Our Story
About the Big Give Team
We’re a group of volunteers who have seen how much God can use our free gifts to build bridges between our churches and the communities they serve. It’s amazing how a free gift can build a bridge into your community. And it’s so simple. We’ve seen churches offer free garage sales, car washes, BBQs, movies in the park, pony rides and face painting. Some churches even provided free haircuts and free balloons for the kids. Whatever you do, make it free.
Mission
Every year on the last Saturday of November, churches across Australia of all denominations show their neighbours the unconditional love of God by giving, for free, asking nothing in return.
Join us this year and see what happens at the churches in your neighbourhood.
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Big Give Testimonial
“I was on my deck, smelled the BBQ at the church down the street, went over and got a free burger and some other free things I needed. I went to the church for the first time the next morning, found out who Jesus really was and how much he loved me. My life has been changed ever since.”
Matthew 10:8 (NKJV)
"Freely you have received, now freely give."
Facebook Comments
" Having moved (started over with nothing) in May and missing a few items I will be at a few. The Lord provides our needs."
"It was an amazing day! The overall feeling of love & compassion from the volunteers was overwhelming."
History of The Big Give
The idea of a citywide “Big Give” dates back to 2009. A local church in Ottawa had just completed The 40 Days of Community by Rick Warren. The challenge at the end of the book study was to find a church-wide project that would reach the community in a unique way.
Kathy Blakely woke up early one morning with the idea of a free garage sale. It was something that was easy to do and wouldn’t cost the church a lot of money. As she shared her vision with others, it became evident that this was a “God idea.” The first Big Give was held that year, and Kathy had a dream to see churches all over the city do the same thing on the same day. In 2014, Richard Long of Love Ottawa heard of the idea and approached Kathy about partnering together. A committee was formed, and in June of 2015, 55 churches across the nation’s capital joined together for a unified day of radical giving.
Through the ongoing partnership with Love Ottawa and One Way Ministries, the team hopes the event will continue to grow and be an incredible blessing to communities in Ottawa and across the country.
