Over the last two months of 2012 our leadership team has decided that we will end the year with a goal ... a purpose ... and a positive action that will help Good News be the Church locally, nationally and internationally. We will continue our usual missional focus during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This focus includes Operation Christmas Child, our designated Christmas Eve offering (usually for United Methodist Children's Home) and our yard sale for congregational medical needs. But this year our leadership team is calling all of us to do something different ... something that is achievable and forward-thinking. Here is the plan ...
1. We need everyone to be part of this plan in whatever way you can. Our desire is to pull together a Christmas-season offering that will prepay all of the missional parts of the Conference Offerings for 2013.
2. Each week we will share information about some of the missions that will be funded by this special offering.
3. We have about 400 members ... our plan is to average $50/person above our regular offering ... that's all. We know some can give more and some can not give at all, so we are asking for generosity from each of us. Our plan is ambitious ... raise $20,000 during the Christmas season and fund the mission of our church locally, in our district, in our conference, nationally and internationally. All funds will prepay the missions part of our conference giving for 2013. We will keep you posted on the progress ... I will personally start Sunday with my share of this goal ... again, above and beyond my regular tithe.
4. Through this process we will become aware of how your regular giving does amazing things beyond our local church and how we are part of something much bigger that our 400 member church.
5. I reiterate ... we all need to be a team and be a part of this effort. I hope our leaders and your pastor can count on you to be focused, engaged and in tune with this plan.
6. As an ancillary benefit, this effort will reduce our monthly budgetary needs for 2013 by about $1,800.
Watch for information about the missions you are and will be funding. You might be surprised that you are touching people from right next door (e.g., Noah's Ark in Panama City) to the other side of the world. It is one way we "go into all the world, making disciples (Matthew 28:19)" ... and as our District Superintendent reminded us at our annual church meeting last evening, for the transformation of the world. The point is that the transformation of the world will only happen through the work of God through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us that we do this as Christ's ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:16-20) ... we plan to obediently follow that call! Pastor Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment