Last week, my kids came home from preschool with one of those traditional “thankful wheels.” Now that they’re a little older (5 and 3.5 years old), they’re actually at an age to consider, color, and fill thanksgiving crafts out themselves, and it warms my heart every time. 

These activities make me smile because, in their own little way, they are showing what matters most to them. With only so many slots on the wheel, they have to choose well, and they fill these spots up with relish. 

As I stared at my kids’ thankful wheel, I wondered if Giving Tuesday is one of those opportunities for adults to be strategically thankful as well.

Limited Resources, Good God

Thanks to inflation, a dying car, and the price of preschool, our family has to be very deliberate about how we spend—and don’t spend—our money this year. 

As much as we wish we could give to every missionary, meet every need, and participate in every group’s white elephant, we just can’t. Like the number of slots on my children’s thankful wheel, our funds are limited. So, we have to make choices about what we value enough to merit using our funds. 

Last year, I waxed poetic about two reasons why we should celebrate Giving Tuesday. I’ll spare you a rehash this year, but the point remains true: Giving Tuesday is good for me and good for us together.

As the season gets busy with activities—especially for those of us working alongside church calendars—I don’t want us to lose this opportunity to pause, be thankful, and put some money where our values are. 

I Value UBA

As a work-from-home member of the UBA staff, I have a perplexing relationship with the association. I’ve never lived in Houston—or east of Georgia for that matter. I grew up in mostly rural areas, which in case you didn’t know, are extremely different than the greater Houston area. And now, I live over a thousand miles away from Houston, just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. 

But my love for UBA runs deep. I’m thankful for this association—not just because I get to do what I love alongside some fantastic people. But by having a behind-the-scenes look into what churches are able to do through the local association, I get to see the hand of God at work in a city I’ve grown to love from afar.

The mystifying mix of cultures, foods, and weather disasters has endeared me to Houstonian churches as I’ve seen you hone strategies, band together, and press on for the sake of Christ.

I’ve become a firm believer that we really are “better together,” so much so that people at my church in NC are probably tired of me asking how we can connect with other churches for every type of ministry we do.

Will You Value Us?

As a nonprofit outside of the structures of the Cooperative Program, UBA relies on direct gifts to continue to operate. Even as an employee, I didn’t realize that fact until recently! So the funds that we collect on Giving Tuesday—and any other day for that matter—help us continue the tasks that Christ and our local church bodies have given us.

I could spend a lot of words enumerating how UBA advances the gospel throughout all corners of Houston (and even beyond). To save us both time, I hope this short list will give you a peak at what you give toward when you invest in UBA.

• Assisting churches as they seek to identify, equip, send, and support their own ministry leaders through Sending Pathways

• Connecting church leaders through intentional groups focused on community, accountability, friendship, and support

• Coaching urban church planters through the CPC. 

• Training healthy, multiplicative Hispanic church leaders through Lideres Transformadores. 

• Promoting organic discipleship, Bible literacy, and effective organizational skills through programs for Hispanic pastors.

• Collaborating with the IMB to streamline the sending process and put sending back into the hands of our churches. 

• Guarding and restoring the footprint of gospel “lighthouses” in our city through church replanting and revitalization.

• Consulting churches on issues specific to their congregation—such as diaspora missions, technology, church governance, leadership transitions, 

• Helping churches to understand and engage their community through demographic reports

• Gathering and disseminating information and assistance when disasters strike our city or the surrounding areas

• Helping pastors and ministers collaborate and think about ministry through our blog.

• Drawing attention to and working to plant churches in marginalized and underserved areas of our city 

And I’m sure I’ve still missed something! 

Whether your gift is a widow’s mite or a lavish offering of expensive perfume, I hope the way you spend this Christmas season will be an act of thankfulness and worship.

And I hope you choose to value UBA.

Marie Burrus is UBA's Communications Specialist. She manages, edits, and contributes content for UBA's blog, website, and social media outlets. Marie uses her Master's degree in Intercultural Studies and experience as a missionary in West Africa to write on missions, outreach, culture, and the Christian life.

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[1] Earhardt, Ainsley. Through Your Eyes. Aladdin, 2017.