Valley Christian Center

Sitting in a deer stand on a cold November morning in 2015, James Leonard was praying about the future of his church. He had been recently elected the lead pastor of Valley Christian Center in Spring Valley, MN and the church was struggling financially.

In that moment he felt God remind him of a passage of Scripture from Malachi 3:10 about tithing, and he felt led to approach the church board about tithing from their general fund.

Initially the idea was tabled for a few months, but after Prayer and Fasting Retreat in 2016, Pastor James felt an urgency to once again bring the idea to his Board. Before appoaching them, he noticed that giving in the church had already increased by 10% since deciding to try again to move forward. He told his board, “God has already brought His blessing; it’s time for us to bring our obedience.” That night they voted unanimously to tithe from the general fund.

As a result, Valley Christian Center was able to increase global missions giving and support new missionaries. They also started sponsoring local “Mercy” projects in the community. One of those projects, replacing the roof of a family in need, just wrapped up this past November.

The Sunday following the completion of the roof project, the church had the largest offering in its history and there is an excitement about what God will do next. Pastor James encourages others, “If God puts a crazy dream in your heart while you’re sitting in a deer stand…or wherever you hear from God, go after it and believe that God is going to be faithful to you. He’s certainly been faithful to us.”