Grace and Peace to you Grace Family,
It has been almost two years since our last in-person Congregational Meeting. Do you remember our meeting in 2019? It seems like so long ago, but that is probably because it was! I probably do not have to remind you of what we have been dealing with since then, but it has obviously had a major impact on our lives and our life together at Grace. As we continue to deal with and work through a global pandemic, one thing has been proven to be true, your faithful giving in support of the ministries at Grace! I am grateful for this truth because I know so many churches have not faired as well as we have.
You might be wondering why I am writing about a meeting that took place two years ago and your financial offerings. Well, at that meeting in 2019 we as a congregation made a couple significant decisions with our finances and commitment to the future of our church campus. At that meeting we started what we call the Facility Renewal Fund (FRF) and cashed out two investment funds that, if we are being honest, were not serving the Church accordingly. And in an effort to be better stewards of the funds God had blessed us with we all decided to use the over $40,000 as seed money for the FRF.
The plan was to encourage a little extra giving from each of you in order to cover the cost of some significant capital improvements and upgrades like new doors, painting our buildings, replacing our roof and other major expenses. But, before we could really put things into practice COVID came along and threw our world into a frenzy. At that point, due to the obvious uncertain future, funding the FRF was put on hold. And that included utilizing the funds we already had in the FRF as a result of our 2019 meeting.
Though we are still very much unsure of when will be finally rid of this awful virus, with over 18 months of consistent given to our general fund, it feels like it is time to dust off that almost two year old plan and move forward with revitalizing and renewing our campus for the next 40 years of ministry and fully funding the FRF over the next five years in the hope that by the end of that time we will be in good shape for the coming decades.
God has blessed us for over 65 years and showered us with His generous abundance and we have a beautiful church and campus. But, like everything else in this world we are showing our age. To do nothing will result in some very serious problems and immediate need for emergency repairs. Instead of waiting for things to breakdown or fail catastrophically we will continue to trust in God to provide for us as He has for more than half a century. Back in 2019 the plan was to encourage each person our household to contribute an additional $40-$50 a month to the FRF so that we could raise the funds needed to do the necessary repairs. And that is exactly what we will continue (or restart) to do from this point forward.
I hope this does not all sound new to you because this is not a new stewardship or capital campaign. It is something we as a congregation agreed to do way back in 2019. Wouldn’t you love to come to our campus and see doors that are not showing their age, or chipped and peeling paint on our buildings? How about not having to dodge some of the potholes and creases in our parking lot? How would you feel about coming to Sunday worship and finding buckets spread throughout the sanctuary to collect rainwater that is leaking through our decades old roof? These are just a few of the realities we face over the next five to ten years if we do not act now. Brothers and Sisters now is the time for us to move forward with the plan we set forth before the pandemic!
I encourage you to go the extra mile and add to your already generous giving. But please make sure that in whatever way you currently give you specify that your additional offering is to be designated to the Facility Renewal Fund (FRF). If you give online, please make note when you are giving specifically to the FRF fund. If you write a check and give in person or by mail, please be specific when your additional offering is to go to the FRF. It is really important to the future of Grace that we embrace this plan, and I and confident you all will and in a few years the light of Christ will not only shine from our hearts, but once again in the beauty and sparkle of our campus!
Blessings,
Pastor Steve