“We think a lot of people feel like they don’t have the means to make an impact, or at least they don’t know how to go about it,” says Cassy Spivey, a member of Western Reserve Grace Church, Macedonia, Ohio, Jason Haymaker, lead pastor. “The Five Dollar Club is a way that everyone can play a little part in something that is bigger than themselves.” The idea of the Five Dollar Club was brought to Cassy and her husband, Sam, by their lead pastor in the spring of 2018. The club is intended to make a way for members of the church to make an impact in a way that is financially obtainable for most people. The Spivey’s took on the task of organizing the club, finding organizations to support, and officially launched the first “Club Sunday” on October 7, 2018.
Club Sundays fall on the first Sunday of each month at Western Reserve Grace. Members of the club “pay their dues” of five dollars at the “club table.” A video is then shown during the service which includes a recap of how the chosen organization was impacted from the previous month’s dues.
When choosing an organization to support, Cassy and Sam are careful to select ones that are intentional about preaching the gospel. The Five Dollar Club has focused on local projects, which included donating food to the community food pantry, and purchasing personal hygiene products for a homeless shelter. One of the staples of the Five Dollar Club is affectionately called “clubbing.” Clubbing happens once per quarter. After the club dues are collected, the money is divided among a small group of club members and they are instructed to bless people of the community in tangible ways.
“We were able to buy groceries for a ton of people. One family didn’t quite understand what was happening, but the cashier was able to see that we were trying to show Jesus in the community, and she let us pray for her,” says Sarah Queen, a member of the Five Dollar Club. Another group of club members were able to pay the bill for eight parties at a local restaurant and had money left over to purchase food items for a food pantry.
While the Five Dollar Club primarily focuses on local organizations, they recently were able to impact a domestic organization, SEEDnet, a cooperating ministry in the Charis Fellowship (Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches). Money brought in from the month of April was used to put together a gift card tree for SEEDnet which will enable them to get to their church plants with a little more ease.
“The Five Dollar Club unites our church as a family,” says Cassy, “it’s a reminder to people that their role and part matters.”
The Five Dollar Club plans on another round of “clubbing” this summer. Other plans include partnering with a global organization, as well as purchasing backpacks and school supplies for a local school later this year.
[Connect:] Visit the Five Dollar Club website to see all of the recap videos and send Cassy and Sam an encouraging note here.