Giving & Receiving

An Invitation

Our hope is to become people who hold things more loosely, notice needs more readily, share more freely, and make more room for one another. We give not simply because there are needs to be met, but because generosity is part of who we are becoming.

That invitation includes learning to receive. Receiving, like giving, is both a discipline and a grace. Both challenge our unhealthy self-sufficiency and our desire to be in control. Giving asks us to release what we have; receiving asks us to acknowledge what we need. Together, they teach us that we were not made to live without one another.

There are many ways to begin practicing generosity. We invite you to find one that is meaningful for you—whether that means offering what you have, making room for someone else’s care, or both.

Make Room to Receive

Let someone bring a meal, offer help, listen, or meet a need. You do not have to be the one with something to offer to belong.

Keep the Food Pantry Stocked

Support our Northside neighbors. Call the Boys & Girls Club office at 616-392-4102 to confirm their current capacity to accept snacks, pantry items, or grocery supplies for family assistance programs.

Share Your Time

Connect with a local community organization. Offer your presence and abilities in support of the work happening around you.

See a List of Non Profits

Give Financially

Support our shared life, sustain our gatherings, and help meet the material needs of our neighbors.

Give to Becoming Church

A Practice of Generosity

We believe generosity is one of the defining practices of the Christian life.

Throughout the history of the Christian community, followers of Jesus have practiced giving and receiving as a way of participating in the life of God and caring for one another. This generosity has never been limited to money. It includes the sharing of our resources, our time, our attention, our gifts, and our lives.

We see generosity not simply as something we do, but as a practice that shapes who we become.

When we give, we become more attentive to the needs around us, more available to our neighbors, and less defined by what we possess. When we receive, we practice trusting that our needs do not diminish our dignity or our belonging. We allow ourselves to be known and cared for.Together, giving and receiving draw us out of self-sufficiency and into a shared life. Over time, these practices teach us to live with open hands—ready both to offer care and to welcome it.

What Generosity Looks Like

There are many ways to practice generosity, and not all of them involve money.

Giving resources: Sharing food, financial resources, and other material goods with people and organizations meeting needs in our community.
Giving time: Creating margin in our schedules so we can be present, attentive, and available to others.
Giving attention: Noticing the people around us and responding with care, hospitality, and compassion.
Giving ourselves: Offering our abilities, creativity, relationships, and presence for the good of others.
Receiving care: Being honest about our needs and welcoming the help, gifts, and presence others offer.

We want to cultivate a community where no one has to be only a giver or only a receiver—a community where we can offer what we have and receive what we need. Generosity becomes not simply something we do when we gather, but part of the way we live together.