2 Chronicles 31:5 (NASB77)
5 And as soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all.

Dear Friends and family:

I know first hand the financial pain and hardships that many of you are experiencing. Because of this, I have been in prayer and seeking God about our First Fruits offerings for 2009. The Lord gave me a very clear process to see us move out of this place of pain. Simplify, unify and get out of debt. I am going to be speaking about how we can do this as a congregation in the coming weeks.

When we become a citizen of the Kingdom of God it is a free gift given to us. Jesus paid the highest price, his precious blood, for our salvation to be purchased. We can never give any amount of money that will buy our way into heaven’s gates. Our salvation is free, but living in economic freedom requires obedience to all that God has written to us regarding his principles in the areas of finances and economics, God has recorded key ways that our money should be directed first before we spend it on other things. When we are disciplined to obey the word of God and hear the Holy Spirit with our finances God will rebuke the devourer from our lives and open the windows of heaven to pour the financial blessings upon us! Do you know the difference between the tithe and First Fruits?

The Tithe: This is ten percent of our gross income we give to the local church from each pay check we receive. The tithe is to come before any other offering. It literally belongs to God and we are stewards of this money.
First Fruits: This is a free will offering that you give at the beginning of your year. You are giving the first as an act of faith and obedience that God will supply abundantly more as the year goes along.
All the tithes and First Fruits offerings are given for us to work in unity to expand the kingdom of God as he directs Skyway to be a light to the world. When you give along side of one another, we are all reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are reaching over 35,000 people around the world right now!

Many people ask me for an amount or percentage for the First Fruits offering. The first thing I say is for you to pray and ask God about an amount, but here is the amount I feel God is challenging us as a congregation for 2009.

· $200 per person; even if it takes multiple weeks to achieve this goal!

· 600 people accepting this faith challenge for 2009

Everyone else is invited to prayerfully give more or less according to your hearts desires, but every man, woman and child is asked to give a prayerful and sacrificial First Fruits offering this year. I greatly appreciate your support in this effort. I believe that God will deliver you in your personal situations as we come together corporately in this way.

Thank you,

Pastor Greg