The PTA Bake Sale — who wants to sign up to run the next one?

I’ve got nothing against the PTA, seriously. But sometimes our vision is really small when it comes to our ministries. I live in a town that depends too heavily on little fundraisers to fund good ideas. The spaghetti dinner, the BBQ sale, the live-entertainment event, the gala dinner — the list goes on and on.

One local business that supports a variety of organizations complained last year that their calendar had too many events on it — they were spending too much time attending fundraising events. Do you recognize that mode of operation?

Think bigger.

“For twenty-five years, our church has hosted a food pantry out of our basement. More than 2,000 people receive three to four days of nutritious meals per month because of our food pantry. We have done a lot with a very little bit of money. But the need continues to grow faster than our ability to meet it. We carry about six tons of food up and down our stairs each month.

“We need to build an up-to-date food pantry building in an under-used parking lot on our property, with a drive-thru lane, a waiting area, and additional food storage space. We’ve already secured significant volunteer support to build. Would you consider leading this effort with a $10,000 gift?”

Maybe your $500 spaghetti dinner can buy a set of chairs for the waiting area of your new building. But you can inspire yourselves, your church members, and other members of your community to build the building.

Jesus said, “The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.”

Think. Even. Bigger.