I am so proud to be involved in a church that is so generous with their relational and social capital. New people to our church continually tell me how easy it is to connect with the regulars in our church. A new person to our church recently told me that he loves the connection with others that he has come to know at our church. He said, “I look forward to Sunday mornings so much. Just to come here and connect with so many interesting people. In fact, on Sunday mornings, I make sure to get here early just so I have time to talk to different people.” Another woman told me that she is so glad that she started coming here because there are so many remarkable people to get to know. Part of our vision is to have a caring community that is open to all belonging. That is happening and it is exciting.
I am also so proud to be involved in a church that is so generous with their financial capital. Our three year Ignite the Light capital campaign ended this February 28th. A $1 million was pledged over these three years and received $1,040,999 in donations. That is remarkable for our church and could only happen when a large number of people are generous beyond the norm.
But even more impressive than a building for ourselves, was what happened last week. We thought it would be right to take an offering for the Ukrainian people as they struggled with the Russian invasion. We announced it a couple of weeks ago and took the offering on Sunday and have the online giving open until Monday March 28th. I thought anywhere from $2-4,000 would be a generous offering for us and could do some good amidst all the suffering. As of this writing on Wednesday you have given $8,346. That is twice the amount that I thought would be a good offering! Way to go!
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1 it says, “Finally then, brothers and sisters, we request and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel even more.” God is pleased with how you are walking and the generosity that you are displaying! His only request is that we excel even more! Let’s keep doing what we are doing- welcoming people, loving people, sharing Christ with them, and giving so generously, and even step it up a notch. Let’s do that together and we will continue to see God work! Thanks for your generosity.