This week we closed out our “monopoLIFE” teaching series in a HUGE way!!!! The purpose of this series was to teach all of us who call Pine Ridge Church home that the reason we exist as a church is to give back to the communities that God has put us in.
We did that in a BIG way today by giving back our weekly offering to those in attendance so that we could be a blessing to someone else. Everyone in attendance was given an envelope with different amounts of money in it and a card with these instructions written on it:
- The money is not to be used on you or given back to this church.
- The money is for you to meet someone else’s needs.
- The money has to be spent on someone outside our church family, but in the surrounding communities.
- Share your story at prcgiveback.com
The sole purpose in doing this is to allow all of us an opportunity to be a blessing to someone in our community. As a church we are blessed beyond measure and we think it is awesome that we are in a position to give back to you – so that you can give back to those around you.
We want to hear your stories of what God allowed you to do with the money you were given. So, click on the the comment button in this post and share your story with us!
February 24, 2008 at 11:48 am
After church today my friends Jon, Joanna, and I went to eat lunch at Mimi’s Cafe. We had recieved $25 dollars today from our envelopes given out at church. At lunch, we discussed how we wanted to use this money to bless someone. We all thought it would be a great idea to leave our waitress an extra large tip. We left a $40 tip for a $30 meal. We attached a note that said, “Nancy, God Bless You! Have a fantastic day and know that you are loved.” We placed the money on the table and headed for the door. On our way out we turned back and saw our waitress’ reaction to this blessing. She was showing all the other waiters and waitresses in disbelief. As a waitress you probably don’t expect to get much of a tip from three college students. God is AWESOME and he blessed not only our waitress, but all of Mimi’s Cafe today. Who knows how many friends and family members will hear about how truly AMAZING our God is from this tiny blessing!
God Bless,
Jared, Jon, and Joanna
February 24, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Later this afternoon, I was driving in the pouring rain back towards PRC. I stopped at the light at exit 145, and noticed a homeless man bundled up in an old ratty coat, just soaked to the bone walking towards the bridge. At that instance, although my husband and I had discussed other plans for the giveback money, I immediately rolled down my window and gave the gentleman the envelope and an umbrella we had in the car. His face just lit up, as he stuttered ‘God Bless You! Thank you!’
‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25:40
February 25, 2008 at 2:10 pm
As soon as I received my envelope I knew exactly how I would give it back. There is a child in Kindergarten who never has lunch money. Therefore there lunch is a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich and milk. No veggies or fruit ever. Today after I put money in their account and they got to have chicken nuggets, green beans, bread, milk and ice cream the child just yelled yeah!!!! All you saw on this child’s face was a smile from ear to ear. I heard him tell someone that he had the best lunch ever today.
February 28, 2008 at 10:30 am
Given my “analytical” talent, I wrestled with how to use the $10 I received. On my way out to the prc staff meeting on wednesday, I stopped at Burger King of of exit 145 to grab a quick bite. As I was pulling up to the window at the drive-thru, I thought it would be cool to use the money to pay for the people’s meals behind me in the drive-thru. So as I paid for my meal, I asked the drive-thru worker if it would be ok for me to also pay for the meals of the people behind me. She looked at me like I was a nutcase and said “sure, if you really want to.” I gave her the ten dollar bill and asked her if that would cover it. She said their meals only came out to $5. So I asked her if I could pay for the person in line behind them. She again looked at me like I was crazy and said that their meal was only $4. So I agreed to pay for theirs and she said I had a dollar left. After trying to get her to take the extra dollar and her refusing, she sarcastically asked me if I just wanted to put that towards the meal of the third car behind me in line. I told her I thought that was a great idea, she laughed, and I drove off! I got to see the reaction of the first person that I paid for and it was awesome!! They couldn’t believe it!! I loved the anticipation of blessing someone and then seeing how God took $10 and blessed three different people with it, that was pretty cool! As I drove off, I wondered why I couldn’t do something like that every month, just to bless someone. I loved it!!
February 28, 2008 at 11:22 am
At Starbucks, which I affectionately call my “office,” I told the cashier I would pay for the new few people with my $10. I, like Tom, was analyzing the best way to impact the world with my $10, but in the end, I decided quick, easy, and now is the best way. I sat down and soon listened to a man and a woman talk as they prepped their coffee. The woman was thanking the man for buying her coffee…I was thinking… “I was the nice one, lady” (Yeah, that’s the real me, deep down! ha! I’m working on myself)… Anyway, turns out that I bought the guy’s coffee… and he passed it on to the woman, and she glowing because of this… Hopefully lots of people got the gift passed on! Great idea, Pine Ridge!!
February 28, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I have been praying constantly this week about what do do with the money I was giving. Here is a short story. On June 9,1999 I lost my dad (Fred Paul Feudale) to Non Hodgekins Lymphoma. He went through a ten year battle with cancer. He went through Chemo and the last thing he recieved was a bone marrow transplant. His immune system was so low from the transplant that his body finally shut down. My dad was saved and is now in heaven watching over my family. I was so blessed by God and my family during that whole ordeal. I have always wanted to give money to the cancer society and now that I have finally graduated college. I am gettting my finances in order. I decided to give my 5$ to the Lymphoma Society. I have always wanted to do something in honor of my dad and this is one that God can help me do that. I was so blessed to have my dad for eighteen years of my life. I know he is watching over me. Thank you Pine Ridge!
February 28, 2008 at 5:26 pm
It’s so amazing to me that no one seems to recognize unconditional love these days. They don’t know how to handle it….or trust it. I’ve thought about what I wanted to do for days now, and I decided to stop in one of my favorite Chinese restaurants up from the church and give 4 customers $5 off their order. No one was inside, so I told the manager what I wanted to do….and he was speechless. He pressed me for 5 minutes about my motives, and after I assured him it was a gift, he just looked at me with a blank stare and smile on his face. As I left knowing that 4 people would be totally stoked about getting a $5 gift certificate from a stranger…in walked a customer who heard my request…and LEAPED at the opportunity. I left w/ a huge smile on my face….and somehow I don’t think the manager will ever see me the same way again….(I eat there all the time). Maybe I’ll do this more often…and see if he knows this Godly love that this church wants to exemplify. Awesome! Can’t wait to do this again soon!!
February 28, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I have had the envelope with my $10 in it in my purse since Sunday. I had about a million things I wanted to do with it and was becoming quite “greedy” with my money wanting to do the best thing I could think of. I wanted to do something that nobody else had done, but I did just that. I took my daughter for ice cream at Mayberry’s West after school on Thursday. The waitress was so sweet, letting my daughter try ice cream until she picked the one she wanted, and then giving her a huge cone full. She was working hard, sweeping, waiting tables, and running the cash register. I had not planned on using my money that day, but I just felt a strong feeling that I should leave it for her. I left it on a napkin with a note and left. I wanted so badly to see her response and waited in the car to watch, but she was so busy she did not make it to our table before we had to go. It felt so good and exciting to do that for her I will do it more often for sure!!!! Thanks Pine Ridge for making us realize what it truly means to care about all people. What a wonderful world we could live in if all people could see that!!!
February 28, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I have to start off by saying how this past Sunday has changed the way I think about love. I wanted to use the money to bless someone I have been trying to connect with. As soon as I received the envelope I started praying about who. I chose a friend whose husband has been out of work for a while now with back problems. I work with her so I see and hear her struggles. I chose to buy her a gift card to Food Lion. I wanted her to know that her efforts to take care of her family had not gone unnoticed. It was an honor to get to bless her in that way. It is an honor to get to bless anyone and I guess thats what I really learned more than anything this past Sunday. I pray that the Lord continues to teach me how to Love and Love well.
February 28, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Between my on-line schooling and work I don’t “get out” much so I had a hard time finding the right use for the $10 gift. Any of the families that I work with would be blessed by the gift but that would go against my employer’s ethics policy (grumble). I needed someone to bless. Where could I go? Where do you go when you need anything? Wal-mart!! On my way home from work I went into Wal-mart to pick up a “few” things and find my blessee. I saw a girl, her mother, and grandmother shopping together and noticed the girl looking but not picking anything out. I walked up to the mom and intriduced myself; she seemed a good bit suspicious. I asked her if the girl was her daughter and she said she was. I told her that I wanted to give her $10 to buy her daughter a treat. The lady relaxed a little and asked ,”Are you serious?” I told her that God loved her and her family and this was a small token just to brighten their day. Both the mom and grandmother began to thank me but all I noticed was the little girl, hugging her mom as the most wonderful smile began to show fon her face. They may have received the $10 but I received the blessing!
February 28, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Tonight, I rode up to the church to see the new stage design for our new teaching series, Madness. On the way back I needed to get some gas – so I stopped at the Sell Station on main street in Graham. While I was pumping Gas – I noticed a family behind me at the other pump. It appeared to me that maybe they were possibly experiencing some financial troubles.
Instantly I knew what I needed to do. I normally pay at the pump with my check card, but I thought tonight I would go inside and pay. So, I raced to finish pumping my gas – hoping to beat him in the door. When I got inside the gas station – I went up to the cashier to pay for my gas – I told him I wanted to pay for pump #2 as well. The cashier just sort of looked at me – I think he realized we weren’t together. I assured him everything was cool and that I wanted to pay for the man’s gas behind me.
Anyways, I got done paying in just enough time to head out the door as the man was heading in. I jumped in my truck and began to pull out of the parking lot – as I was pulling out I could see the man heading back to his car with the biggest smile on his face. I can only imagine what the conversation must have been like in their car. I would have loved to hear him tell his family that some guy just paid for my gas for no reason at all.
I got the biggest kick out of giving back to someone who I know needed it more than me! What an awesome experience – I am hoping that I can find little ways to make things like this happen on a regular basis. The money spent was well worth the priceless look on that man’s face. I want to see more people in this county have that same expression because for no reason at all – someone gave back to them!
February 29, 2008 at 11:30 am
Like several others, I had been praying all week about how God wanted me to use the $5 in the envelope from Sunday’s service. I thought of someone who I see everyday, as a Care Coordinator at an assisted living facility, I see residents who have families that are very supportive and are there to visit their loved one everyday and bring personal items when needed. There is a lady who is always on my heart. the only family member that she has is elderly herself and can not get out of the house to come and visit. This resident takes hospital gowns and with needle and thread closes the back to make herself gowns to sleep in. So today,before work Itook the $5 and added $10 more and purchaseda beautiful gown and her favorite drinks. I took them to her room and I told her that We as a church wanted to bless her. She had the biggest smile and thanked me over and over.
Just seeing her face,so proud of her new gown, blessed me!
February 29, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I work with a single mother who, like many of us, does not have a lot of money lying around that is not already spent. I have been thinking all week about what I should do with my $10 I was given but it never seemed right. Today as I was coming in to the office it hit me that I should offer her the money to take her girls out for ice cream or something fun, I told her that Pine Ridge wanted to give back so I gave her the money and a PRC card. When I gave her the money her face broke into a huge smile which made me feel right then that I did the right thing and she said “thank you for picking me for this”. We talked about the concert coming up on saturday night and I invited her and her girls to come but the smile never left her face the whole time I was standing there, I think I felt more of a blessing than she did.
February 29, 2008 at 4:28 pm
We decided to put our gifts together to make a greater impact. and all week we have been praying for an oppertunity. and BOOM out of the blue I get a phone call last night from a guy that I had met through my job asking if we were hiring at my work. He went on to describe his troubles and why he was looking for a job. He is a single dad that pays child support and recently took in a roomate whos house burt to the ground and 1 month later lost his job. So he was having to support his child , His friend and his dog all on a small part time job. Today I went by his work and delivered the $20.00 that we had recieved and a $25 giftcard to Moes that I recieved through clowning.
The look when I plopped down the gifts in front of him was of suprise and thankfullness. He went on to talk about how he is starting to believe that there is a God and all the things that were being revealed to him. I do believe that God is working on him and I am glad that I had the oppertunity to be a part of that work. Thank you Pine Ridge!
February 29, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I first want to say I have never been so excited to come to church in my life. Pine Ridge has really changed my life!
I purchased a gift card to a resturant and gave it to a co-worker of mine. She lives alone and has no family here. She is an older woman and she has never been married and has no children. I’m sure she feels so lonely.
She struggles financially so she never goes out to eat anywhere. She cooks a big meal once a week and that is what she eats all week until the next week. We have invited her to go to lunch with us sometimes but she tells us she can’t because she is saving money. I gave her the gift card today and told her I really appreciated her. She gave me a big hug with tears in her eyes and told me she loved me and that she prays for me all the time. It was a really great feeling to see her smile and to let her know someone cares for her.
February 29, 2008 at 7:45 pm
All week I have been waiting for the opportunity to bless someone with the $5 I received in my envelope. Well today on my way home I stopped for gas. The car in front of me wasn’t finished yet andI had time to sit and think about my money. I thought about it and wasn’t convinced that the man in front of me wa the “one.” So. it’s my turn and I get out and pump the gas and while I am there a girl pulls up in a “well-used” car. College age. Nebraska plate on the front. I finish pumping my gas and get in the car. I get my $5 and get back out of the car. Watching her face as I get out she is aggrevated that I haven’t pulled off yet. I walk back to her car and stand without smiling at her door. Her wnwindow is rolled up and she sits there like What in the heck do you want? So. she rolls her window down and I tell her that our church is giving back to the community and that this $5 was for her. That I just wanted to help pay for her gas. She just grinned and said “Are you serious? OH MY GOSH! THANK YOU!” She was still smiling when I had gotten back in my car and was driving off.
It was SO HARD NOT to give her a PRC card and invite her but if God put her in my path like I know he did, He’ll lead her there on His own time. It’s what He has done with me! Thank you Pine Ridge for allowing me and helping me to be a blessing to someone I have never ever met!I have also make the decision to pray for “Gas Girl” everytime I go by the TA now. God Bless her!
February 29, 2008 at 9:27 pm
We have been thinking all week about what we should do with the money. We tossed around a few ideas but nothing seemed “right”. Today as Randy was leaving work, a gentleman approached him from the hotel next door telling him that he and his pregnant wife had just lost their house in a fire and the Red Crosss had put them up in a hotel temporarily. He asked Randy if he had any food or clothing, never once asked for money. Randy pulled out the $5.00 he received on Sunday and gave it to him. He shook Randy’s hand and thanked him profusely . I am giving my $5 to Randy to take with him to work tomorrow and he will hopefully see the guy again to give him the money and tell him of PRC’s giving back to the community and invite him and his wife to church. God bless this family in need.
March 1, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I have also struggled with what to do with our envelope money. As I spent time on a local message board that I frequent, a thought came to me as I read about one of the gals on the site. She and her husband give so much time and energy to their family and community and are so faithful to keep a tight budget to make sure their bills get paid. This means often going without themselves so that their boys can be provided for. They sacrificially give back to God with little to no recognition and rarely go out. As I have read about her sacrifices, I just had a stirring within me that I needed to use our envelopes for her. Though it was only $15, I knew that was just enough to get her small family a Cold Stone Creamery treat. I sent it to her anonymously with a letter telling her what a blessing and great role model she is for other moms in the community. I hope that it’s a blessing to her… thanks for helping me to bless her family PRC!
March 1, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Michael and I work in Chapel Hill so spend most of our week out of Alamance County but wanted to use our $25 dollars in the county in which we live and attend church so Saturday was our day. We spent the week thinking and praying for ways we might bless others. Today it just happened. As we were out doing our errands ways just presented themselves. We bought three boxes of girl scout cookies from the Girl Scouts at the Burlington WalMart and donated them to be sent to our troops overseas, this helps our troops and the Girl Scouts also benefit. As we were leaving WalMart there was a homeless person asking for help on the corner, we gave him $5 of the money with God’s blessings. We continued on with our errands, as we were having lunch at the Graham Soda Shoppe trying to decide how to use our last $10 we decided to go around the corner to the Graham Cinema and purchase tickets for children to the afternoon movie. When we arrived there were seven children waiting for the box office to open, couldn’t just purchase tickets for five of them so we put $4 with the church’s $10 and purchased tickets for the seven children, the parents were confused, we told them that last week our church had given us money to do good for other people and we had chosen to do this for the kids. They were very appreciative. Thank you Pine Ridge Church for this opportunity.
March 1, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Last week I happened to be in bed with the flu when PRC passed out envelopes with the money, but Lance and I did not wont to be left out of the fun. I have a friend who is recently separated mother of three. Her oldest daughter has Downs Syndrome and had a heart transplant two years ago, the cost for her medication a month is crazy. The mom does not have money to do anything extra at all. We decided to take her a Wal-Mart gift card. I took it to her house and told her what the church was doing and that we loved her. This lady is truly amazing in the ten years I’ve known her I have never heard her complain of anything. She started crying and told me that it was perfect timing because her husband just got let go from his job and that means that she no longer has health insurance for herself. I was very thankful that in some small way we could bless her family because having her and her family in my life has forever blessed us.
March 1, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Rachel and I opened our envelope together and I explained to her what it was about.
I then asked her what she thought we should do with the money. She didn’t think long.
She said that she wanted to give it to a friend in her class who needed lunch money.
Rachel and I explained to the cafeteria supervisor that she wanted to anonymously give the money to a child in her class who didn’t have any lunch money. The supervisor told Rachel that it was such a lovely thing to do.
March 1, 2008 at 8:57 pm
All this week, like many others, I have been praying and thinking about how to give back to someone in our community. Several times this week, as I was picking up lunch, I thought I would pay for lunch for the next person in line. To my surprise every time I would go through the drive thru no one would be behind me. I thought well this is strange someone is always in line behind me!! Tonight as I was out picking up a few things, I went to pick up dinner for my family. As I was paying, a family of four pulled up to order their dinner. I asked the lady at the window if she could tell me how much their order was and that I would like to pay for it. She looked at me kind of strange and said “Okay”. When they were finished ordering, she gave me the total and I gave her the money to pay for it. As I drove off, I thought this must have been the family that God wanted me to bless today. It was the greatest feeling to be able to give back to this family. Although I could not see their reactions, I am sure they were very thankful! Thanks PRC for the opportunity to give back to our community!!
March 1, 2008 at 9:48 pm
We’ve been so heartbroken with all of the stories of abandoned puppies in the media lately. My children and I decided to combine our money to help a family adopt a dog from the Pet Adoption Center. As we arrived this morning, no one was looking to adopt at the time so we decided to “sponsor” a particular puppy. While we were searching for the just the right one, a gentleman walked up with 2 elementary aged children. They were searching for a boy puppy. I told the man that on behalf of my church, I would like to bless his family by giving them a portion of the adoption fee. He was very gracious and told the children to be sure to tell their friends on Sunday morning what Pine Ridge Church had done for them. They picked out their special friend and named him Lucky. I was glad we were able to meet the family who received the gift.
March 2, 2008 at 7:01 am
“PRC Love”
It was Monday morning, just a usual day,
My mom was at Starbucks, finishing to pay.
The giveback money was on my mind,
I knew the perfect way I would be kind!
I told the lady to pay for the car behind us.
She said, “Okay,” and there was no fuss.
We pulled out of the drive-in, I started to smile,
Because I saw the lady grin like a crocodile!
All her teeth showed…it was a genuine happy
I knew she couldn’t be angry or snappy.
The Giveback was a wonderful way,
To spread “PRC Love” from the mountains to the bay!!
March 2, 2008 at 8:05 am
We were so inspired by Sunday’s service & PRC’s “giveback”, we decided to buy 132 roses. We headed to the Healthcare & Rehabilitation of Alamance County in Graham to deliver the roses with a “You are Loved” tag attached to each one. We spent Saturday afternoon handing out roses to every patient at the home. There were smiles all over the place. It is hard to believe that so little can mean so much. We have so many stories: One of the nurse’s wanted to know if we had won the lottery. We told her we just wanted to because of our church’s return of tithe to giveback to Alamance County. Not sure if she believed us…. One of the ladies said that she didn’t want Andy to leave the rose but wanted Mike to leave it……..Woo! Woo! It was an absolute blessing of joy for us. We left a small sign on the nurse’s station that read, “Roses Provided by http://www.prcgiveback.com“. We thought this was a small way to give the credit to God and direct people (or even 1 person) to all the wonderful blessings from “giveback”. Thank you PRC!!! We thank God you came to Alamance County with the PRC vision to make God famous!!
March 2, 2008 at 9:06 am
hey everyone, i’m just a reader Tadd’s blog and saw the entries about the “give back” project” I love it! Keep up what you do and keep reaching those disconnected from HIM!
March 2, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I had been asking God what I should do with the $5 I got in my envelope this entire week. I carried it around with me everywhere I went in case an opportunity presented itself but nothing seemed to pop up. Nothing felt right and I almost felt bad that I was going to PRC without having given my money back yet. I woke up this morning extremely tired and I knew right away it was a morning to get coffee. I got to Starbucks, ordered, and paid. And for some reason I just knew this lady was who I was supposed to give the money to. After I got my coffee, I gave her the $5 and told her I appreciated her working on a Sunday and that I hope she had a blessed day.
She couldn’t believe it! She kept saying, “Seriously?! You’re kidding!” I just smiled at her and knew that it was a God-moment. It’s amazing how far just $5 goes.
March 2, 2008 at 8:54 pm
As soon as I heard what PRC wanted us to do with the Giveback money someone sprang to mind. A single mother of at work who is having financial trouble, as well as some family trouble. I was like “this is great I can bless her with $10 that i know she can use.” I was excited as I went to work on Monday night to give her the money, but… The superisor called her into the office and fired her and walked her out before I could give her the money. I figured this was God saying the money was for someone else.
Well I prayed about it during the week and didnt see an opportunity present itself and this morning getting ready for church I thought of someone to give the money to. A man that every week stands on the corner of 70 & 87 selling newspapers rain or shine so I decided to give my $10 to him… Well I was walking out the door and looked everywhere but couldn’t find the envelope I left on the counter. I was like well I’ll go to the ATM amd get out money to give him after church. During church I was unexpectedly blessed myself witha random $25 so on the way home we stopped for a paper gave the guy $25 said “Keep the change, God bless you!” and sped off due to traffic wanting us to go. We were so excited to see the look on the guys face I couldn’t wait to bless someone else.
So we went to lunch and paid like $30 and they asked how much of a tip to leave and Jen & I decided on $18 and the cashier Said “Are you sure about that?” we said yes, and he replied cheeriliy “Man thats really going to make his day” as we were leaving quickly the server rushed up to us opened the door and thanked us greatly.
Thank you PRC for setting an example on giving to others and allowing us to experience the benifit of blessing others.
R.K.S.
March 2, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I had the $5 in my van all week just waiting for the “right time” to be a blessing. With staying at home with my kids I don’t get a chance to get out much. when I did happen to get out this week I had kids with me and wasn’t really thinking about the $5. Saturday I had to run out and pick up some stuff at WalMart. As I went inside I noticed the Girl Scouts selling their cookies. The last thing I need is Girl Scout cookies!!! As I walked out the door the Girl Scout looked to be around 10 and was standing right there asking me if I wanted to buy some cookies. I looked at her with a smile knowing she was expecting me to probably say “no thanks”. I did say “no thanks” but then I pulled out $5 and told her I didn’t want any cookies but I wanted her and her friends to take the money and go get something to drink since they were working so hard. She had a huge smile and didn’t really know what to say. I just walked off, she said thanks and then I heard her talking to the others. The adult with them yelled “thanks” after me. I just smiled and kept walking. People expect kindness at Christmas but on the first day in March it really takes them by surprise!!!!
March 2, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I am struggling with an addiction to alcohol … so I thought, “I am so unworthy to give back to anyone” … I had received 10 dollars and was kinda irratated that I hadn’t received more. Thoughts ran through my mind of people to give this money to … then I knew I had to give it to a stranger. So, I was at the liquor store ( buing my weekly amount) when God told me to give it to the man coming out the door. I was so ashamed for a while that I had given the money to a man at the liquor store … when I was doing the same as him ….. but God has shown me that I was following what He told me to do. I told the man “hey, I have something for you” as I gave him the crisp 10 dollar bill. He said “what is this for” and I said “just because” and went right on in the liquor store. If you are reading this …. please pray for me and my addiction and the man I gave the money to. I have been really ashamed to tell who I really gave the money to … but after today’s message, God convinced me that I did His will.
March 3, 2008 at 8:34 am
Like Brian (above), I am not a member or PRC but am thankfully on the email distribution. I just wanted to let everyone reading these reports know, that while I was not part of PRC gives back project from a monetary perspective, I am DEFINITELY part of the receiving from the give-back. Since the time that Tadd sent out the email regarding this program, I race to the computer every morning to see what new stories have been posted. I have been telling everyone at work, home and church about what PRC did with the give back program and I am retelling many of the stories of how the community is being blessed. Several of the stories can bring tears to my eyes just as much in retelling as reading for the first time. God bless each of you that took the time and energy to use the the tithe of PRC to make God’s world a better place. I think of this church often and cannot wait until tomorrow to see what other stories may be posted. Keep up the wonderful work God is doing through you at Pine Ridge Church, in Alamance County , in North Carolina and in fact, around the world.
March 3, 2008 at 11:11 am
I held the $5 I received in my purse for a week, trying to decide what to do with it. I had been thinking about a gentleman in our community that does not have much money and doesn’t have a “real” house to live in. Over the past several years, I have given him leftovers from our dinners, so that he has had something to eat. My daughter mentioned us giving it to him and said she had a dream about it and I said I had been thinking about the same thing. I went to Food Lion yesterday, added $5 more dollars and bought him a gift card. When I took this to him last night with some leftovers, I told him about what the church I had been attending had done and that I wanted to pass the blessing to him. He smiled so big and said God Bless you. I could tell that he was really touched by this!
What a wonderful thing PRC has done for Alamance County! It is so exciting to read all of the stories about unconditional giving going on around us!!
March 3, 2008 at 11:41 am
God has truly blessed my family .More in the last few months than I could ever imagine. I received $10 dollars in my envelope at church. I knew instantly what to do with it. There is a young man new to our county with the promise of a home and job that didn’t work out. He has found a job but hadn ‘t gotten paid. So I gave the $10 dollars to him. I told him about the giveback program at Pine Ridge and he was very surprised that anyone wo uld give just because they loved people. A note to the gentleman with the alcohol problem- I will remember you in prayer.I lost a son to alcohol and my heart goes out to you. If I can be of any help let me know.
March 3, 2008 at 11:42 am
HOW ALSOME!!! I read the story of GIVING BACK, I am going to do the same once a week. Just think of what the word would be like if everyone did did the same, We would share God’s love in a alsome way. Keep up the wonderful work.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL ,
Heidi Hunt
Lynchburg Va.
March 3, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I also held on to my $5 for a week before deciding what to do with it. When I was stopped at a light on the way to church yesterday, I decided to give it to a man that sells newspapers at this intersection. He is there every Sunday, on my way to church and on my way back, and he is always rushing to bring people their Sunday papers while they are stopped at the light. When I rolled down my window, I told him that I didn’t want to buy a paper, but I thought he might want to get breakfast after he was out there all morning. I handed him the money and saw his eyes soften and his face light up as he thanked me and told me what a kind gesture this was.
It’s amazing how easy it is to make a difference in someone’s day!
March 3, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I was out of town last Sunday & missed out on the PRC Giveback project. I heard about it a few days later. I thought, I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to bless someone else too! After hearing Tadd this past Sunday he sparked something in me & I left church on a mission. On the way home I stopped at the KFC drive thru to get my family’s lunch & saw an older gentleman behind me in line. I thought he’s the lucky one today. When I pulled up, I paid for mine & then asked the cashier to use my checkcard to pay for the order after me. She repeated his order & I said yea that’s it (like I knew what he ordered). I hurried through the parking lot but it was so busy. We ended up making eye contact when I was stopped at the traffic light & he waved to me. He didn’t know who I was but I felt so happy to make his day. I want to do this more often. Thank you PRC for the inspiration!
March 3, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Like many others have said, I too, held on to my $10 for over a week, wanting to do something different with the money. And it seemed like everytime I came up with THE idea, I’d read about the same idea someone had beat me to on the PRC postings. I started to get frustrated and then I remembered another $10 bill I had been holding. A few weeks earlier, my girls and I had worn TarHeel tattoos to school to hype up for the UNC/Dukies game. A week or so later, one of the cafeteria workers came up to me and asked where I had gotten them. I told her that I usually buy a handful of them whenever I hit Franklin Street. She said that she never goes to Chapel Hill and asked if I would mind getting her some on my next trip. I quickly obliged…I would never want to be the cause of a fellow UNC fan to go “undecorated”!! She handed me a $10 for the cost of the tattoos and for my trouble.
Suddenly, I had the Oprah A-HA moment! I used the PRC money and bought her $10 worth of TarHeels. I put the tats and her $10 in an envelope along with a note that said “God loves Carolina fans…and so do I! Have a blessed day! ENJOY!” Knowing what a teacher’s salary is, I can only imagine what a cafeteria worker might make. So, hopefully, this simple, novel treat warmed her heart and will give her a piece of BLUE heaven!!
March 3, 2008 at 9:24 pm
When Mark and I got the money- we put ours together and prayed for the Lord to show us who to bless. We had two opportunites to bless people. The first was a call from our former neighbor from Snow Camp. She wanted to get together and talk to me. So I invited her out to dinner and she began pouring her heart out to me about her recent break up with her boyfriend and how she has been struggling. I told her that I was buying her dinner and took her to get coffee. We talked about church a little and I invited her to Pine Ridge. She was so thankful and suprised that I would pay for her meal and spend that time with her. Sometimes the gift of time to a lonely person is worth as much as the money! I know the Lord continues to draw her to himself and I just pray that she will see that.
The second “blessing” came when Mark and the kids and I were at Hardees last week and were just finishing our breakfast when we saw a man come in- obviously homeless. It was one of those freezing, windy mornings and he came in carrying a bag and wearing a small coat. He went to the back of the Hardees and just sat down-taking on and off his coat- trying to get warm. So with our kids watching him and looking at us- Mark went over to him and asked him if he had anything to eat. He said no- So Mark gave him some money. He seemed very grateful and as we were leaving we saw him going to get in line to order some food. Mark then talked to the kids
about the passage of Scripture that says- If a man is hungry- give him something to eat. It was a blessing more for us than for the man. We are so thankful for Pine Ridge and for Tadd and his obedience and willingness to step out and truly live out what the Bible says and teaches about loving people.
March 4, 2008 at 8:51 am
I am not part of the PRC family, however, my daughter and son-in-law are very much a part of this wonderful church. Pine Ridge Church has been the answer to many prayers for a newly wed couple in a new city. God provided a church family that they love!
We can see and hear the excitment that God has blessed this new congregation with. There is nothing more wonderful than people who are following the teachings of Christ and His word.
All of you are in our prayers as you continue to reach the lost in your community. May God continue to bless this congregation!
March 5, 2008 at 8:07 am
After talking and praying about what we wanted to do with the money in our envelopes we felt led to help someone in our daughters school. We worked with her teacher, who in turn talked with another teacher and found out that there was a boy in the 5th grade who’s family is struggling. The father works but they cannot seem to make ends meet.There are 4 children in this family and they live in a small 2 bedroom trailor. The teacher, along with other teachers, have been taking leftovers from the cafeteria to the family so that they would have food for supper. We used our $30 to buy them a gift card to Food Lion and pray that they will be blessed. Seeing familys like this reminds me of how blessed Chad & I are and being able to do this I beleive blessed us as much as it will them. Thank you Pine Ridge for reminding me to look around and see that so many others are in need and as a Christian I need to be praying for them and helping wherever I can.
March 5, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Given that I am a high individualization theme, I always want to give the perfect gift. I will spend weeks thinking about that perfect gift, that’s probably why I do my Christmas shopping 2 days before Christmas. I, like several others spent all week thinking about how I would use my $30 (Bethany and I combined ours). I finally thought that I would go to Food Lion and purchase a $30 gift card and then give it right back to the person who had rung me up. This idea was great in theory, but the lady told me that she couldn’t accept it, so I set out to find a person in the store to give the gift card to. After walking the store 4 times and looking for the right person, I passed an older gentleman and felt like he was the “one”. I walked up to him and told him that I would like to give him the card, in order to, help him with his’ groceries, and that I didn’t want anything in return and wanted him to know that someone in this world cared about him. He just stared back at me for a moment, not knowing what to say. He then just began to say over and over “God bless you, this is such a blessing.” He began to cry and told me how he was here from New Mexico because his mother had just passed away. As I walked away, I could feel God’s overwhelming presence. I went in to this thinking it was going to be great for our church, but God used this to show me as an individual what His love is all about!
March 5, 2008 at 7:13 pm
to no name above, i abused alcohol heavily for 13 years and stopped 7 years ago. i believe God did that in my life. i had planned/wanted to stop many times but wasn’t able to. if you need or want someone to talk to please feel free to email me at liberty_dude@yahoo.com. the ‘liberty’ part of that does not refer to liberty university, just an email nickname. i’d be happy to give you my name and more info about me, i just don’t want to do that here because i don’t want to appear to be trying to get attention for myself. if the admin of this site feels this message isn’t appropriate, i understand if you feel you need to delete it.
there is hope in the Lord for the alcohol abuser!
March 10, 2008 at 12:07 am
I am not a member of pineridge,in fact I am a member of another church. I happened to be reading an artical online tonight about your giveback and immediatly felt the love! I have always taught all my children(4) the importance of giving back and try to show them by doing simple acts of kindness but lately times are hard prices just seem to keep going up (gas,milk,etc.) It takes everything my husband and I make just to pay bills and food. I couldn’t help but notice a few people from your church left tips to waitresses as part of the give back. I just wanted to thank you on behalf of all waitresses! Most of us work long hours and only make 2.34 an hour so we rely on tips to take care of our families I don’t think alot of customers realize this.I have worked at my restaurant for almost a year and I have had the pleasure of waiting on many pineridge members and just when I am having a bad dad one of you guys leave me a tract that I read cover to cover and then bring home to share with my family I even got a little poker chip with your name on it and it always means alot,I think God sends you to me every now and then because he feels that I am losing my connection and he keeps pulling me back! You started meeting at the school behind my house and I felt your pressence every Sunday when I was on my way to church or work. YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB PINERIDGE SETTING BURLINGTON ON FIRE WITH THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!!
March 10, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hey to all you Pine Ridgeeesss
Praise God! The article in the paper and this page of giving is great!!! I know you all will receive such a blessing for showing the Love of Jesus. Makes us all want to do this too. Can’t wait to see who falls in my path in God’s perfect time. God is Always at work around us. Join Him in were He is working.
love you all
Kay
March 10, 2008 at 7:08 pm
We have a very good friend of our family that was robbed at gunpoint, Even though his home church took up a love offering to help out , we decided to show some of GOD’s Love and pitch in our PRC gives back money to help out. DANIEL , WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
April 7, 2008 at 10:56 pm
We went out to dinner one night and overheard our waiter saying that his wife was expecting any day. I used to be a server and I know they don’t make as much as people assume they do, so since my boyfriend didn’t know what to do with his $5 I told hime to leave it on top of the tip we were already going to give and then I would match the total amount of tip left. So we ended up leaving the man a $21 tip on a $40 dollar check with a notethat said Congratulations to him and his wife on their soon to be baby and ended it with a God Bless your family. As we were leaving we noticed another waitress being nosey! and reading the note and showing it to another server. As we were driving out of the parking lot our server had run to the door in hopes of catching us to say thank you. We just waved and smiled as we drove away with him pointing at us and saying thank you. But really we thank him. It takes a lot to be a server and put up with the public on a daily basis all the while only making $2.13 and hour and then having to tip out of you tips as well. I can only imaginge trying to do what he was doing in hopes of supporting his entire family. We felt so blessed to have had God place him in our path!
April 21, 2008 at 10:46 pm
As I stated in my first post, I loved the giveback so much that I wanted to continue doing something at least on a monthly basis. So now when I go out, I look for ways to give something away…I honestly never thought I would say that in my life!! So my wife and I had a nice swingset in the backyard that the kids really didn’t use a whole lot. So we decided to give it away on craigslist. So I posted an add and within minutes had a ridiculous amount of e-mails wanting it. We finally matched up with one family and they came out the next night to pick it up. They had driven from Thomasville to pick it up and had come straight from work. So long story short, I thought, how cool would it be to not only give them a free swingset, but also some dinner and/or gas money as well. So while they were breaking down the swingset, I went out there and handed them some cash and thanked them for coming. The look on their faces were priceless!! They probably thought I was a weirdo for giving them a free swingset and then giving them some money for coming. Oh well, I don’t even care what they did with the money, just glad I had the opportunity to do it. I’m looking forward to the next time already!
May 20, 2008 at 3:48 am
Thanks Tadd for inspiring me to give back!
A few weeks ago, I was at Walgreens getting my kids buckled in and trying to clean all the trash that two children can accumulate in a car! A random lady pulled up and said she had cancer, and showed me some bag attached to her stomach and said she needed gas to get back to SC. She had been at Duke. I told her to wait a moment, and I went to the car and grabbed a $20 bill and gave it to her. I never carry cash, but had just gotten some from the drug store. As I watched her drive off, I felt I had done the right thing.
June 24, 2008 at 10:22 am
God showed me that I needed to give my “giveback” money to the Free Dental Clinic that my dentist is part of. So when I went for my check up, I gave him the money and told him where it came from. He was so appreciative. I know there are a lot of people that cannot get dental care so I am thankful that he uses his time and resources to help others and the PRC could bless his ministry. God is so good!
December 6, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Thanks to Joe Sangle, this year I had my Christmas money all budgeted out with how much I was going to spend on each person and once the money was gone, it was gone. Well, every year, my daughters playschool asks every student to bring in 1 care package for the homeless shelter. They can contain shampoo, soap, razors, washrags, etc. I decided that I would ask my 2 girls (ages 8 and 4) if they would be willing to give some of their Christmas money and I would do the same to make extra care packages. They did not hesitate to say yes. Today we went to Wal-Mart and with a little money and some smart shopping, we were able to make 18 bags!!! We had a lot of fun putting the packages together and my girls were very excited that they were able to help!!!