Firstfruits Giving

Lee Anne Dixon's journey with CityRise began with a strategic, generational focus: she and her husband, Jason, were looking for children's and youth programs that could foster their kids' spiritual growth over their education. CityRise quickly felt like home because their children saw many kids from their neighborhood school, and the presence of her sister and brother-in-law provided comfort with the church's direction.

Signing Up for Spiritual Awakening
Raising her sons, Jacob and Carter, in the church's youth group yielded the most memorable experiences, especially the youth group trips. Through these trips, her sons truly learned the meaning of serving God. Lee Anne recalls joking with friends because she and Jason had never asked their kids if they wanted to go; they simply signed them up every time the doors opened for youth programs.

This commitment was based on a fundamental understanding of faith development: spiritual awakening doesn't happen in one event. It requires many different core memories that string together and build a relationship with Christ alongside friends going on the same spiritual journey.

Lee Anee’s own experiences as a leader on many of these trips have become meaningful to her as well. Her favorite mission trip memories aren't the hard work during the day but the evening reflections. Hearing others—especially new believers—express how God spoke to them makes her more aware of what to listen for and how to live in God's purpose. This is the same narrative she loves to hear from the youth.

Sacrificial Giving: The Lesson of the Best Lamb
The practice of generosity was a value passed down through generations in Lee Anne's family. Her father was faithful to teach about giving, showing her how to set aside a tenth of her small earnings by paying her in coins so she could physically see what 10% was. He taught her that giving is about training your heart to give your first fruits, not just whatever is left over. He reminded her of the Widow's Mite, that even the smallest amount makes a big difference.

The lesson that she says will stick with her forever comes from the Old Testament command to the Israelites to sacrifice the best lamb. Lee Anne realized it’s easy to give something that is old or broken, but true sacrificial giving is to give your first fruits, the very best, something you think would be able to set you up for the future. Give something like that to God, and you truly are living out the principle of the first fruits.

An Encouragement to the Hesitant Giver
For those struggling with generosity, Lee Anne offers a powerful encouragement: stop looking at the total dollar amount as what could have been used for something else. Instead, continually remember the first fruits lesson—give your best first, not what’s left after you've spent money on what you feel like you need.

This approach trains the heart to feel like you never need the money in the first place, because "it's never been ours.”