Kingdom Assignment, The - Hardcover

Bellesi, Denny; Bellesi, Leesa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310243238 ISBN 13: 9780310243236

Publisher: Zondervan, 2001

Synopsis

Outlines a church's assignment to members of its congregation by where each was given $100 with which to further God's kingdom outside, and shares the many successes and life-changing events that ensued.

About this title

About the Author

Denny Bellesi and his wife, Leesa, founded Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, California, a church of 2,000 begun in this area of Orange County.;Denny Bellesi and his wife, Leesa, founded Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, California, a church of 2,000 begun in this area of Orange County.

From the Back Cover

Are You Ready for a Kingdom Assignment?

The resources are God's; the decision is yours. And as Pastor Denny Bellesi and his wife, Leesa, can tell you, the impact is bigger than you ever dreamed.

Following a sermon on stewardship, Denny Bellesi stunned his congregation by distributing $10,000 among one hundred volunteers and sending them on a "Kingdom Assignment" that has lit a spiritual blaze in their church, won the attention of the national media, and influenced hundreds of thousands of lives across their community and around the world.

There were three simple rules: The volunteers must recognize that the money was God's money. They must use it in ways that would extend his kingdom. And they must return in ninety days and tell what happened.

The results were astounding. The stories of how God blessed the creativity and faith of these kingdom recruits will move and inspire you. But that's just half the story. The Bellesis unlock the Scriptures to help you consider the possibilities for your own life. Whether it's money or abilities or life experiences, God has given you talents that he wants to multiply beyond your wildest imagination. The Kingdom Assignment will stir you to big dreams, big faith, big deeds . . . and a much bigger vision of how God can use you.

Reviews

Late last year, Rev. Denny Bellesi preached an ordinary stewardship sermon to his congregation at the Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, Calif. But he followed the sermon with an extraordinary call to action: he handed 100 members of the congregation $100 each. Bellesi told these volunteers that the money was not theirs, but God's, and that they needed to "invest" it in some way that would build God's kingdom. In February, the volunteers reported back to a standing-room-only church (and, via a Dateline NBC segment, to millions of viewers), describing how the money had been spent to transform lives, build churches, feed the hungry and comfort the sick. More than anything, this book hammers home the message that the volunteers saw their $100 bills being multiplied into thousands as total strangers offered more money to help them undertake their charity projects. As in the film Pay It Forward (which is what gave Bellesi the idea in the first place), one good turn generated another and another. The book, a collaboration with his wife, Leesa, is not elegantly written, but then it doesn't need to be; the story itself is front and center here. These invigorating real-life stories offer excellent examples of Christian faith in action, as church members were forced to leave their comfort zones and search for ways to bless others in the community. Readers will be inspired to go and do likewise. (Nov.)Forecast: During the summer, the Bellesis' inspirational story was featured in People, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, so the prepublication buzz for this CBA title is already significant. Dateline NBC has committed to following the story further.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310243238
• ISBN 13: 9780310243236
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 109