A Parable Revisited
Audrey Carli
When Quentin Larson preached on the parable of the talents, he closed with a daring call for application. He spread $500 of borrowed money—tens, fives, and ones—across the front of Grace Covenant Church, Stambaugh, Michigan, and invited his audience to come take what they wanted.
Their task: to imitate the two faithful servants in Matthew 25 and multiply the money in order to finance a summer camping ministry.
Would the dollars evaporate? Would any increase be realized?
At an all-church potluck a month later, the totals were announced. The original $500 was recouped, plus the 8 percent interest due—plus $1,900 for the camping program!
Members excitedly told how they used their talents:
• Some sewed baby clothes and quilts and sold them.
• One baked 75 pounds of rye bread and sold each pound loaf for $1.50.
Another baked coffee cakes and sold them for $80 in order to buy supplies for an Italian dinner. Thirty guests then bought tickets to enjoy the feast.
• Others served spaghetti dinners.
• The High League (high school group) served a pancake breakfast with their original funds and donated the increase.
• On cleaning day at nearby Covenant Point Bible Camp, several children sold Kool-Aid.
• Others made hair barrettes and sold them for $1.50 each.
An entire congregation was thus motivated not only to finance an outreach but also to experience a key spiritual truth in the process.
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