How Far Can We Stretch Our Dollars?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

In these challenging economic times, like many others before now, people are forced to consider the age-old question: “How far can we stretch our dollars?” Whether we are heading to the grocery store to pick up a few items, paying our monthly utility bills, or filling up our cars with gas, our money just doesn’t seem to stretch as far as it used to. As the scripture above reminds us, these times reveal how unstable and fleeting our worldly treasures (and currencies) truly are—prompting us to evaluate how we invest our money.

Since it is the season for Special Missions Contribution—an effort to raise money for worldwide mission projects—I thought it would be beneficial to explore just how far our dollars can stretch if we choose to “store up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven” by contributing to Special Missions

Raleigh, North Carolina, USA – 800 km (35.7796° N 78.6382° W) This relatively new congregation, planted just last summer, is led powerfully by Ashton and Kara Hughes. After the initiation of Restored Church Worldwide on October 18th, 2024, the Hughes family, along with several other courageous disciples, made the bold decision to take a stand for righteousness and join our new movement. As a result of this decision, they had to surrender all of the church’s funds to our former fellowship, leaving them with nothing. We vowed to support these precious disciples through Missions Contribution, giving them the opportunity to impact the 11 million lost souls scattered throughout North Carolina.

Columbia, South Carolina, USA – 1,100 km (34.0007° N 81.0348° W) Just 300 km away from Raleigh, JP and Makayla Thrasher are leading another mighty church planting in the heart of South Carolina. They also took a stand for righteousness and joined the Restored Church Worldwide movement, giving up all of their funding. Remarkably, in the last two months of 2024, the Columbia Church led the way in percentage growth, baptizing eight souls!

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA – 2,100 km (35.4676° N 97.5164° W) The Oklahoma City Church, led by Dillon and Claudia Gallez, is another inspiring group that chose to join our new movement in the latter part of 2024. As a result, the church lost a portion of its membership, creating a need for additional financial support. With nearly 1.5 million lost souls in the greater Oklahoma City area, we are eager to help this dynamic group of disciples in any way we can!

Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA – 2,100 km (32.7767° N 96.7970° W) Unlike Oklahoma City, or North and South Carolina, Jose and Monica Carranza were not leading the Dallas-Fort Worth Church in our former fellowship. As a result, they could not bring the entire congregation into our new movement. However, they boldly took a stand on faith, left the old DFW Church, and initiated a new church in this vastly populated megalopolis! Excitingly, Joey and Karen Gregory, current Super Region Leaders in Los Angeles, will be taking a supplemental mission team to Dallas-Fort Worth next year to build a pillar church in this key city!

Fresno, California, USA – 3,400 km (36.7378° N 119.7871° W) Another exciting opportunity for our new movement is to strengthen some of our smaller churches, including the Fresno Church, led by the dearly loved Tyre and Jael Ellison. The Fresno Church family now numbers just above 40 members, partly due to their recent church planting of Anchorage, Alaska, last summer. To help reinforce and build up the church, we are sending additional funding, which will allow them to hire and train more full-time staff!

Anchorage, Alaska, USA – 3,500 km (61.2170° N 149.9003° W) The Anchorage Church, led by the amazing Eric and Arielle Schram, is another freshly planted church. The Schram family bravely took on the challenge of planting the church in Anchorage—Eric’s hometown—even though their mission team was severely underfunded, forcing Arielle to work a full-time secular job. After bringing their church into the Restored Church Worldwide, it was decided that we would send additional support to either allow Arielle to do ministry full-time or hire an intern to assist her. We are excited to see what God will do with this dynamic group in “The Last Frontier”!

Monterrey, Mexico – 3,100 km (25.6866° N 100.3161° W) Led by the courageous duo Flavio and Danna Berlanga, the Monterrey Church is a small congregation, located in northeastern Mexico. Lord willing, we will be sending a supplemental mission team, along with an Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader, in 2026 to strengthen this awesome congregation and eventually use it as a launching pad to send out new churches into all of Central and South America! Viva la México!

Yaoundé, Cameroon – 9,200 km (3.8480° N 11.5021° E) The Yaoundé Church, led valiantly by Amadou and Angele Sountoura, is the most recent addition to the Restored Church Worldwide family. This church numbers just under 50 disciples! Excitingly, the Sountouras will lead a mission team from Cameroon to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) sometime this year. As a church located in a developing nation, our financial support is crucial! Prayerfully, God will use this group to initiate a wave of fruit throughout all of French-speaking Africa!

Manila, Philippines – 13,400 km (14.5995° N 120.9842° E) The final church on the list—and the farthest from Toronto—located nearly on the opposite side of the globe, is the enthusiastic Manila Church, led by John and Anna Malnegro. Recently, the church connected with another group of disciples just outside of Cebu. Together, they now form the Restored Church Philippines. The Philippines, known as the “Pearl of the Pacific” or the “Jewel of Southeast Asia,” has historically been one of the most fruitful mission fields outside of North America. It is our privilege to support this incredible church, knowing that God will use it powerfully as a beacon of light for all of Southeast Asia!

It has been said that perhaps the longest journey is the distance between our head and our hearts. So, I hope and pray that as you consider how far your dollars can stretch, the knowledge of exactly where your money is going will travel from your head to your heart. I pray that you will be filled with eagerness to do even more than is required, for “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” To God be all the glory!