Pay It Forward: The Generosity of the Global Church
What if your generosity could change a life? A family? An entire community?
You’ve likely heard of the concept “pay it forward” — an act of intentional generosity that is often a surprise to the recipient and results in a chain reaction of generosity. We see stories go viral on social media such as:
- In a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Canada, one customer paid for the coffee of the person behind them in the drive-thru. That single act of kindness set off a chain reaction that resulted in more than 200 customers paying it forward to the next person in line.
- At a Denny’s in Texas, a single diner secretly paid for the meals of a struggling family. When the family realized what had happened, they later returned to the restaurant and paid for another family’s meal, continuing the cycle of generosity.
- A waitress once received a $100 tip on a small bill from a grateful customer. She used that money to tip another struggling worker generously. That person, inspired by the kindness, donated to a local food pantry. The cycle continued, spreading kindness throughout the community.
These are just a few examples. Perhaps you’ve personally been part of a pay-it-forward chain of generosity! There’s something encouraging and inspiring about seeing people intentionally seek to make a difference — no matter how big or small — in others’ lives. And as believers in Jesus, we have a call to give generously out of what He’s given us — the greatest pay it forward of all time! (See 2 Corinthians 9 for some of Paul’s thoughts on this topic.)
The Generosity of a Young Child
The journey to the Isnag Bible began 66 years before their completed Scripture was celebrated by the community in June 2023. Throughout the decades of translation work, individuals and churches partnered with the Isnag to see the work funded.
Nard Pugyao is an Isnag believer who first heard about Christ as a young boy because of that work. He later joined Wycliffe and became a missionary pilot and strong advocate in the U.S. for his community back in the northern part of the Philippines.
When it was time for the translated Bible to be printed, Nard was working to raise $87,000 to print 5,000 copies — approximately $18 per book. A Good News Club in Georgia had learned about his story and invited him to speak. He shared about how the full Isnag Bible was finally complete!
While there, a 5-year-old girl named Kori came up to Nard and gave him a small plastic bag full of coins. It was so heavy that she could barely hold it! He asked her where she’d gotten the coins.
That’s when Kori told Nard that every Christmas, her grandfather chooses one grandchild to give a year’s worth of loose change to. And this year, it was Kori’s turn! But Kori didn’t want to keep it for herself — she wanted to give it to help print the Isnag Bible so people could learn about Jesus, just like she had. In that moment, Kori gave it all — $42 in loose change. Her extravagant generosity helped bring the Word of God to the Isnag community.
When Nard arrived in Manila, Philippines, and got his first copy of the Isnag Bible, he lifted it up and thought of young Kori. “This was the Bible she bought with her $42,” Nard remembers. “At that moment, I thought of all the people who gave so much to us Isnags, from the young like Kori to the old like those who supported the Isnag translation since 1954! God has used all kinds of people from all walks of life to bring His Word to us Isnags, because the Word of God endures forever.”
From Papua New Guinea to Kenya
In fall 2024, Andy Keener went to visit a remote village in Papua New Guinea where there is an active Bible translation project, along with several other Wycliffe staff. From this village of roughly 400 people, it is an eight-hour hike to the nearest road, followed by an eight-hour drive to the nearest market town. There’s no space for an airstrip, but you can reach an airstrip after five hours of hiking. Or you can take a short helicopter ride, which is how Andy and the team arrived.
Once there, they were greeted by people who were celebrating — not because their Bible is complete (there’s still a lot of work to be done) but because they were so excited for these visitors to arrive!
The community is made up of subsistence farmers and hunters living primarily off the land. They grow coffee beans, and when additional supplies are needed, like a new machete, they take the eight-hour hike and eight-hour drive down to the market town. There, they sell the coffee beans in exchange for needed supplies and return home with any additional cash.
During Andy’s visit, this small community presented the team with a gift as a way of thanking Wycliffe USA for investing in them by sending a missionary to translate the Bible with them.
They didn’t give out of their abundance; they gave all that they had — a gift that equated to $100. What do you do with a gift from a community that is actively working to receive Scripture for themselves? You pay it forward! That $100 gift was allocated to a Bible translation project in Kenya for the Nuru community, who now has received the blessing of partnership from a small community in Papua New Guinea.
The Generosity Chain Continues
Andy shared this story at a Wycliffe USA event, where Nard happened to be a fellow presenter. After hearing it, Nard and the Isnag people decided that they, too, wanted to pay it forward. So they donated $2,000 from the Isnag Ministries Foundation to the translation work for another language community that will also one day receive the whole Bible in the language and format they clearly understand, transforming lives forever. The chain of generosity continues!
The chain connects to individual like-minded believers like you, too! When we step out in faith-filled obedience and generously give our time, talents and treasure that God has given us, there is a ripple effect. Sometimes, we get to see or hear the impact firsthand. Other times, we may never know the lives that were changed because of how we said “yes” to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
But one thing is true: One day we’ll be in heaven, gathered around God’s throne, and we’ll be surrounded by brothers and sisters from every nation and language. Imagine the stories that will be told, the encounters that will happen between people who are able to share how God used one person — one obedient, generous yes — to change the trajectory of a person’s life forever.
It’s not just about paying it forward here on earth, where our treasures can be destroyed or stolen. It’s about paying it forward for all eternity, trusting that where our treasures are, there our hearts will be also (see Matthew 6:19).
So what about you? What act of generosity can you say yes to that could start a chain that continues from one person to the next? Together we have the joy and privilege of knowing that God will use whatever we have — whether big or small — to accomplish His purposes for His ultimate glory!
Related Stories
