What would your church do with a $2 million gift? Answering that question became a reality recently for an 80-member church in western Pennsylvania.

Hopewell United Methodist near the town of Black Lick inherited that sum from a member who lived in a mobile home, proving the biblical adage that everything can’t be measured by appearances.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about a church receiving a million-dollar inheritance. I remember the late Larry Burkett discussing this issue on his radio program. A woman whose church had received a $1 million estate gift was ripping itself apart in arguments over what to do with it. She told Burkett they were much happier before the money came along.

Though I’m not hinting that Hopewell’s members will follow this pattern, large sums can damage those who aren’t prepared for them. Exhibit A is any one of a dozen stories about lottery winners who consider their bonanza a curse.

With trillions of assets set to transfer to the next generation in coming years, it is worth considering the question: "What would you do with a million dollars?" It may help your congregation examine its heart.

It’s not such a remote possibility, judging by a question raised at a recent seminar on the missional church. Keynote speaker Reggie McNeal is a consultant with Leadership Network and author of the new digital release, "Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church."

During a question-and-answer session, an audience member asked: if a church received a $1 million gift, would it be good to invest that in the community?

Affirming that it would, McNeal referred to a waitress who had waited on him that week. A member of a large church, she told McNeal her congregation was considering a $20 million building program. Then she commented, "I feel we’re going down the road of the same greed that’s caused (our nation) all this trouble."

In relation to that waitress’s comment, McNeal—who talked at length about our responsibility to bless the community—pointed out the necessity of refocusing the Church’s vision from itself to the world.

"If we don’t invest in our community, we’re going to lose our chance to speak into people’s lives," he said. "People want to serve. Millennials get this; they’re hard-wired to support the missional church."

As examples of the public’s desire to make a difference, he mentioned the avid response to President Barack Obama’s call for service on Martin Luther King’s birthday, Oprah Winfrey’s "Big Give" reality show and a rise in volunteerism.

Churches aren’t being left behind, either. Two examples McNeal mentioned:

* Instead of plowing money it had saved into a building, a church built an after-school center for its community. In addition, when it came to scheduling, the church took a back seat.

* For his first building campaign, a pastor in California raised $100,000 in two weeks for a trio of community initiatives.

Deciding how you would spend a windfall can be a helpful exercise, if only to remind your church that many things can be done without any cash infusion.

Whether tutoring students from the neighborhood or offering help on a Habitat for Humanity project or helping needy seniors, most churches already have the resources to share God’s love—and spread the gospel. All it takes is lifting their eyes to the fields, which Jesus said (John 4:35) are ripe for harvesting.