The Fusion "Share the Love" reverse offering kicked-off on December 22.

Blessed to be a blessing. The Fusion United Methodist Church congregation in Mitchell, S.D., took these words seriously this past Advent as members found ways to multiply the gifts given to them to bless their communities.

The Church received a very generous gift with the directive to bless their community with it. The church leadership decided to harness the creativity of their congregation to do just that.

"As we talked about how we are image bearers of God, sent in the world to be little Christs, this was the perfect way to live that out as a congregation this Advent," explained Pastor Taryn Ragels, lead pastor at Fusion.

On the fourth Sunday of Advent, after lighting the candle of Love, Pastor Taryn invited everyone to participate in a "reverse offering."  Rather than collect an offering that morning, the Church distributed 50 envelopes containing cash amounts ranging from $10 to $100 (totaling $3,000) and challenged each household in the congregation to "Share the Love" by growing the offering and doing something creative with it.

"We loved the idea of empowering people to be generous and think creatively about where the Spirit might be prompting them to share God's love," explained Pastor Taryn.  "We hoped that by empowering people with a small amount of money, people would catch the vision, and the gifts would multiply."

And multiply it did! The spirit of delight and possibility was palpable as people left worship that day. Within hours, stories began to pour in of all the ways people were finding to bless others and spread generosity beyond the money they received in the reverse offering.

For some "Fusionites," sharing the love looked like random, Spirit-prompted acts of generosity: to a family buying food at Walmart, to a random stranger in the grocery store—a stressed-out mom with three kids—with directions to "buy something nice for yourself;" and to a restaurant server who was overwhelmed with the holiday crowd.

"Fusionites" shared the love through several area non-profits.

For others, the gifts were directed toward people they knew were facing unique challenges or obstacles: a family that had a house fire and is currently displaced, a disabled couple who needed a new battery to get around town, a family in need with six foster kids, and a friend who needed help with bills.

The Roy family added to their amount and surprised a former classmate who could not work while battling cancer—a gift that evoked a powerful response.  "What y'all did today only enforces my belief and love for Jesus! I've been praying so much my knees hurt. Thank you so much for choosing me. You have truly made me feel not so alone!" said the recipient.

"It's amazing what a little bit can do," said Jacki Roy.

Many of the givers added their own money to multiply the donation. Some even invited other members of their family or their social media circle to join in the spirit of giving. One family shared the idea on Facebook, and the amount grew large enough to pay off two families' lunch bills and help them start the year with credit.

Church members embodied God's love through needs they saw in their local schools: athletic shoes for a high school student coming out of a difficult family situation, gifts from an anonymous Secret Santa for a high school student in need, new boots for a middle school student who, the week before, had to staple the bottom of her shoes together to get home. Folks helped with items from a list of classroom needs for two teachers through "Donors Choose", and through hygiene products and other supplies to support school-based programs like Mitchell's Caring Closet and Parkston's Trojan Den. Others provided groceries for a Dakota Wesleyan University student alone on campus over the holidays, and money for another student's deposit for the college mission.  Those were just a few of the needs met at DWU.

Participants shared the love of Christ through gifts to other non-profits, such as Abbott House, Ronald McDonald House, Tanta's House (a domestic abuse shelter), CASA, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the Mitchell area Food Pantry, Higher Power Sports, United Way, Mitchell Community Drug and Alcohol Center, and Storm Mountain Center, a Dakotas United Methodist church camp.

The "Share the Love" campaign engaged "Fusionites" of all ages.

The movement continued to multiply as one family decided to add to their money and donated another 20 envelopes totaling $1,000 to do another round of reverse offering on Christmas Eve.

While the acts of kindness and love may have blessed their community, members of Fusion were also impacted.

"Fusion having the reverse offering was so special. It was a great opportunity for us as a family to show generosity," said Fusion lead team member Michelle Swanstrom. "Our family is so blessed, and the reverse offering helped us remember to bless someone else and meet a need in the community. It is about knowing it's all part of God's plan to care for each other."

Another member shared the impression it made on their kids: "The smiles on our girls' faces when they gave the money were priceless. Thank you for the opportunity."

"More than just the act of giving, it was the conversation we had as a family about what we should do with it," said Michelle Mebius, a member of the congregation. "At first, we talked about who would "deserve" it. But then we talked about how nobody "deserves" it any more than any other person. That wasn't what really mattered. It was about the blessing that we experienced through the act of giving."

The hoped-for outcome of multiplying God's love in and through the members of Fusion was evident and lasting.

"As I read and heard stories about what people did with their money, my heart was just overflowing," said Pastor Taryn. "This is the call of the Church, and it's so fun to see people lean into looking for where they can bring hope, love, and joy to their communities. People had so many ideas I had never thought of or heard of, and it shows the power of how each of us is uniquely placed to do ministry in different ways."