FAITH VS FEAR AN INVITATION FROM GOD

Transcription

1 GIVING CAMPAIGN

2 AN INVITATION FROM GOD FAITH VS FEAR The story of the Bible is the story of God asking people to walk with him. From Abraham, to Moses, to the earliest disciples and the Apostle Paul, the invitation from God to God s people is always one of coming along for a journey. God repeatedly comes to people in scripture and simply says, Follow Me. Our job is to make a decision: accept the invitation by faith, or reject the invitation out of fear. We are at a similar point in our history as a church. God is inviting us into the future that God has for us, and it now falls to us to step out in faith, with courage, into the future of Markey Church. Markey Church began in 1906 with a vision to create a church for people in our community that would be FOR them. Now, 112 years later, we re headed down the same path. We re working together to create a church for people in our community who feel far from God, so that they can experience the love, hope, and healing of Jesus Christ in an environment that speaks their language and makes sense to them. We re at a critical moment in our history. One where we can keep the status quo, or one where we can step out in faith, into the future God is inviting us into. I want to be the sort of person who takes BIG steps of faith that make God visible, both in my own life, and for the sake of others. That s what the Immeasurably More Giving Campaign is all about. We re trusting God to walk with us as we take steps to move toward what God is inviting us into next. This giving campaign will allow us to make some key building improvements in order to communicate to our community, Markey Church is FOR you! We ll also be adding some key staff positions, namely a full-time Associate Pastor.

3 Markey Church has a proud 112-year history of being a church FOR our community, not simply for the people who call our church home. We re FOR the people in our community who are hurting, alone, I want to invite you to confused, and in need join us in this work, so of a connection to we can continue to establish God and others. the Kingdom of God, here in Roscommon County, just as it is in heaven. Grateful to be on this journey with you, Pastor David Rice The Ladies of the Markey community met with Rev. R. LADIES OF B. Brown on June MARKEY 25, 1906, and formed a CHURCH Ladies Aid Society. On July 3, they organized the Markey Church of Christ, which would later become known as Markey Community Baptist Church.

4 WHERE GOD IS INVITING US NEXT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR CHURCH? In order to lean more deeply into our mission, vision, and strategy as the people of Markey Church, we believe that God is inviting us into the Immeasurably More Giving Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to fund a few strategic initiatives that will help Markey Church more fully live into our mission, vision, strategy, and core values by MAKING KEY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS and HIRING KEY STAFF POSITIONS. The inspiration behind the name of our campaign is taken from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3: Now to him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, Through for ever and ever! Amen. IMMEASURABLY Ephesians 3:20-21 MORE, we will niv continue to be a place and a people who exist first and foremost for the flourishing of our community.

5 $80,000 FOR A NEW ASSOCIATE PASTOR Key responsibilities: n Lead and oversee our Student Ministry n Lead and oversee our discipleship efforts through classes and Connect Groups $120,000 FOR KEY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS n Create and lead more strategic outreach events n Preach Sundays each year n Tentatively titled Pastor of Spiritual Formation & Student Ministry Some examples: n New Sound + Lighting System n Parking Lot Resurfacing n New Windows + Security Doors n New Café + Office Furniture OUR GOAL $ 200,000 OVER TWO YEARS F O R T W O S T R AT E G I C INVESTMENTS n n n n n n Café Air Conditioning New Worship Center Chairs Parsonage Basement Work Water Softener New Flooring New Furnaces

6 A VISION OF THE FUTURE HOW WILL THIS IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY? Imagine a church community where every adult is stepping into spiritual transformation, every teenager is learning to follow Jesus, and every child knows that God, and God s people, love them so much. Imagine a church where programs aren t simply offered for teenagers, but where teenagers are the heartbeat of the church community, involved in every aspect of ministry, knowing that they help lead the church. Imagine a church community where the curious, the broken, the doubting, and the not-yetconvinced can come and not only hear that God is for them, but can feel that by the way they are loved and cared for when they are with us. Imagine a church community where families are valued so much that everything we do is designed to encourage, give life, and love the kids and adults that make up our area families. Imagine a church community that is transformed by the love and hope of Jesus Christ, and who in turn is offering that same love and hope to the people around us. IMAGINE A COMMUNITY... Markey Church, with your help, and by the grace of God, will become that community over the next few years. May it be so.

7 THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING HOW WILL THIS IMPACT YOU? Maybe you don t feel comfortable with this whole giving campaign thing. To be honest, we don t feel comfortable either. Why? Because often, when God invites to do something, it tends to make us uncomfortable. It s not comfortable for us to ask; it s not comfortable for you to hear. But scripture is clear that generosity is an important part of spiritual maturity. Here s what Paul advises Timothy to do as he is planting and building churches on the island of Crete: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Do you see that? Paul is making a direct connection between trust in the Living God and generosity. Paul understands that generosity financial generosity is an act of faith. And that a lack of financial generosity stems from a misplaced trust in riches. God is our perfect Heavenly Father, and God often knows what is best for us, even when we can t see the full picture. So, we invite you to be generous and to invest in God s Kingdom. God could have supplied all that was needed to fund the work of church planting in Paul s day. But Paul understood that God wanted to build up His church by teaching them to invest in eternal things. Now, God has put this work before us before each of us. Are we willing to do what God is asking us? At the end of this book, you will find a chart for you to pray over. Maybe you feel that you re just not in a position to give much. But, you might be surprised at how a small amount each month adds up over two years. We re asking each person who calls Markey Church home and who wants to see Roscommon County changed to spend time asking and listening to God and seeking out what God is inviting you to give.

8 GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE, AND LET S TALK DETAILS. FAQ WHY DO WE NEED TO MAKE BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS? Our building is a tool that we use, that God has entrusted to us, to carry out the work and ministry that God has called us to. We are responsible to be faithful stewards of this gift. But as you know, our building is showing some real wear and tear, and we ve put off replacing or updating many things for far too many years. The state of our building says something about how much we value ourselves, and how much we value the people we are trying to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It s time to remove the barrier of a shabby-looking building in our efforts to help people come to know Jesus Christ. WHY DO WE NEED AN ASSOCIATE PASTOR? In order for us to step into the future that God has for us as a church, we need strong, capable, experienced leadership in a few strategic areas of our ministry. Pastor David has been spending a huge amount of time investing in our key leaders through special trainings, and through teaching Re:new. We re now at a point in our ministry where having an additional staff pastor with both theological education and ministry experience would be incredibly beneficial to the ministry of Markey Church. Namely, to give leadership to our Student Ministry, and our Spiritual Formation efforts with adults. HOW WILL WE PAY FOR THIS? Great question! Here s the breakdown of our plan for the campaign: $30,000 from a donor (this has already been given) $40,000 from our Building Fund (the Fund is officially at $157,255, but cash on hand is $82,051.76, due a budget deficit of $75, as of December 2017) $60,000 pledged by our 30 most generous donors $70,000 pledged by the rest of the Markey Church community WHY ARE WE USING MONEY FROM SAVINGS (BUILDING FUND)? The Building Fund was first established to help cover the costs of our next building project, and has been treated as such since the 1990s. Given that we don t have a need to add on any physical space to our current building, we think the use of these funds would be more than appropriate in going toward several

9 maintenance projects in and around our property. The proposed amount of $40,000 to be used for the Immeasurably More Giving Campaign would leave an ample amount of money in the Building Fund for an additional need at some point in the future. HOW DID PASTOR DAVID AND THE ELDERS MAKE THIS DECISION? Over the course of the past three years, our elders, some staff, and some key volunteer leaders have been working with The Unstuck Group, a church consulting group, to help us clarify our mission, and live out of the vision God has given us: to reach younger generations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the course of this work, a priority that has repeatedly come up for us has been building improvements that would help us reach those younger generations. After making several low-cost improvements, such as painting some walls, and replacing old furniture and decor, we ve come to a point where we need to make some significant financial investments to continue making our space irresistible to those outside of our church. After looking at several options for raising varying amounts of money, we ve discerned that God is inviting us into a giving campaign, which we have the ability to organize and launch internally, without hiring any consultant help. This campaign will help us address the most urgent needs in our ministry that are keeping us from moving forward, and will position us to reach more people in our community with the Gospel. WHY ARE YOU ASKING US TO GIVE BEYOND OUR NORMAL GIVING? A giving campaign is designed to fund strategic initiatives that are outside of our normally budgeted ministry efforts. In order to fund things like resurfacing our parking lot, replacing windows and flooring, purchasing new chairs for our Worship Center, and bringing an Associate Pastor on staff, we re looking to everyone who calls Markey Church home to give sacrificially toward this Giving Campaign. We re asking for 100% of our people to make a commitment to give as we step into the future that God is inviting us into. The only way we can fund this Giving Campaign is by both meeting our current budget obligations, while funding strategic initiatives beyond our current budget. This is why your individual giving, above and beyond what you currently give, is so important. HOW WILL MARKEY CHURCH CHANGE AS WE REACH MORE PEOPLE? Over the past few years, change has been the dominant theme around everything we do as the people of Markey Church. As we add more people to our faith community, especially those who are new to faith, or who return after a long hiatus, our community will need to continue to give up our preferences in order to extend a hand of hospitality to those newer folks. We want to remove every barrier that may exist in keeping people from connecting to

10 God through the ministry of our church. We can only do this as we each lay down our preferences in order to respond to what God is inviting us into. ARE WE GOING TO GET NEW CARPETING? We sure hope so! We re looking at several options for new flooring and hope to have a decision made in the next few months. Although new flooring is on our list of things to tackle, it s not at the top of the current list of priorities. There s always a chance that we ll need to wait on this. WHAT PART DO I PLAY IN THIS PROCESS? Your engagement with Immeasurably More is beyond important. Your prayers, giving, enthusiasm, and commitment to our mission to create a church for people who don t currently have a connection to God will make all the difference as we step more fully into the future God has for us. We re asking everyone who calls Markey Church home to commit to being financially invested more than ever before during the next two years. Would you prayerfully consider how God is inviting you into this campaign? HOW CAN I PRAY FOR THE CAMPAIGN? Pray for the following three things: 1. Ask God to move among the people of Markey Church, that we may have generous hearts both to give toward this campaign and to create space for people to join in with what we are doing here. 2. Ask God to help us connect with people in our community who desperately need a church home, and who need to find the love and hope of Jesus Christ. 3. Ask God to protect and strengthen our leaders, including Pastor David and his family, our Council of Elders, our church staff, and our volunteer leaders, that we may continue to learn to discern what God is inviting us into next. GIVING OVER 104 WEEKS weekly monthly annually 2-years $5 $22 $260 $520 $10 $43 $520 $1,040 $20 $87 $1,040 $2,080 $30 $130 $1,560 $3,120 $40 $173 $2,080 $4,160 $50 $217 $2,600 $5,200 $100 $433 $5,200 $10,400 $200 $867 $10,400 $20,800 $300 $1,300 $15,600 $31,200 WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Pastor David at drice@markeychurch.org

11 PRAYER Father, We are excited, for what you are doing among us We are excited, for the future looks bright We are excited, because you are guiding us But Father We are overwhelmed with the task set before us We are fearful of not having enough We are tempted to turn inward, and to turn away Father, Give us the courage to hear your invitation Give us the courage to respond to your invitation Give us the courage to trust that you are leading us Remind us that you will never leave us Remind us that you will never forsake us Remind us that to follow you takes risk We look to you, to provide for our needs We look to you, to grow our faith We look to you, to transform our hearts And our community May we step out, in faith Knowing that you go before us Knowing that you come behind us Knowing that you are with us You are with us, all the way In the name of the Father, who loves us In the name of Jesus, who saves us In the name of the Spirit, who guides us Amen.

12 GIVING CAMPAIGN 4736 Flint Road, Roscommon MI markeychurch.org