Investment Assessment

Most people make investments of some kind during their lifetime. Paying into Social Security to provide retirement income is an investment. Going to school to obtain an education is an investment. In addition to these common investments made by the average citizen, many of us will make other investments based upon our life circumstances and personal goals.

If you sat down today and did an investment assessment of all the investments you have made in your life, what would your investment assessment reveal? How much bang for your buck so to speak have you received? Would you have to classify some of your investments as busts and failures? Would waste be the most accurate term to characterize your investments?

Last Sunday, February 26, Brenda and I attended Wellspring Church in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. When we arrived for the 11 a.m. service the parking lots and walkways around the church were beehives of activity. Cars were leaving as people were departing the 9 a.m. service as others were arriving for the 11 a.m. service. We entered the facility and were warmly greeted by a number of volunteers. Families, children, youth of all ages and many senior adults fill the spaces outside of the main worship center. With fervor and excitement, they greeted each other and engaged in conversations. We made our way into the worship center and at 11 a.m. sharp, the praise band and praise team appeared on the stage and vibrant, joyful worship began. After a time of musical praise and worship, an offering was received and then Pastor Trey Kelly appeared on the stage and brought a powerful, relevant message from the Bible.

You may be wondering what our attendance at Wellspring Church last Sunday has to do with investment assessment. The story of Wellspring Church will help answer the question. Wellspring Church began in 2008. At that time Trey Kelly was a pastor in Texas. T. J. Gofff was a worship leader of a church in San Francisco, California. I think the two men knew each other from time spent together at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Trey Kelly felt led of the Lord to plant a brand-new church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He asked T. J. Goff to come to Myrtle Beach with him and be the worship leader. They had no resources other than a vision that this was God's will to begin this new church. Obviously, they needed resources, and they began to reach out to other established churches to make investments in this new church.

T. J. Goff's parents, Kerry and Barna Goff, were members of First Baptist Rayville, Louisiana, and he had visited his parents on a couple of occasions. Because he had some familiarity with our church and we knew him through his parents, First Baptist Rayville was one of the churches from whom they elicited support for the new church. If I remember correctly, First Baptist Rayville committed to give $200 a month in support of the new church. This support began in 2008 and continued for a number of years. After the service last Sunday, I spoke to T.J. and he said this support from First Baptist was one of the foundational pillars for the church in the beginning.

In my conversations with T. J. last Sunday, he also shared that they are having up to 600 people to attend Wellspring Church each Sunday. Since beginning in 2008, they have baptized many people who have professed faith in Christ. It is obvious that they are touching the lives of individuals and families in Myrtle Beach.

First Baptist Church of Rayville, Louisiana is a mission minded church that has engaged in numerous mission causes. They have made major investments in mission causes literally all over the United States, in Honduras, in China and other places. I think First Baptist Rayville can assess the $200 a month investment they made years ago in Wellspring Church and know that it has and continues to yield maximum fruit for the kingdom of God. In my opinion the investment assessment clearly shows every dollar was a dollar well spent.

I only hope that First Baptist Rayville is aware of how much God has blessed their mission investments. I also pray that all of us as individual believers will do an investment assessment. Are we investing in kingdom advancement or investing in our own perishable wealth and success? I am not suggesting that investment in our personal welfare and the welfare of our families is wrong. Actually, to a point, it is responsible because we should take care of our families. I am saying that this should not be the sole focus of our investments.

The Bible gives us the right perspective when it tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) I pray that we can do an investment assessment and know that the investments we have made throughout our lives have produced abundant kingdom fruit.