three of us decided that she was the one we would bless, so we gave her the $35 on top of a very generous tip from us. We pray God will use it in her life to encourage her and draw her to Himself.

Thanks for the opportunity to be a blessing in this way! :)

LuAnn Burke

Hi, I’m a member of Carmel Baptist and have been for 8 years. My husband is a Charlotte Fireman and was working this past Sunday when I decided to visit your church. Wow! I was blown away by the friendliness that everyone exemplified. Pastor Steve, you are an awesome preacher and I really enjoyed your message. My youngest daughter was a member of The Journey in NYC and I think your church is very similar to theirs. I know you are reaching a lot of teens and that is GREAT!! My only criticism, is the music. It’s really hard for me to worship with rock music. My family loves to sing, and we enjoy contemporary music, but the rock would be hard for us to get used to. I received $5.00 in my envelope, so I went to lunch that day and wrote a note on the envelope and gave it to my waitor. I told him if he didn’t have a church that he should come and visit yours.

Tina Shaw

I was given $20. My first reaction was to give it to Samaritans Purse - Operation Christmas Child, but the instructions were to bless someone in the Charlotte area. I blessed Children’s Miracle Network in which the money will be given to the Levine Children’s Hospital. I’m a pediatric nurse and I’m also a volunteer leader in the nursery @ Butler. l love children and want to bless as many as I can. Thank you for Bless Back Project.

Love,
Tina Shaw

David Fiske

I was looking for a Bless Back opportunity everywhere since Sunday morning. Standing in line at the Harris Teeter checkout this evening, the cashier asked if I’d like to contribute $5.00 to the Harvest Feast Donation to feed homeless people. At first, I automatically said “no thank you”, until I remembered the $5.00 Bless Back money in my wallet. I immediately made a contribution!

I added to my envelope and decided to give the money to a a patient whom i knew was struggling to make her payments to me. ( She had been faithful making her payments every month) I called her first thing Monday morning and told her her debt had been erased and she no longer owed me any money! i said this is a gift from the lord! all she could say was Praise God! isn’t that what it’s all about?!

Dave and Sharon

My husband has a business aquaintance who works in his office building and we decided along with our brother-in-law to pool our money and give it to her. You see, she is a single mother who has 3 children and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer one year ago. She still goes to work everyday except when she is receiving treatments which are now in Texas. She says they are the only place that can treat her with drugs through research. With our $50 we doubled that and gave it to her in the Elavation envelope. My husband explained to her about the new series the church was starting and that we wanted to share the blessing with her. She cried and said that this could not have come at a better time. This was truly a blessing for us to have been able to bless someone else.

Joseph Rebello

A couple days ago one of the older ladies in our company had said that she enjoyed Starbucks coffee but it was not in her budget . She is very nice and polite , but I am not sure of her fiancial situation . So I took the “Bless Back Money” and bought her a small gift cert for Starbucks . She was very appreciative and thanked me more than once !

David Benson

friday night i went to a high school football game just to support the head coach who wouldnt even know i was there. 3 of my children graduated from that school and my fourth is a junior there but does not play football or go to the games, too slow and boring for a soccer player. i sat with a man who is in my band of brothers. i did not plan to sit with him or anyone else for that matter, but i ended up beside him. his daughter dates one of the players who is in need of lots of love and resources. in other words he is poor. my friend’s daughter was at the game as well even though she is a freshman in college. my friend told me of this boy’s plight and i listened with interest but nothing sparked. sunday morning i showed up for elevation’s 10 service and was quite surprised by the presentation. on the way home my wife and i discussed what we were going to do and i thought of this young man. today i delivered an envelope to my friend for this young man and i multiplied what elevation gave me by 5 to be like the good servent in the parable. this young man will not know what my name is or who i am other than that i signed it as “a friend of the king”. i will let u know his response. i had fun doing it and helping someone in need without any glory for me.

Terri Shirah

After praying on this for a couple of days, my daughter Katie, her friend Melaine and I decided where we thought our money should go. I have 2 very dear friends who have special needs children. Cameron has autism and Avery has down syndrome. These two children could not have been born into more loving familes. Ken and Sharon are Cameron’s parents and have been blessed from God with an abduance of patience. There is nothing they would not do for this child and he is surrounded with love. He is by far the sweetest child you would ever want to meet. And loves fireworks and sprinklers. Needless to say we have fun on the Fourth of July. Steve and Jessica, Avery’s parents, were already blessed from God with patience so he double blessed them with an abudance of love. They were not prepared for the gift God had sent them, but you would never know it. This is this most loving child you could ever hold in your arms. They have dedicated themselves to Avery by trying to be involved in every meeting, social event and Buddy Walk there is to learn more about Down Syndrome. So this is where Katie, Melanie, and I come in. Out of the $80 we received we are donating $40 to the Autism Service of Meck County and $40 to the Down Syndrome Assoc. of Charlotte. We are blessing back the two angels God has sent us. I just want to thank you God, Elevation and Pastor Steve for making me feel like I am closer to God and I will be blessing back with everything I can so that people far from God, DO get filled with a life in Christ.

Matt

Elevation Church-
We are so amazed and incredibly thankful to be a part of this church. My husband and I combined our money from the bless back project which totaled $15.00. We talked all week about what to do…we wanted to do something to match the excitement we feel about the Dominate campaign. So to “kick off” our commitment to be a blessing we decided to give away $15.00 not once…but thirty times. We purchased thirty $15.00 Wal-Mart gift cards and sent them to CIS Safe Journey to be given to the teen age moms working so hard to graduate from high-school. Thank you for challenging our faith and igniting a new passion in our hearts to impact our community for God.

Anonymous

I received $10 on Sunday. The Lord had really placed on my heart someone earlier that week. When I got the money her name came to mind and I felt He wanted me to send her some cards. So I sent her 3 cards in the mail to let her know that someone was praying for her. I didn’t tell her who it was from though because I felt the Lord wanted me to send it anonymously . The Lord is so good!

Ferris Joye

I received $5 in my envelope and my husband Wade received $20. We decided to add $15 of our money to have $40 to bless someone with. We went out to eat at a restaurant near our house and we had an amazing waiter. We felt like our blessing needed to be tipping this guy really well. So our total ended up being around 30 something dollars and we left a $40 tip for him. We left a note saying we hoped our tip was a blessing to him and left the url of the Bless Back Project. We figured if he went to it he would see how others all over the city were doing the same thing that was done to him.

Karen

I have a student in my class who lost his dad the week before the school year began. Money is tight at his house, but they are trusting the Lord for everything. I received an email at school telling how this student had lost $15, his lunch money for the week. I was very excited to give him the $20 that I received on Sunday and to tell him it was my blessing to him!

Ryan H.

I received $20 through the Bless Back Project. I have friends who recently lost a baby during their pregnancy and are now stuck with the medical bills. Other friends and I have talked about helping and thinking of different ways we could do so. The Bless Back Project and God’s words on my heart put the plan into action. What started as $20 from Elevation and the BBP turned into $500!!! My friends later told me they had been asking God to help them with their hospital bills and how hard it was having to pay the bills for a lost baby. They couldn’t believe how God had answered their prayers!

Donna Paige-Cappelli

I received $5.00 from the offering. I must admit, at first, I was thankful it was not for more money as I did not want the responsbility.

However, as the days went on it occured to me that it truly was a time to stop in the middle of my busy life and consider those less fortunate than me. I decided to make the $5.00 grow into $100.00.

I had two thoughts. To take a group of homeless men to lunch or to find someone at work that was less fortunate.

I mentioned to a couple of the managers what Elevation had tasked us to do. One manager mentioned that she had a desperate single mother with two small children. Her name is Crystal and she has a one year old boy and four year old daughter. Crystal and her husband recently divorced and as a result, Cyrstal lost her home. She is now living with her brother and his family. Crystal is struggling to get by and now she has a 45 minute drive to work as opposed to 10 minutes. I gave Crystal a $100 gift certificate to Food Lion. I put the certificate in the envelope given to us by Elevation.
I explained to her that Elevation Church wanted to bless back some people in the community.

Thom

I’m so excited I don’t know exactly how to convey it in an e-mail, but I believe that everyone on this journey will understand.
We decided to put our money together as many other couples and families have done. I never understood how in the Bible story the 2 servants were able to double their talents, but today God showed me a way.
I knew that The Salvation Army Thrift Store offerred all clothing for 50% one day a week, and I thought it was Friday. In trying to remember the exact name of the store today, I found a receipt in a bag of stuff I was sorting for the Saturday’s collection at Providence. There was the receipt with thename and phone number on it. I called thinking that and was told it was Wednesday-s-TODAY!! I jumped in my car and drove excitedly down to the store praying that God would show me who really needed this blessing. I had divided our $15 total into three $5 bills with a note about how much Jesus Loves Them and that this was a blessing from our church to them. I gave the first one to a hispanic man with 2 little boys standing outside the store. When I explained everything, he smiled and thanked me and asked about the church. One of his 2 little boys followed me into the store, where I randomly selected 2 more people (one already in line) and explained that for today their $5 would be worth $10. After explaining Jesus ‘ Love to the 3rd person, (to which the lady said “and I love Him!”) I quietly left the store, with the little boy still watching me.
It was so much fun, I’m thinking that I should probably show up on half-price day at The Salvation Army Store on a regular basis.
Thank you God for this blessing and thank you Elevation for this opportunity.

Trever Forbes

Teaching high school is tough; being a high school student in today’s world, tougher! I just had a new student added to my first period. Like any new student I receive I do my best to make them feel welcome but not embarrased. Half way through 1st period we took a break and walked the halls a bit. I ask him where he’s from, he replies with this: “A broken home with parents who just put me in the DSS system claiming they wanted to protect me from the bad neighborhood I live in.” I didn’t know what to say. He went on to tell me that the group home he is living in is old, disgusting, and he only has one set of clothes to wear; his parents wouldn’t let him take anything else because it was only for a short time. As my heart crumbled and my eyes filled with tears (my entire class has overheard the situation) one of my students chimes in: “I have a twenty, you want more than that to buy yourself some clothes.” WOW!!! Fearing the young man was completely embarrassed now I tried to steer our conversation elsewhere but my entire 1st period was so concerned with the situation we ended up giving this student $54 dollars to buy clothes. I only could contribute $5. (My principle did say it was okay, it was decision provoked and determined by the students themselves not me) God, thank you that I could be a part of a larger blessing than predicted.

Angela, Angie, Scott Says

God spoke to each of us individually to give our money to a young mother we all know. She has four young children and lost her husband to cancer two years ago. She has since married again to a fine man but they still struggle financially mostly because they are still trying to pay off the medical bills of her first husband. Two weeks ago her husband lost his job and they have almost no income. We put our money together so it would look like more. (Total of $100.00) When we gave her the money she told us that they were praying about a bill that was due that they did not have the money to pay. The bill was for $100.00.
God is so good!!!!!

Erika Hudson

Bless the Lord, for he is Good! I was blessed with 10 dollars and needed it badly for my personal needs - however, after pray and seeking Gods direction, I decided to buy breakfast for my co-workers.

The thing is, about 2 weeks ago, I would not have done so because I was having conflict with them. I have not done anything to them, but for some reason, they did not like me. Through the guidance of the Lord and reading the bible, I came to see that I had hate and anger in my heart for what they were doing to me. I went and apologized to the head person who was causing my strife, and since then, things have been alot better.

Going to church at elevation has helped much as well, I was able to gain knowledge on how to stand for what is right, fight a good fight, and pray continually.

Buying the breakfast was a act of faith for me in two ways - I need a financial blessing, and I must not act as the world, I must bless those who curse me and wrongfully accuse. I must pray for those who use me - I am held at a higher standard. Praise the Lord for the ablitiy to Bless back!!

The Melson Family; Wendy, Erika, Hannah

WOW! We’ve never been a part of anything as exciting as Elevation. We are currently flat broke, but could not wait to give this money away. We decided to combine our envelopes and then we were so torn trying to decide where to give it. We are having so much fun sharing the story of the “bless back” project. Being a single mom of 3 for the last 11 years, I and my kids know first-hand how difficult life is, especially financially. My best friend, unfortunately is now experiencing the challenges of being a single mom of 3 herself. It did not take us long to decide that someone very close to our hearts could use this money. We invited her over and we were so excited! We were all talking over each other as we described what happened in church on Sunday. She was mesmerized by the story and then shocked to discover she would be the recipent of our family’s money which totaled $60. We love what is going on @ Elevation and we will continue to share it as we play our part in DOMINATING Charlotte.

Anonymous

God kept placing a single mother of 5 on my heart. I called a mutual friend to find out any particular needs she had and found out this single mom had just lost her main job. The overwhelming need is meals (already prepared) for her family that she doesn’t have to cook at the end of a long day. I decided to make her 2 meals this week and also bought a grocery giftcard. The other awesome thing about this story is that another mutual friend had been really burdened about this same woman and decided to partner with me in preparing meals for her on a weekly basis, plus in other tangible ways too (laundry, housecleaning etc.) We are so blessed to be a part of God at work. It is such a priviledge to know that God was indeed speaking to me about this friend and He is giving me the opportunity to be His hands and feet.....

Eric Strom

I have two parts to my story. I received $5.00,and paid for the lady’s lunch who was behind me in the drive through line at Chick–Fil-A. *** The rest of the story is… I had a strong sense I was going to get the $1000.00 env., only $995.00 off. That day I had asked an assoc. (and her son) I work with to meet us at church. She is going through very hard times with life. I was going to give the $1000.00 to her. I was almost surprised I didn’t get it, mostly because I was sure the $1000.00 was for her. — She got 20. and her son got 5. They used it to take a client to lunch that day after church. He is an older gentleman and they told him how they got the money. He knew somewhat about her hard times, some of which are money related. He was very moved that they would take him to lunch. So moved that the next day he wrote her a personal check for $1000.00… WOW, what a mighty God we serve. I guess she got the $1000.00 after all, huh!

Charity, Anne, Liz, Micah, Dan, Sky, and Autumn

We had a small group that goes to Elevation every week and we decided that the best way to bless back someone in our lives was to combine our money. Together we had $140. As we all sat there on the benches trying to decide what to do with the money, God spoke to Charity and told her that a certain boy in our class needed the money. We all know that his family is going through a pretty rough time financially, and immediately agreed that we would give our money to him. We put all of the money into one envelope with his name on it and added a note that just explained that God loves him and we want him to use the money wherever he needs it. The past few days we’ve seen this person so grateful and trying to figure out who left the money. (we didn’t say!) This was a great idea and it’s great to see God use us to put some joy in a fellow classmate’s life.

Crystal

HI! WELL YESTERDAY MORNING WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE WORST FOR ME. MY RENT IS WAY PAST DUE, BY 5:00 I HAD TO PAY MY POWER BILL AND WHEN I GOT HOME THAT EVENING I WOULD HAVE LITTLE DINNER TO FIX FOR MY THREE CHILDREN. ON MY WAY TO WORK I WAS SO UPSET AND PRAYING TO GOD AND JUST ASKING FOR A WAY TO GET THROUGH THIS SITUATION. WELL LET ME TELL YOU HE WORKS FOR US!! I TALKED TO MY LANDLORD AND HE IS GONNA WORK WITH ME, I ALSO TALKED TO THE POWER COMPANY AND THEY EXTENDED THE AGREEMENT SO THAT I COULD PAY THEM ON FRIDAY AND THEN MY BEST FRIEND WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR WITH ALOT OF GROCERIES! SHE TOLD ME ABOUT THE BLESS BACK PROJECT AND SAID THAT OUR FRIEND SAMANTHA AND ALLISON HAD WENT GROCERY SHOPPING FOR MY FAMILY. I HAVE NEVER FELT SO BLESSED! THANK YOU GOD AND THANK YOU SAMANTHA AND ALLISON! AND THANK YOU KRISTEN!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Crystal, Raven, and Corey Brooks

Sunday was a blesssing to our family. My two young sons (Raven and Corey) wanted to know if they could also take an envelope after me. Knowing that they were responsible, and that they both love people and GOD so much, I said yes! I knew they would do the right thing. My son Raven received 50.00, and Corey received 20.00. I received 20.00 also. The boys decided to buy their teachers a 20.00 gift card to help out. We then decided to go shopping for the women and children at the crisis pregnancy center. I let the boys do the shopping. They picked out a infant bathtub, pampers, bottles, pacifiers, and wipes, which they were in need of at that moment. Thank you Elevation. I love all of you! God Bless!

Kristen Prospect

About 2 weeks ago, I attended a course on Christian Life and Witnessing. The pastor challenged us to write down names of people we could befriend who need Jesus. A few people from work came to mind.

One of those names was a coworker of mine, who I spoke with Wednesday morning. I asked her how she was doing; she indicated that she was tired and it was probably due to stress. I questioned her on what the stress was. She revealed to me that it was her finances.

After knowledge of this "Bless Back Project" assignment, I prayed God would give me the amount He wanted me to receive and show me who to give it to. I took this situation as God's response to my prayer; he wanted me to touch one of the names on my list with the $5.00 I received from Elevation.

I went to my office to retrieve the envelope and approached her. I explained to her that my church was starting a new series, and that this week money was given back to the congregation to distribute in the community. I told her that I wanted to give her the money I received. After she took the money, upon much pleading, she asked me, "Why are you being so nice?" I pray that this gesture will open doors in the future for further witnessing opportunities.

This project was a blessing to me.

Brandy Wheeler

I am a middle school teacher and over the years, I have worked with many custodians. The last 3 years, however, one particular custodian has opeded up to me and has let me have a glimpse into her personal life. She has worked for CMS for 18 years. She is a single Mom who has a daughter and a son. Her daughter just had her 3rd baby, and her son is on a bball scholarship to Linvingstone College. Periodically, she comes in to update me on both of their situations and ask for advice. Her son is working for the college to make tuition, and the daughter is struggling to juggle the kids, rent, etc. On top of that, my custodian takes care of her Mother (who lives with her) due to her having Alzheimer’s disease. Truly, I don’t know how she does it. I am amazed by her strength and love and caring for others. She is so wonderful, and I gave the blessing to her.

Daniel Hall

Well my friends and I all pooled our money together after the service and gave it to a guy in our senior class that was having trouble paying for his senior trip. We put the money (145 dollars) in an Elevation envelope and a note telling why we gave the money to him (we didnt tell him who it was from) and put it on his seat in his car. I was talking to him yesterday and the money came up in the conversation, he didnt know who gave him the money but he said it brightened up his whole week.

Evan K.

I recieved $10 in my envelope. I wasnt sure at first what to do with it.Since it is breast cancer awareness month i made a donation of $20 to the Susan G. Komen fund. I made this donation in honor of my best friends mother. I know it was only a small amount but i pray that it will make a difference.

Jody Christensen

As soon as I received my gift on Sunday I knew I wanted to be a blessing to a neighbor who was in need of a friend. It wasn’t about the money that I would be spending on her but rather the time I needed to invest with her. I invited her out to dinner and then extended the invite to another neighbor. I have been praying for these ladies for several years. I told them that I wanted to treat them to dinner and would explain why when we got there. The generosity from Elevation gave me a platform to share with them what God is doing in our city. I got tell them about “Stuff the Truck” for Crisis Assistance. It appears they may come together and donate some items. I have to be honest and say that the $5.00 is still in its envelope. (Paying for cash would have slowed down the line.) The $5.00 will be used at the Starbucks drive through window tomorrow. I will buy the coffee for the car behind me. And ask my barista to pass along the Elevation invite.

Jody Christensen

Johanna

I gave my $20 to a broke/in debt college friend for gas. She drove 5 hours to my 15 hours so we could see each other after 2 years.

JO

We combined our money and sent $20 to a friend whose husband walked out on their whole family. Though brokenhearted and broke, she is not without HOPE because Jesus is her Lord and her strength! In addition to helping a friend in need, this outrageous project has started our week with a smile on our faces and ‘water cooler’ conversations that glorify God!

Angie Blackson

My husband and I are very passionate about marriages. I come from a broken home and have seen first hand what that can do to a person. All that to say we were able to “bless” two of our neighbor ladies that are going through a rough time in their marriage. They both received flowers and a funny card to make them smile. One lady had listed her house on the day I brought them over to her. She was having a rough day and I know she appreciated the blessing. Thank you elevation for your vision. Praise God for what He is doing with this bless back project!

Jay

We took the $15 we received from Elevation and matched it (and then some) to buy a needy little girl some clothes for the winter. We plan on helping her on an ongoing basis.

Randy

I picked up coffee at my local java joint, and noticed one of those jars people have with stories of extreme need. This particular jar told of a four year old girl with a very rare and agressive form of cancer. Her family must be devastated, and the costs must be huge. My heart was pierced. Then I remembered the $5.00 I had in my wallet, given by Elevation. I dropped it in and said a prayer for the family. Thanks for allowing me to bless someone today.

Rachael Pais

I was riding with a friend when his low fuel light came on and since he had recently lost his job had no money. He was really happy when I told him the pastor from the church I’ve been going to told me to bless someone with the $5 I got from church that morning.

Amber Jenkins

My story isn’t all that original, I am sure you have probably received several like this one. My husband, Shane, and I decided to pool our envelopes with what would have been our tithe for the week, for a grand total of $135.00. I had two people strike my heart… a friend who is due any day now with her second child, and my sister. They both have a difficult time making ends meet, and rarely can go fill their cabinets with groceries. I went shopping for them both, filling the cart to the top! It was a wonderful feeling to know that neither of them will have to worry about food for the next week or two. By personifying generosity, you have shown how important the act of giving is. Shane and I now know our pledge for the dominate campaign… and it i 10 times the amount we ever thought it would be! And we are excited as crap to give it, because we can not wait to see how many people will be blessed through our gift!

Jamie

My friend at work has been strapped for cash lately and has been so good at saving her money. I told her about this project and gave her the $10 that I had been given. I was proud to tell her what our church is all about. It’s great to be excited to tell people about your church.

Jennifer

My husband and I combined received $60. After talking about it we decided to buy some things for our daughter’s kindergarten class. We purchased new books for the children and small gifts for the treasure chest. We used the remaining money to buy a friend, who is expecting her 3rd boy very soon, diapers and wipes. When I deliver these things to her I’ll also pick up some flowers to cheer up her day.

Erica Mendenhall

I received $20 in the envelope, and I immediately knew that God wanted me to give it to my coworker who is a single mom that spends all her money on bills and her children. She mentioned to me the other week that she has no winter clothes and that she only has one pair of pants (which has a hole in them). So I decided I would get her a gift card to Old Navy to buy her a pair of nice dress pants! She was so amazed that anyone would do that for her!
I have been asking her to come to church w/ me for several weeks now, and she has always blown it off. Immediately after I told her about the bless back project she asked if she could go to church w/ me on Sunday! Whoohoo! I know Jesus is going to use Elevation and myself to change her life and turn it around!!!!
This has really opened my eyes to look beyond my self and my circumstances and really be obedient to the Lord and His commands to love others! The $ I have been blessed with is not mine, but God’s! Thanks so much Elevation!

Trendi, Justin

We all anxiously opened our envelopes and collected the cash.

We knew right off the bat who the money would best benefit. Someone we love dearly is having financial difficulties.

I asked my husband to hang on to the cash until we visited this person. Well my husband just happened to see this person Monday and she was telling him that her vehicle had just been put into the shop for $500 worth of repairs. My husband quickly pulled out the cash and placed it in her hands.

What timing. We are so blessed.

Kevin

We put our money together and blessed the office house-keeper with lunch for the week! She was so overwhelmed with tears by what I thought to be a small gift but it was still a blessing!

Annie and John Bittinger

Hello Elevation Church,
Yes truly by giving monies to us to bless back to others in Jesus’ Name makes it so much easier to minister to others and people are even more interested in what God is doing at Elevation.
I [Annie] received Sunday $10.00 and give it still within the envelope you gave us to a lady that is divorced and in her 50’s and at low time in her life. She goes to bars looking for “something” that will satisfy her. She is my hair stylist. How easy it was to tell her about Elevation. Of course I had told her of you guys before but handing her monies from you and explaining why she was receiving this gift really made her listen and you could tell by the end of my appointment she was ready to find out what God is doing at Elevation. PTL
[John] my husband he received $20.00 and he knew what to do. A young couple that was really active at Elevation decided to move to another state far away. They took a huge cut in pay and they are really struggling plus they miss Elevation and they are having a hard time finding a good Word based church. John mailed them the $20 dollars still in your envelope and explaining where that money came from. We will write back with their response.
[Ethan] my 15 year old. He is in process of giving his $5 dollars that he received from you this past Sunday to a teen at Porter Ridge that is on the free lunch program. But I will let him contact you with his response.
Thank you guys for being open to what God can do through your obedience.
Love in Christ Jesus,
Annie Bittinger

Anonymous Family

Our family of 4 decided to pool our money together. We ended up with $20 total. We then decided to match that amount. We gave the money to a friend who has recently left an abusive marraige. She has a young daughter and doesn’t have much. We sent the money anoymously, but explained the story behind the money. I know it will be a blessing to her and her daughter!

kelly demario

I sent my $20 to Bread and Water for Africa.
Bread

Travis Ulrich

I received $20 in my envelope! I decided to give my money to the Charlotte Rescue Mission to help provide a Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless men and women in our area. I can’t imagine celebrating Thanksgiving without a hot meal of turkey and the fixin’s! I hope this small token will help to renew their hope and let them know that GOD LOVES YOU. P.S. my mom matched my $20.

Donna Bancroft

We were out of town and missed this event; however, the Lord is already blessing coworkers through Dominate. I serve at a Christian Minsitry and printed on the shared printer Monday’s prayer journal as I ran off to a meeting. Upon my return, a coworker said, “I hope you don’t mind but I read God’s Vision..and it is so true….and so encouraging. I copied it a shared it with…” another coworker.

The Lord is speaking and His word will not retrun void.

bradelyn levi

The bless back project was a real encouragement to me. My envelope had 5 dollars in it and when I opened it I immediately began to think of what I could do with 5 dollars. I’m a Young Life leader and it turned out that is how I needed to use it. Sunday night I took a group of high school girls bowling and the 5 dollars allowed me to pay for one of the girls games of bowling. It was awesome to see her face when I told her she didn’t have to pay for anything. God is good!

Carolyn

Good friends of ours are in the process of establishing a non-profit organization called USA for Kids. It’s mission is to provide wholesome educational and entertainment services to the children of of our military men and women. Their heart is to bring encouragement and pleasure to the children during a period of their lives that can be very challenging. The money we gave them, $105, was the first contribution they received. (As of yet they have been operating on retirement savings.) The wife knew the money was a reminder of God being their supplier and that He was working on their behalf.

In the evening after church on Sunday I told my husband that I felt led to donate my gift to USA for Kids and he laughed because before he opened his envelope he knew he needed to donate his money to the same thing.

Kim

I received $5 on Sunday. I could not sleep that night because I felt a tremendous responsibility to honor God with my gift. I asked a friend for a suggestion and she had a good one. I added $10 to my gift and put it in the lunch account for a needy teacher here at school. The school matches the deposit so $5 turned into $30!

Ryan and Amanda

I come from a military family where my dad served and went through several deployments. I know first hand from a child’s view just how hard it is to have your daddy be gone and not really understand why. Now my husband is in the Army and we have three young boys that I see struggle with the same things whenever their daddy is not here. I have found this incredibly awesome site though called DaddyDolls.com that is trying hard to make things at least a little easier. All you have to do is send them a picture of the parent being missed and they make it into a stuffed doll. Kids can then take “daddy” with them to school, out to eat, sports practices or just snuggle with them at night. They have a place for donations for families that cannot afford them. They are also currently trying to get enough so that they can give a doll to all the children of our fallen heroes. This is a cause that hits close to home for us so when my husband and I got our envelopes of $55 (combined) we knew this is what we wanted to do. My parents who each got $5 actually added theirs to the total also. Thank you for the oppurtunity to make the day of some lucky kids out there. They will forever remember this.

Pudgy and Lauren Outen

My husband and I received $10 a piece in our envelopes. We didn’t really think we could make a difference with just $20. My husband metioned that our small group leaders just opened a Christian dance and arts studio and that there had been some parents who couldn’t afford to pay the monthy tuition and buy the required attire for dance classes. The monthly tuition for a child this age is $40 so we are putting $20 of our own money in with the $20 from church to pay for one month’s tuition for the child.

Ron

There were so many people I know that could have used $20, but the Lord led me to a person I work with. She just lost her mother in South America. She had expenses that were overwhelming to her as far as plane ticket, and other expenses. $20 isn’t that much, but I wanted her to know that the Lord loved her and that the gift was from HIM.

Martin Boonstra

My wife and I blessed our money to the family of a student at the school where I teach. The student’s 37 year old father suffered a heart attack and died a few weeks ago.

Robin

What a great service. Before I even opened my envelope, I said that I would double whatever was in there. God has blessed me in so many ways and so many times. It was $20. Tomorrow, I will give the $40 to a lady that I know in my workplace who is dealing with many struggles right now–health, job, bills……She came to mind as I sat in church with my unopened envelope.

Becky

I gave the money from my envelope to one of the janitors at my school. Her husband has been sick and is now on disability. I have seen her loose a lot of hope lately. So, I told her about the Bless Back Project and then just listened to her share for a while. I forget how valuable giving of your time can be.

Charlotte T-Shirt Authority

Five of us pooled our ‘blessings’ today to purchase a Harris Teeter gift card ($70 total) for a coworker who is currently staying at a pay-by-the-week motel so that she has the means to provide food for herself and her young child. We are going to leave it at her work station anonymously and if she asks, we’ll just tell her that sometimes God gives in small packages and He will always be there for her in times of need.

Anonymous Giver

I work at a Christian School that my children attend and I am extremely grateful for all of the teachers, but specifically for the young male heads of family that sacrifice because they believe in Christian education so strongly. They have been amazing role models for my sons. I know they struggle financially to raise a family on a teacher’s salary. My husband and I took our combined $15 and I deposited the money secretly in one teacher’s lunch account. Our school doubles the amount that teachers put into their account so we were able to double our money and pay for a couple of week’s worth of lunches for a wonderful, deserving Christian man. We left him an anonymous note that said, “You’ve been DOMINATED!” He attends Elevation so he’ll know what it means! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to bless back!

Dana Hamilton

Today I was in my office when an employee came in with tears running down her cheeks. She explained that she will be homeless at the end of the month if she doesn’t get some help. She is in the middle of a custody battle for her children, is being terrorized by her ex husband, and will find out if she has cancer on the 30th. I had originally planned to give the money to another employee who had just taken in her sister and 2 young children who is struggling also. God led me to give it to the one in my office. She hesitated to take the money, as she thought it was my money (I am a single parent too). I explained about our Bless Back Project and how my son and I had combined the money given to us to total $30. She took the money and confessed that she had become far from God during all her struggles. I believe God wanted to say to her “I still care and you are still mine”. She left in tears, but they were a different kind of tears.

Barb Heins

I have a friend whose 19-year-old son is a Christian but currently “far from God”. I’ve invited him several times to Elevation, and he has seemed very intrigued. Now more than ever — I gave him the $50.00 I received in my envelope with a card assuring him of God’s unending love and care for him.

Jayne Brown

We left the service on Sunday morning(Butler Campus),after receiving many “Bear Hugs” from our wonderful greeter. My husband and son were with me.We each received an envelope, and decided to wait until we got to the car. My 11 year old opened his first, he got 20.00. He decided to get a restaurant gift card and give to a neighborhood family with 3 children, who lost their Mom to cancer last week.I decided to give my 20.00 to and Unwed Single Teenage Pregnant girl, and thanked her for making the right choice and not aborting the little Gift. My husband got 10.00, and did’t do anyhing right away, He was working on Monday, and went to a convenient store for a cold drink. He saw an elderly woman with a cane dumping out her pennies to buy a loaf of bread and coldcuts. She barely had enough. He then gave the clerk his 10.00 and told him to give the change to the old woman. God is good, no I mean Great!

Scott

We were excited to hear about the Dominate campaign. We decided to combine what we were given and use it to help my wife's brother and his family. My brother in law is the only one working in their family. His wife had tried to find a job that will work around their son's school schedule but everything she has found would only pay for gas and before and after school care for their son. Finally, she found the perfect opportunity to work for her son's school. She met all of the requirements except for the medical testing. Because they are a one income family and the cost of health insurance is so high, they haven't been able to afford it, which also means they would have to pay the full amount for the medical tests. They had planned to use their tax refund next year, but that would mean that his wife wouldn't be able to work until the following school year. We decided no matter what we received that we would make up the difference for them to be able to get the testing done. Since there was no offering taken up yesterday, we gave our offering to them along with the money we received for the Bless Back Project. So that is exactly what we did! We explained the Dominate campaign to them and they were in total shock! Very quickly that shock turned into renewed hope for a better future and they are so excited! My sister in law has already scheduled the appointment for the testing and because of the $25 we received, they will be able to generate a second income for their family, hopefully beginning in December or January! We were truly blessed to be a blessing!

Brandy Briscoe

When I prayed about what to do with the money, I felt God was leading me to bless my new neighbors. I wasn’t sure what they may need and continued to pray about how to bless them on my way home. As I drove by their house, I noticed a pink ribbon on the door and a new baby sign in the front yard.
I had the honor of using $40 to buy clothes, diapers, wipes, and a blanket for my neighbor’s newborn. I left the gift, along with a Starbucks giftcard, on their porch.
I’m thrilled about the Bless Back Project and the opportunity to Dominate the city of Charlotte so that people far from God will be filled with life in Christ!

Ken and Amy Carr

My husband and I combined our envelopes to equal 70.00. We then added 30.00 to make an even 100.00. We left the money in our neighbor’s mailbox. Our neighbors are retired and two years ago the woman fell ill and has been recovering ever since. They have high monthly prescription bills and have shared with me the difficulty meeting their needs on retirement alone. We left the money in an envelope and only included the following message: The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

caroline ziegler

Well, Josh and I have an interesting story about ours. josh always brings a tithe and was a little upset that he couldn’t tithe today. so he decided to add his tithe to his ten dollars, and then we brainstormed some ideas. Josh’s parents told us about a family friends’ son who washaving so problems. He has a problem with seizures and has been fighting those. The medication he was on was very expensive and recently had wrecked his car due to one of the seizures. Lately he has been able to get some kind of aid for his medication making it only $100 dollars a month. he is a student part time and also has a job. he has had aspirations to be a fire fighter and has taken all kinds of classes and so forth. but the medication has been so expensive that the has missed some of the doses, hence the car accident. So I was thinking josh and I could put ours together and pay for his medication for this month, or put 100 dollars towards repairs, or whichever. But in some way help him. I used to go to Elevation, we aren’t sure if he has been coming recently but we know that he is a man of God and will use this in a responsible way.

Jeanne Mangum

I am a greeter at Elevation and today when I got home I opened my envelope. It had $50.00 in it. I knew just where I was going to take it. The crisis pregnancy center. I wanted it to go where it would help mothers to make the decision to not have an abortion and choose life. Thank you so much Elevation for giving me the chance to help give back.

Sandra Thomas

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Bill Eichorn

After leaving church yesterday I was very uncertain as to who I should “bless back.” After church tear down, I actually had to head to the computer to put in about 5-6 hours of work. Very disgruntled I put in my time and left the meetings upset with my team. So that night I was praying about what to do with the 20 bucks and the Lord told me to put it toward taking my team out to lunch today and portray the face of Jesus more than I ever have before. I came into the office this morning and I told them I’m treating at lunch today, no questions asked. Sure enough, the team was surprised and thankful. We accomplished about a weeks worth of work in about 6 hours today and I know it was the grace of Jesus in what should have been a horrible week. Side note, I got to talk about elevation and how the church has changed my life during lunch and my colleagues were actually interested in the conversation. All in all Jesus Rocks - like always!

Lauren Holiway

I have a couple of friends who have to fundraise for their salary now that they are working full time for SouthTown Riders. SouthTown is a non-profit organization that gets the Word of Christ out to kids and teens thru action sports like skateboarding and wakeboarding. I only got $5 and i had two friends, so i gave the five that i got from elevation, and then i gave another$8 of my own money. I wish i could have given more, because i know that they need it, but being a college student and paying for school makes it hard to give money away. I’m just fortunate that Elevation could help me help someone else.
And it feels great to bless back!

Jennifer

I received $20. I gave my blessing to a friend who has been feeling very down lately and needed a confidence boost. I told her to use it towards getting her hair done. Something that makes every woman feel great! She was very thrilled. It made me feel good that I could make her feel good. What a great experiment. What a great feeling to bless someone else.

scott williams

The $10 from my envelope went to 91.9 FM
Christian radio. They bless Charlotte every day so I thought they should get a blessing back…

Sarah

I received $5 at yesterday’s Dominate offering. I think that getting a smaller amount required me to be even more creative about the blessing, so it was fun to think of how I could bless someone with $5. I had an appt scheduled this morning at The Shelter for Battered Women and I thought I would bless my counselor with the money so she could treat herself to lunch - she works so hard serving women in the shelter in crisis situations, as well as with others outside the shelter. Talk about a selfless and giving job! I told her about Elevation and the Bless Back Project and explained that I wanted to bless her with the money that God had entrusted to me. She thanked me and said she appreciated it very much, but that she’d rather pass it on to a woman at the shelter. She said she knew of a woman who would be blessed by it - because she’d been helping her try to fill some prescriptions this morning. This money could go toward her need and bless her in a big way. What a great idea Bless Back is, and I cannot wait to read the stories of others being blessed!

Spencer T

Ok, I’ll try to keep this short but you know how Elevation Stories are– besides epic, of course.

So my 22 year old brother is in the Army– He’s leaving for Iraq next weekend for 18 plus months. My parents split when he was nine years old– and we were raised with my mother and step-dad– Our real father moved far away when they split and we haven’t had much of a relationship with him. We’ve slightly kept in touch, however, and do talk, just rarely.

My father currently lives in Wilmington NC and my brother is stationed in Georgia. My father would like to see my brother before he leave, as it’s probably been 9 months since they’ve seen each other– unfortunately due to my brother being in the Army, he can’t leave his post, and my dad can’t afford the gas money to drive a state away.

Bwahahah, that’s where Elevation comes in.

When I opened my envelope this Sunday, I found there was a hundred dollar bill inside, It seemed the perfect amount– seeing as 5, 10 or 20 wasn’t enough to cover gas for a 200-ish mile trip– and 1,000 was way overboard.

Currently sending the hundred dollars to my dad, he deserves to see his son before he goes oversea– especially to somewhere as scary as Iraq.

Thank you, Elevation Church!

Colleen Corbett

I went directly to lunch after service as I do every Sunday. My waiter was very busy and flustered. When he brought me my bill, he had only charged me for our drinks - and nothing else. When I brought it to his attention, he was so grateful. He thanked me tremendously. After he fixed the bill, and I paid it and gave my usual tip, I also put the $10.00 in there that I received at service. I missed his reaction, but I hope it made him smile.

Joseph McMurry

A very good friend of mine is leaving his full time salaried pastoral position to follow God’s call to plant a church in Texas. This morning as I helped load the Uhaul, I pulled his son Josh (5 yrs old) aside, and put God’s $5 in his pocket. I told him that he was going to be in the car for a very long time, and that when his family stopped to eat he should present the money riding in his pocket. I know God will use the Hudson family to bless Houston, and today He has used Elevation to bless the Hudsons.

Tina Kitts

I gave my 100.00 to a woman that my son spends alot of time over her house she is going thru a divorce and is looking for a job because her husband left her and she has no income of her own at this time. Thank you Elevation for giving me the opportunity to be a blessing to her at this time in her life. There is now hope for her in Jesus.

Doug

I gave the money to some cub scouts who were doing a fundraiser outside of a grocery store.

James, Brenda and Brittany Guy

Our family of 3 decided to put our money together to bless as many as possible. We received 2 envelopes containing $10.00 each and 1 envelope containing $5.00. Although most think that $25.00 would not help too many people, I remembered that onSaturday I had opened a mailing from Second Harvest Food Bank letting us know for every dollar donated it would feed 4 people for Thanksgiving. That means this $25.00 is going to feed 100 people for Thanksgiving! My family each contributed another $25.00 each so that 300 more would be blessed at Thanksgiving.

We appreciate all the blessing that God has bestowed on us and are glad we have the chance to bless others.

The Guy family

Rick, Lori, Rebekah, Foster, Alex, and Glayden Carney

Well I have to say... I was surprised when the offering bucket came to me and I was told to take money out. This was my first time at Elevate, my wife and 4 children we were all in the service, so not only was I to take an envelop, but so was the rest of the family. We all took our envelope and headed to the car after the service. We all checked to see what was inside, it felt like Christmas. Collectively we had $80.00. I felt that God wanted us to put $20.00 more with it, so we did that gave us $100.00 to bless someone with - Now what are we going to do with it we all asked. We went to eat lunch, and while we where there we noticed the bus boy cleaning tables... I felt God say, there is someone you need to bless, and when I said something to the family and 2 of them said they felt that we needed to pass on some of it to our waiter also. We said Great! let's give 50 to the bus boy and then the other 50 to the waiter. My son (17) went to find the bus boy and give him his. When my son returned to the table he told us the bus boy said "who do you want me to give this to?" He thought it was a tip for a waiter, my son said it is yours "Our church wants to bless you today" he looked shocked and said thank you. Then when the waiter brought our bill, we handed him his part. We said God wants to bless you today; this is yours, above your tip. He looked surprised and said thanks. He went back, and counted it, and came back and said are you sure? We laughed and said yes, it is yours; God wanted us to give it to you. He looked amazed, and said Thank you so much.

Thanks for allowing my family to experience God's blessings, by giving.

BRUCE WOODMAN

SO I WAS RIDING DOWN MCKEE RD, AND OVER THERE IN THE SHADOW OF A BIG ELITE BANK WERE TWO ELDERLY AFRICAN AMERICAN LADIES SITTING ON THE GRASS, BY THEIR BROKEN DOWN ‘90′S MINI VAN.

ALL RIGHT NOW, AFTER SITTING DOWN AND TALKING TO GEORGIA, AND BEATRICE, HAVING TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO MOVE THEIR RAGGED OUT VEHICLE, GEORGIA SAID, “WELL THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING. NOBODY ELSE HAS STOPPED!”

HER SISTER WAS ON THE WAY TO PICK HER UP, SO I TOLD THEM, “MY NAME IS BRUCE WOODMAN, AND AT CHURCH TODAY, OUR PASTOR TOLD US TO GO OUT AND HELP SOMEONE TODAY.” NOW HAVING FOLDED UP GOD’S $20.00 IN MY PALM, I SHOOK THE HAND OF JESUS, AND GEORGIA SMILED TO FIND MONEY IN HER HAND. SHE UNASHAMEDLY SAID, “OH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!”

I KNOW I’LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN, BUT SOME DAY IN HEAVEN, JESUS WILL WALK UP TO ME AND SHAKE MY HAND, AND WHEN I LOOK DOWN, I WILL SEE A CROWN BELONGING TO “ELEVATION CHURCH”

Faye Todd

My Son-in-Law has been out of work for 6 months.
When I opened my envelope, there was $20.00 inside. I rushed to their house then to catch them before they went to church. I could not think of anyone I would rather bless. what a struggle they are going through. PLease pray for them.

Jason King

When Pastor Steven first told us in the service that they were going to be giving away money in the service, I got a little selfish and thought this would be great for a college student like myself to get free money; I was pretty stoked. Then i realized this was not going to be a give away so we could use the money; it was something that the church was doing to reach others and allow us to bless someone in our lives. So I started thinking about how I might use the money I received that morning even before I opened the envelope to reveal the amount. Then it hit me; I am gonna send the money home to my best friends family because his father just lost his job and his mother doesn’t have a full time job. I received $20.00 and my girlfriend got $10.00 and she gave me hers to send as well. I know the $30.00 isn’t going to be much but it will be a blessing for them none-the-less and it will make me feel better knowing that I did something to help a family that has helped me so much throughout the years.

Scott Jones

When I heard what we were going to do with the money I was so excited! I hoped that I would get a thousand dollars just to be able to give it away. I already knew what I wanted to do with it. So when we got outside I opened my envelope to reveal 50 dollars! I was thrilled because the people I wanted to give it to were with me. They were two of my friends Matt and Stevie that had to fundraise their own salary since they started working full time for SouthTown Riders. Its a Christian skateboarding and wakeboarding team that uses action sports to spread the word of Christ. Matt and I are on the skateboarding team part of SouthTown Riders. So when I gave them the money to split they were thrilled. They are still not used to the whole fundraising thing, and are having trouble with it, so it felt great to help them out.

tim

my neighbor lady with a three year old boy has been stuggling to get by since the father moved out three months ago.as a teacher she gets paid once a month.the father has come short on support two weeks ago.that week she received a unexpected check for some side work she done weeks earlier.it made up the difference that he was short.i added 45 dollers to the 5 that was in my envolope.when i gave her the envolope,she teared up.she said that was just what she was short.we talked and she thanked God for the blessings

Daniel Sircar

I’m a volunteer on the Elevation Parking team (that crazy dude that greets you at the main entrance sometimes). I came to volunteer early one morning, and I brought a grey hoodie because it was cold that morning. I took it off later and forgot to bring it home when I left.

Next week I showed up and was asking around, looking in the parking stuff for this thing. I only have two hoodies so my day ain’t off to a good start if my only one is dirty, and with the weather getting colder, I was desperate to find this thing.

Well, I showed up this morning, attended the 8:30 service at received $5 in my envelope. “Swell,” I thought, “what can I do with this?” I just stuffed it in my pocket and hoped that God would show me how on earth $5 could help somebody.

After the service, I began looking around for the hoodie again, because it was stinkin’ COLD that morning. I talked to Gary Craig and he said that the school might have picked it up. It was doubtful, however, that they would have it; with a school as large as Providence, it was probably disregarded or thrown away.

As I sorted through the bins, I started back to the atrium when I saw Gary walking back, my hoodie held triumphantly in his hands. “Mr. Carrigher (the janitor) found it and held on to it for the past few weeks.” he exclaimed.

I shook Mr. Carrigher’s hand and thanked him, and I walked outside to my car to put it away (so I wouldn’t leave it again!) and I remembered that $5 in my pocket. Worth a shot, I said to myself.

I headed back inside and saw Mr. Carrigher walking away. “Here,” I said, “Thanks for holding onto my jacket. I want you to have this.” He was reluctant at first, and said “I’ll never ask for your money, but thanks for offering.” After some further suggestions to buy his wife a cup of coffee or something some morning, he accepted it and thanked me.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’s not my money anyway. It’s God’s.”

So, long story short, kid loses hoodie, janitor returns hoodie, kid gives janitor $5. Maybe not as exciting as a few other stories, but I had been praying that somebody would find it, and by jingo they did.

Mornings are a lot better now.

Lisa Hyman

I gave my $20 to the hospice that took care of my grandpa last year before he passed away.

Michelle Perkins

(I was a first time guest today at Elevation). I received $5.00 this morning. After my visit, I was headed off to my “home” church. There I was able to be a blessing to a dear friend of mine who is a seven year old boy named Daniel. He has such a sweet heart for the Lord. I know that He tithes even now from the money that he earns doing work at home. I felt blessed to be able to plant a seed into Daniel’s life to show him how the Lord is faithful to take care of His children and bless them for sharing their blessing. I told him the story of “bless back” and his face lit up. Thank you for the opportuinity to be a blessing. I am sure that God smiled upon your church (His work) many times today!

Suzanne Voigt

After finding the $10 in the envelope, I was excited and really hoped to bless a friend who was hurting. It came sooner than I thought. I met those 2 friends on Sunday afternoon, one specifically, that was really hurting financially, physically, and emotionally. She's been working 2 jobs just to make rent; and so, I decided to treat them both by throwing a quick fall party which we had on Sunday afternoon. Yes it can be done for $10. It was nice because I was able to share how I got the money and how God was blessing her through it. She and my other friend, thought that the idea of giving back was awesome. I can't wait now to participate in the following months, as God lays on my heart how much to give back to Elevation in order that Charlotte can be changed for Jesus Christ. God bless you guys for taking a chance to give back. I know that the rewards will be great.

Katlyn Stevenson

My smallgroup and I ..have a girl in our group is pregnant, i believe she is due in feburary, And I havent had kids…but i know they are suuupppperrr expensive, and at 16 or 17 you don’t have alot of money, So our smallgroup decided to put all of our money together to get her something for her baby.Maybe a stroller or a car seat , or even if she just needs diapers, i mean those things are 20 bucks a package and babies poop alot. Sure i only got 5$ but when we put all that money together its going to add up to so much more and im so exicted , she’s going to be so thankful .Praise GOD!!

Sarah Shinn

Ok, so during church God put one of my friends on my heart to “bless back”. She is going through a divorce with a two year old and a baby on the way. She is having a hard time and not getting any support from her husband. God had me give her more money than what I received at church and I feel so great about it! She didn’t want to take it and asked me to keep it and let her pray about it. I told her that God would not tell her something different than he told me and she could not argue with that! I have been truely blessed by “blessing back”!

Laura Kasler

I received $10.00, so I bought a dozen roses and a scented candle for my neighbor Linda who has been going through some tough times lately. Her mom has been battling lung cancer, and the cancer has just recently matasticized to the brain - the doctors think she has a 50% chance of living until Christmas. Linda is single, and her only sibling (a brother) is in Kentucky (her mom is here in Charlotte). The Lord has blessed many tangible ways though this process, and this was just another example of His love for her - she was very moved. I praise God for this awesome idea, and look forward to hearing about the incredible ways that this money will be used to touch so many other lives for Christ!

Brad Peters

Honduras is the 3rd poorest country in Latin America. There is a project called honduras100.org where Larry and Sherry Walker are building 100 church buildings in 4 years. I have recently been in contact with them about possibly building one or more of these facilities.

Today I am going to start with giving the 100.00 I received today and my wife is putting in her 5.00.

So Elevation wants to start raising money for land/building fund. What better way to start than giving God’s money to someone in need of a place to meet for church in a country which has much less than us.

Brad and Tammy Peters

madeline shelton

my friends and i combined our money and anonymously put it into a friends mailbox who is having financial trouble! this has really given me a new perspective on who my money really belongs to...

Baily

I’m in college and had fall break this weekend. But my friend who was taking me back needed gas so i gave her the money to add towards her tank.

Katie Evans and Kaitlyn O’Boyle

Kaitlyn wanted to donate to a charity, so we combined our blessing and gave to the St. Jude’s Children Research. We hope our gift will go a long way towards helping with cancer research for children. I pray God will continue to bless Elevation and we will DOMINATE Charlotte!

Sam and Dede Cox

After discussing with my wife the many ways that we could put the $40 to use to glorify His name, we decided that we would give the money to the Charlotte Rescue Mission. they do such great things to help care for the hungry, homeless and hurting people in the Charlotte area.

SC

Candice

My boyfriend Alex and I both received $20. We put our money together and gave it to a lady who we know is going through a rough time due to the loss of her child.

Kevin and Lynne Mann

I received 20 dollars and my wife received 5 dollars, so we combined our blessing and gave it to our son’s friend who is here this weekend visiting us from college and needed gas money to get back.
We wanted to tell him of God’s plan for his life as we felt that like so many teenagers raised in christian homes, he has fallen away and has kindof given up.
Thanks elevation for again a powerful example of God’s power and Glory.

Matt

Bought a pair of chickens for a family in Dalit from the gospel for asia site (http://www.gfa.org/from-the-stable).