Paying our tithes unto the Lord!

And whoever offers a sacrifice. to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering. it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it." Leviticus 22

One of the sub-themes that ran through all our discussions that took place at Black Catholic Convocation 2000 here in the Archdiocese of Chicago was the issue of tithes and proper stewardship of church members in support of our parishes. Thereafter, with the organization of the post-Convocation Implementation Committee we established a Tithing Committee, which was charged to search out suitable tithing programs that would be supportive of Catholic culture. Running into several dead-ends we have finally located one in our area that we can recommend to pastors and their finance councils.

I have found the VASTT (Victory and Salvation through Jesus Christ) Ministry Stewardship program to be the best program we have located, at this time, for an appropriate parish tithing education that is biblically based while offering a formation in Christian discipleship that results in proper stewardship on part of the Christian faithful.

Evangelist Anton Seals has reaped success with a number of small congregations of varying traditions here in Chicago and in the Gary, Indiana area. I appreciate the program for the fact that it is not a marketing strategy nor an aggressive salesman pitch nor a one-time fund raising campaign. Anton Seals is a genuine Christian devoted to service of the Lord and the Church. The VASTT exercise is meant to provide an education to a tithing ethic for your church membership that will support your church and reap spiritual and material benefits for years to come.

VASTT's Mission:

God's Plan for an Abundant Life: Stewardship, Tithing and Discipleship. To teach what God promised his people concerning covenants He promised regarding Tithing, Principles of Sowing (Giving) and Harvesting aligned with an understanding that Discipleship is a prerequisite of Stewardship.

VASTT's Objectives:

•  To increase the churches willingness to pay tithes and to give offerings.

•  To increase tithes and offerings by 100%, 60% and 30%. various pastors of other Christian traditions have offered testimonial letters on behalf of the positive outcomes of VASTT's program in their churches.

"Anton Seals. is a dynamic, anointed man of God with a tremendous capacity to inspire, instruct and introduce the foundational components of a discipleship, stewardship campaign. He has a sound biblical platform and vivid testimonies of what God has done in his life to move him towards obedient stewardship that honors our heavenly Father.. from October 2002 to November 2002 our tithes and offering increased by 52%.. and from October 2002 to the present. we continue to be excited about what God has done through Minister Seals because the fire he lit continues to burn brightly."

-- Reverend William R. Lott, Sr., Mt. Sinai Baptist Church

•  To increase Commitment and Covenant Pledges

•  To end fund raising and special affairs to support ministries.

•  To develop ministries of Servanthood for Kingdom building; for heaven on earth experiences

On September 29, 2003 Anton Seals made a presentation to the Convocation Implementation Committee at the Pastoral Center downtown. On October 7, 2003, Seals made a presentation of his program to seven pastors of parishes in Vicariate VI of our Archdiocese. . To-date the following parishes are signed up for the VASTT program: St. Philip Neri, Our Lady of Peace, St. Felicitas, Holy Name of Mary and St. Elizabeth.

The VASTT Ministry Stewardship Journey Model is not meant to interfere with or duplicate the Archdiocesan Millennium Campaign or any other parish program. The VASTT exercise is meant to provide an education to a tithing ethic on part of your parishioners to reap benefits in stewardship, participation and church commitment for years to come.

"In the past several years. participating churches enrolled in the VASTT Ministry Stewardship Journey seminars have received increases of $100,000 to $500,00 in their first year. Most recently one church reported a 62% increase after three months. This increase was reported a month prior to their Harvest Festival. the key in all the planning is to keep God first and remain focused on enhancing the growth of all participants/congregants in both their tithes and offerings. The goal is to see lives transformed by the renewing of their minds through Christ Jesus for Kingdom building. A tithing church is where the manifestation of God's Word and Spirit is growing ." -Anton Seals

VASTT Ministry

708/339-1160

vasttministry@aol.com

Bishop Joseph N. Perry