Dozens of children laughed as they worked on crafts and ran around The Hall while their parents met in small groups. They had all just enjoyed a delicious meal that was generously provided for them. These families would spend the next hours together hearing a message from the Word of God along with testimonies, a time of prayer and worship with music. At the end of the gathering, the group would partake the Lord’s Supper to remember Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice of death on the cross and the resurrection three days later. This is not a typical Friday night at Sagemont Church; this is a group of under-50-year-olds giving 50% of their income for 50 days. It is known as The Next 50.
“The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us,” Sam Crites, long-time Sagemont member and Like Minds iCONNECT teacher, shared. “We read verses about this in the Bible, and we sing songs about it, but do we really live like we believe that? We have one ultimate priority in our lives: to share and fund the gospel in our sphere of influence. If we aren’t, why not? I think it is a faith issue, not a facts issue.”
The facts were that in the first quarter of 2016 a large portion of the younger generation of Sagemont Church was not walking in obedience with the money with which they had been entrusted. Sam said that in February, Sagemont’s Executive Pastor, Chuck Schneider, gave a “State of the Union” address at the deacons’ meeting. Schneider quickly assured them that the church’s finances were sound; however, it was the demographics of that giving that was most concerning. “According to the receipts, my generation wasn’t stepping up to the plate. Immediately, names and faces came to my mind. I know their hearts and these statistics did not reflect that. I’ve studied the Bible with these people in my living room. I’ve traveled around the world with these folks on mission trips. I know they are on board with the mission of this church. As a teacher here at Sagemont, I felt God was starting to stir my heart to my responsibility to teach my generation about what it means to be a cheerful giver,” Crites recalled.
As God would have it, Sam was slated to teach on this very topic the following Sunday in the Like Minds iCONNECT class. He taught on Malachi 3 which recounts God’s anger with the Jews for not bringing their full tithes to the storehouse or for bringing an insufficient substitute to the storehouse. The Israelites were being disobedient in the system God had set up for them. In direct response to that lesson, Trevor Parker, a Like Minds class member as well as a longtime Sagemont member, made a confession and a commitment: a confession that he had not been a tither and a commitment that, by God’s grace, he would be from now on.
“No offense to Sam, but it wasn’t a unique message,” Trevor laughed. “It wasn’t new information for me. I had been giving 0% for decades, not because I didn’t know I should be, but because I was willfully deciding not to. I trusted God with the eternity of my soul but not my finances? There was something wrong. From that moment on, I decided I would be a giver, and I felt confident that God would help carry me to allow me to be faithful on that commitment.”
Out of that Sunday morning lesson and heartfelt response The Next 50 was born. Sam and Trevor as well as Sagemont’s Family Pastor, Zach Nicholson, and Associate Pastor/iCONNECT, Wes Holloman came up with the idea to get a group of young people all under the age of 50 to give 50 % of their income for 50 days. The Next 50 officially began April 17 and culminates on June 5, the 50th Anniversary celebration of the church.
From that original iCONNECT lesson, Sam and Trevor went on to share their testimonies and to invite other men and women under 50 years old to join them in The Next 50. They visited several adult iCONNECT classes and then on Sunday, April 17, Senior Pastor, Dr. John Morgan, invited them both to share from the pulpit during the 9:30 and 11:15 am services. They were thrilled to receive overwhelming support. Trevor’s wife, Andrea Parker, shared, “I was blown away when I saw all the names of the people pouring in to participate in The Next 50. I am in awe of what God did and is doing with Trevor’s humble confession of sin, repentance and decision to walk in new obedience.”
Extreme giving is not a new concept to Sagemont Church. In the 1970’s 300 families gave one hundred percent of their incomes for 40 days in order to raise the $1 million necessary to build a new auditorium, which we now know as the Hughes Road Auditorium (HRA). Larry and Sharon Brown, who serve faithfully in the Connection Center and have been Sagemont members since 1976, were part of that life-changing initiative. Sharon shared, “I had just quit working, and we had a new baby at home. It was amazing to see what God did during that time. I was worried about how we would make ends meet. After the 40 days began, Larry turned 25 years old and received an insurance rebate. I received a check in the mail because my employer had miscalculated my percentage of stock. These two checks more than made up for what we gave during the 40 days. Only God!”
Many of the people in The Next 50 chapter of the Sagemont story had parents involved in the earlier initiative, saw the foundation that was laid and were hungry to experience something like that in this generation. “This act was foundational to our church. We wanted to share in that experience of the older generation,” remarked Sam.
The logistics of how The Next 50 would actually work was on the agenda at the first planning meeting. As a result, money was donated to establish an emergency fund for the young families, couples volunteered to facilitate small groups and all of the meals for all seven Fridays were provided. “From the very beginning, it was apparent God had set this whole thing up, and He was ordering our steps,” said Sam. “As each detail fell into place, we watched in amazement.”
Jerry and Carol Neel, who have been coach couples in the Amazing Grace iCONNECT class for the past six years, have participated in The Next 50. Carol shared, “When we were asked to be a coach couple for The Next 50, we accepted because we knew we wanted to be a part. We are so excited about how God is moving in the younger generation, and we are excited for where they will lead the church in the future. He is going to show Himself mighty through them. We truly believe the older generation is called to pour into the lives of the younger generation. We count it a blessing and a privilege for God to allow us to be a part.”
Ken and Claudia Wilson, also from the Amazing Grace iCONNECT class, have also participated in the initiative. “God was preparing us before we had even heard about The Next 50,” said Claudia. “We had been wanting to give more money to the church, and we knew we needed to step out on faith and give back to Him. On the day we heard about The Next 50, both of our hearts were pricked, and we knew we would be a part. We didn’t know how much we would be giving, but we had an idea we would be giving more than we had imagined.”
Claudia shared how the experience had a lasting impact on her family. “During the 50 days, we prayed a lot more, and we really experienced His nearness. Family and friends were inviting us over for meals, and giving us random things that met needs we didn’t even know we had at the time. None of these people even knew what we were doing when they invited us. God was also in the little things, like I found an extra box of oatmeal in the pantry after God had shown me to eat oatmeal more often to save money. God brought us so many reasons to smile and be thankful.”
Similar to those who participated in the original 40 days, this new generation built a sense of community and deep bonding during this unique experience. “The crucible builds community. That’s why football coaches make you endure two-a-day practices, right?” joked Sam. “When you suffer and struggle together and God shows up in amazing ways, you can’t help but form solid, lasting relationships out of it.”
Trevor tearfully recounted a time at the very beginning of the 50 days when God showed up in a big way for him and Andrea. “I had this old, broken down motorcycle sitting in a buddy’s garage that I had totally forgotten about. Someone noticed it in his garage and offered my buddy $400 to take it off of his hands. What he didn’t know was that we needed $400 to cover our sons’ camp registrations. God had provided just what we needed when we needed it. And the story would have been great if it had just stopped there, but it didn’t,” Trevor smiled at his wife and then added. “Then my sister gave us the money to pay for camp for one of my sons. Because our sons were already covered, we were able to set that up as a scholarship for someone who couldn’t cover the expenses. God had not only provided for our family, but for another. It was an opportunity for God to flow through us.”
Sam concluded, “Giving half of your income requires some serious reevaluation of your life. You have to look at your Netflix subscription and your CrossFit membership and all of the other details of your life and determine what is essential. We prayed and are praying the initiative allowed the participants the opportunity to see God move, and that they will be changed from here on out. Because that is what He does. He changes people.”