Temple Hill Baptist Church in Cadillac, Michigan has been doing a Missions Garage Sale at the end of August for several years. The purpose of the annual garage sale is twofold: provide affordable items for those in their community, and raise Christmas funds to encourage the missionary families they support.
At the beginning of 2021, a few members of Temple Hill recognized that 2020 had been a really challenging year for most missionaries. Deciding they wanted to go above and beyond to bless the missionaries in Temple Hill’s care, they thought of a creative solution to provide more encouragement and funding for these missionaries who had sacrificed so much for the gospel in the previous year—a Missions Auction!
The Missions Auction would be different from the garage sale in that it would raise even more money by auctioning off newer and bigger-ticket items. Asking the Lord to bless their efforts, they began planning and asking church and community members to donate to the auction. Their goal was to raise $12,000, which would provide each of the 12 missionary families $1,000.
Although items didn’t come in as quickly as they had hoped, by the time of the auction the church and community had donated over 250 items for auction, twice as many as they had hoped for! The planners of the Missions Auction weren’t the only ones thinking creatively. Items for auction ranged from “a pie a month for a year,” to gift baskets, vacation rentals, and firewood. It was clear the church and community had used their resources and talents to contribute to the cause!
The Missions Auction was held online first, and then in-person. Less than 24 hours into the online portion of the auction, the church had already almost met their $12,000 goal! When all was said and done, they had raised over $28,000 for their missionaries—enough to provide each of their missionaries with $2,600-$2,800!
What an example of what God can do through a few willing servants and a creative and generous community of believers! How might you and your community use your resources and creativity to support missions this year?
