MILL CREEK — It’s only $100, but members of Gold Creek Community Church have faith that it’s as good as the two fish and five loaves of bread they believe Jesus used to feed thousands of people.
The money might even be enough, they say, to pay for an expansion of their Mill Creek church properties.
Pastor Larry Ehoff plans to give $100 bills to each family that asks for one at the 2,000-person-strong church on Sunday. Each family will be given three months to invest that money and return it — and their profits — to the church. In all, church leaders plan to give away up to $10,000, he said.
“We’ve never done a cash project before, but we have to consider where the economy is,” Ehoff said. “We have a creative team that sat down to hash it out and ask, ‘What might spark some interest? What might move our people to act?’Â ”
The church was in the midst of getting a loan to pay for the building expansion when the financial crisis hit, Ehoff said.
“Everything fell apart,” he said. “The bank pulled out at the last minute, and now we need about $4 million to finish the building.”
Some church members can donate to the project out of their own pockets, but the congregation has been hit by layoffs, he said. The pastors decided to give those families a chance to participate by giving them money to invest.
“We’re strapped right now, so we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to show our kids how we can take the money the Lord has provided the church and see what the Lord can provide back,” said Alex Johnson, a father of two who lost his banking job early this year.
Johnson’s family plans to use the $100 to finance a bake sale.
Mark Raby, who was laid off from his manufacturing job in March, said he’ll browse Craigslist and eBay for deals then resell the items with a markup.
The project takes literally a story Jesus told his disciples: a rich man gives three servants a different sum of money, then leaves on a trip. Two servants doubled the money, but the third buried the money to protect it. The first two servants were praised, but the third was cast out.
“This program is clearly supported by the teachings of the Bible,” he said. “It’s not my money, it’s God’s money.”
Pastors across the country are using cash as what one church calls “faith stimulus.” An Alabama church dispersed $50,000 to its members and told them to give it, in $20, $40 or $100 chunks, to someone who needs it. One Michigan church gave $10 to each of its 300 members and told them to use it to help others.
At Gold Creek Community Church, it’s the church that needs money. The pastors asked: Why not put the problem into the hands — literally — of congregants?
People who take the money aren’t required to be members, and it doesn’t matter if they’ve never been to the church before, Ehoff said. He’s not worried about losing the odd $100, and expects most families to bring in a profit.
It’s unlikely that the program will raise $4 million, Ehoff said. But at Gold Creek Community Church, the congregation is prepared for a miracle.
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