Last January, Vintage L.A. gave sacrificially to support the work of two C4SO church plants. Let their story inspire you to prioritize local mission this New Year.
In January 2019, the Rev. Ger Jones sensed God leading him to take a special offering for church plants so they could enter into the New Year strong. He knew church planters often struggle financially and spiritually, and he wanted to help.
Jones told his congregation what he was sensing from God and gave a brief description of the church plants. Ushers then passed the offering plate after each of three services at Vintage’s Santa Monica campus as well as the Malibu campus.
“We wanted these churches to know they are not alone, that we are in this together,” Jones says. “Starting a church requires a lot of support. When we see churches that are committed to the gospel, to reaching the lost in their community, we want to support that calling however we can so they can reach sustainability.”
When the funds were tallied, Vintage was able to give $50,000 each to two C4SO churches in the region: The Vine in Fullerton, California, led by the Rev. Michael Swanson, and Resurrection L.A., led by the Revs. Jon and Janna Ziegler.
“We believe the kingdom of God comes through his people in local areas,” Jones says. “We passionately believe in the multiplication of churches that are committed to the mission of God.”
One practical way to join that mission, Jones believes, is to discern church plants that are recipients of God’s favor and get on board.
“Churches are not to be islands, but to be a family of networked churches, as we see throughout the New Testament,” he says. “That network is cultivated through relationship and also by bearing each other’s burdens. I see it as my responsibility to bear the burdens of other churches.”
And not just churches that look like Vintage. In distributing the funds, Jones purposefully went beyond his own “flavor” of Anglican church.
“The beauty of being a broad diocese and a broad church is that we can support others who reach out in different ways than we do,” he says. “We are a charismatic evangelical low church and we love being able to support churches that are different than us. To me, that is expressing the joy of building unity around the gospel and the collective diversity of the Anglican Church.”
Through such acts of generosity, Jones receives as much as he gives. “It connects me with other pastors. Being in it together and connecting with others is not just a matter of receiving, but also giving. By giving, you bind yourself to other people, not as a burden, but as a blessing. It truly is better together.”
Michael Swanson, one of the recipients of Vintage’s funds, agrees. As an outflow of the financial gift, The Vine has seen several people come to faith, come back to faith, or return to church for the first time in years.
“Last year, our church went through a big transition and we found ourselves in a tight spot financially,” Swanson says. “So, you have no idea what it meant when Vintage blessed us with such a generous gift. Not only was it a tangible expression of the love of God, it also reminded us that we’re part of a bigger family who’s in this mission with us.”
Bishop Todd Hunter highly values these collaborative efforts. “Vintage is a great example of a church that invested 5%—and beyond—into mutual, local initiatives, and they are now reaping Kingdom partnerships,” he says.
Since Kingdom partnerships grow from a generous spirit, Jones urges C4SO churches to first commit 5% to local mission as part of the 5/5 Investment Strategy—C4SO asks each church to give 5% to C4SO to help direct the centralized aspects of our mission, and spend the other 5% on mission in their local area. Then, Jones says, build from there.
“We want everything in our churches, our budget and life together, to prioritize what God prioritizes—seek and save the lost,” he says. “Your money is where your heart is. We want to put mission at the heart of our budget.”