Alpharetta, Ga. – Attendees of eight Atlanta-area North Point Ministries churches (North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Browns Bridge Church in Cumming, Buckhead Church in Buckhead, Decatur City Church in Decatur, Gwinnett Church in Sugar Hill, Hamilton Mill Church in Buford, Woodstock City Church in Woodstock, and East Cobb Church in Marietta) today celebrated the results of their annual generosity initiative that includes more than $80 million and nearly 27,000 hours of service given to local and global nonprofits. Called Be Rich, the campaign challenges people to be rich in good deeds, generous, and willing to share with their communities. Also in the North Fulton area church attendees collected and gave more than 1,000 boxes of individually wrapped snacks to local schools for students in need, and they wrote notes of encouragement to more than 2,000 Fulton County Schools teachers.
What started in 2007 with three Atlanta-area churches (North Point Community Church, Browns Bridge Church, and Buckhead Church) has grown into a global generosity movement that includes 76 churches in 20 states and five countries. With 23 of these churches launching Be Rich over the next three weeks, the results of Be Rich 2021 will grow. In addition, thousands of service opportunities with Atlanta-area nonprofits remain open at https://berich.org/serve/, and the public is invited to join in the charitable effort.
Here’s how Be Rich works. Each year North Point Ministries’ senior pastor, Andy Stanley, asks 100 percent of the church attendees, who are able, to each give $39.95 and to serve with a local nonprofit. Every dollar given and hour served benefit local and global nonprofit partners.
Church staffers collaborate with the nonprofits to identify projects addressing areas like food- insecurity, foster care, medical care, housing, and education. During the past 15 years of the Be Rich campaign, church attendees have given more than $58 million and served for more than 519,000 hours with charities.
Just a few examples of the 288 projects funded so far by Be Rich 2021 are foster care initiatives, emergency assistance to prevent homelessness, transportation and medical care support for low-income families, programs in local schools promoting student success, three international border stations to rescue women from trafficking, and counseling and therapy for underserved children and adults.