$5 Compassion

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
--Matthew 9:36

There was this guy. He was always coming up to people in the parking lot outside my office asking for money. On a couple of occasions, I had some cash and let him have it, thinking I was doing a bit of a good deed. The problem was, this guy kept getting more aggressive with people. He would follow them to their car, or be waiting for them to get out of their car. If he did get money, he would bolt the parking lot and head north, to who knows where. Later, the sheriff's department alerted us that this gentleman was in fact taking the money and feeding his drug habit- and the more aggressive he got, the deeper into the addiction he was. I felt bad that my 'donation' had gone not to feed him, but rather to feed his addiction.

I remembered, around this time, a story I had heard from several different Christian circles of people who stocked up on $5 gift cards to McDonalds or Subway, so that when approached for money, they would give a card that guarranteed the person wouldn't get drugs- unless you count caffeine and those addictive fries. But the moment faded, and I never stocked up on gift cards.

All this time, our church, the Gate, was praying and seeking a way to serve our community. We'd volunteered at food banks and helped with A&M's Big Event service project, but they didn't come around too often, and both were services that the Bryan/College Station community actively- and in large quantities- supported. And, while Big Event allowed us to meet the person we were helping, the food pantry stuff mostly did not. We wanted- no, we needed- an opportunity to do something new and something that allowed us to share our faith with someone- but being a small church with a smaller bank account, we couldn't find it.

Through all these events, all this prayer, and all this frustration at not finding that 'big thing,' God spoke.

"Why does it have to be 'big'?"

Times are tough. People don't have as much to give. College students have less, and they made up our church. But everyone can give a little. Five bucks a month. It wouldn't take a much more than skipping one latte at Sweet Eugene's (for the Aggies out there) or Starbucks (for the rest of the world). Suddenly, God reminded me of the gift card idea. Spend $5 to get a gift card to some fast food place or even a coffee shop with the intent of giving it away.

Originally, the idea was to just give it to those folks on the side of the road or the homeless. But with our church being so full of the students, we realized they wouldn't run into as many of those folks as the rest of us.

But that didn't mean they wouldn't encounter the "harassed and helpless" that Jesus had compassion on.

Bad breakups. Failed tests. Financial shortfalls. Work stress. Nutty roommates. Any of these things and more could lead to a person needing compassion. So, this past Sunday, we launched a vision for our church to serve the communtity. The Gate bought twenty four $5 gift cards to McDonald's and gave them out amongst our church. This was the seed for them to begin thinking of and looking out for people who could use a little encouragement. The recipient could be someone they knew going through a tough time, or just someone they meet who seems to be having a bad day. Once a month, they give $5 Compassion to someone who needs a little encouragement and a kind, hopeful word. And if they feel so led, then they can give more than one card a month.

Each card contained a verse of Scripture, the church name and website, and a note to check our the $5 Compassion group on facebook and share their story. See, the vision is that $5 Compassion would not just be a ministry of the Gate, but of anyone who wants to make life a little brighter for everyone else. The idea is that those who recieve the gift can post on the site and share what it meant to them. And the one who gave the card can share what it was like to be able to help someone out. It is as much about sharing our stories and how God moves- even with just $5 of Compassion- in our lives as it is about the actual gift.

We added our church info to the card so that if someone does want to connect with God, they can find us- but you don't have to add the Gate to your card if you don't want to. Yeah, that's right- I'm issuing the challenge to you. Steal the idea. Run with it. Tell your friends. Because $5 Compassion is not about our church, our ideas, or your money. It is about showing, in a tangible way, that our God is in love with us. It's why we chose this verse for the cards:

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
--Psalm 145: 8-9

So, go out, drop $5 on a gift card, and ask Jesus to give you His eyes to see people as He sees them. Allow your heart to be broken for a friend or a stranger who needs to love of God- whether that person knows of that love already or not.

And if $5 Compassion is something you can support, check us out on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/5-Compassion/140630949332317?ref=ts (We're not eligible for a fancy username yet.)