What Happens after Giving Tuesday?

This week in America our families and friends will gather for a day of Thanksgiving. Since my heart surgery in September I have not eaten much sugar, gluten, or dairy, but for this special occasion I am looking forward to the carrot cake that will be made from my mother and grandmother’s recipe.

While I watch the parade on television with my three grandchildren, I will also be thinking of our brothers and sisters in far off places. In America we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. The day following is Black Friday where people stand in long lines to get the best shopping deals of the year. Small Business Saturday follows and then of course there’s Cyber Monday, which is when online vendors like Amazon.com explode with all the good things. And several years ago someone birthed a movement called “Giving Tuesday”, which is a day to give back. After giving thanks and then emptying our wallets for all the shopping, we spend a day contributing to the financial needs of nonprofit and faith-based organizations. Or, at least, that’s the idea.

But what happens on the Wednesday after Giving Tuesday?

Our brothers and sisters in far off places are being developed as Christ-centered leaders so that healthy churches can be fostered so that the people will come so that the communities will be impacted. God is birthing a brigade of ordinary people in storycentric communities to become extraordinary kingdom servants.

Over the next six weeks between now and the end of the year, we at Freedom to Lead International® would like to provide you with a few short snapshots.

• stories of some of the participants we are working with
• how we are reaching the unreached, the under-resourced, and the under-served.
• report from the ground in Ethiopia as we facilitate two leadership modules there in December.
• invite you to be part of something bigger than any one of us.

Out of the gratitude for what the Lord has given us, and in the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we invite you to go beyond and take part in the leading edge of the gospel in an unreached world.

This blog post is part of an end-of-year series that invites you to “go beyond” and be part of the work that God is doing around the world with Freedom to Lead International®.