Daring Faith Capital Fund Appeal All Saints Lutheran Church Norwood Young America, MN

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1 Daring Faith Capital Fund Appeal All Saints Lutheran Church Norwood Young America, MN

2 2 Daring Faith Because of our FAITH in God we DARE to have boldness, courage, DARING FAITH is a 36-month plan to empower both YOU and ALL SAINTS to grow in faith like never before. DARING FAITH will help you mature in faith, give by faith and help you live by faith. Our goal is the same as that of the Apostle Paul: Our hope is that as we help your faith grow larger, you ll be able to help this ministry grow larger too. 2 Corinthians 10:15 In this booklet, you will learn all the details about how we will trust God as we give in faith. On May 5, 1985 God called Judy, Jaron, Jennifer, Kirsten and I to serve All Saints. On that day, All Saints worshipped in the Central High School cafeteria, 57 out of 71 members were in attendance, there was little money and no church building, but there was faith! It was a daring faith and these people of God were ready for action and willing to risk everything for the glory of God. On that Sunday I preached that the power of God at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21) The people of All Saints are a living example that God keeps God s promises because we have been able to accomplish far more than anyone imagined. Thanks be to God for the great things God has done! All Saints accomplishments are not over. There is still far more to imagine! The opportunities to CELEBRATE GRACE, MAKE DISCIPLES, MAKE A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE WE ARE ALL SAINTS ALL THE TIME have never been greater. Will you join us on this courageous journey? You haven t really trusted God until you have attempted to do something you can t do on your own strength! Let God show you how much more God can do in your life! Pastor Eric 2

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4 4 Gathering Space To The East (Offices, Welcome Center, Classrooms) 4

5 Building Project Highlights The All Saints Building Ministry Team, working with our partners at Miller Architects & Builders, has worked intentionally to achieve our mission with an addition of 10,330 square feet. The new addition and remodeling of our current facility includes these features: A prominent new entry makes it obvious where the church's "front door" is located, while a second main entrance, facing north, welcomes those who park in the High School parking lot. The sanctuary is designed to accommodate 350+ persons, and features modern lighting, sound, and AV systems that include three locations for projection. A sacristy, with space for communion preparation, and storage space for: paraments, banners, musical instruments and stands, AV equipment, and other worship related items all conveniently located in the sanctuary. The narthex/gathering space, with built-in coffee serving area, is greatly expanded to encourage fellowship, conversations, and learning about ministry opportunities. The narthex/gathering space serves as the primary hub, with immediate access to the sanctuary, restrooms, fellowship hall, classrooms, coffee prep/serving and church offices. The current sanctuary is repurposed and expanded as the new fellowship hall, increasing the church's seating capacity for meals and events and the current sanctuary also provides additional classroom space. Staff offices, workroom and receptionist area are all combined for better staff teamwork, greater efficiency and improved security. The church office is visually prominent and easily located by visitors. The entire facility is completely accessible and in full compliance with the "Americans with Disabilities Act" standards. New and existing spaces alike have fire sprinkler protection. 5 5

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7 7 Worship and Growth Plateau Congregations hit plateaus. It is common to hit a plateau at 200 disciples worshiping. We broke through that plateau by adding two worship services and our Faith Formation Director, Christin Fugate. The second plateau is worshipers which as you can see below we have been at for 13 years. To break this plateau most often requires larger worship and gathering space. Because worship is central to making more disciples, without an addition All Saints membership will plateau and begin to decline. A new sanctuary and gathering space will meet our future needs of worshipping members and guests 7

8 8 WHAT DOES OUR BUILDING PROJECT COST? The cost of the complete project as bid in 2014 was $1,898,961. With inflation the cost is projected to be $2,014,608. There are two parts to our goal for Daring Faith to receive an offering on Easter Sunday, March 27 of $40,000 to payback our Building Fund and with 300 families giving $25 a week for the three year capital campaign we will raise $1,170,000. With these commitments and our current Building All Saints Capital Fund balance of $180,000 we would raise $1,350,000. Our current mortgage of $248,880 would be refinanced as part of the loan for new construction. The total cost of the project would be $2,263,488. Of course, short and long-term financing will be carefully researched and shared with the congregation before any decision is made to proceed with the project. A CHURCH WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT At All Saints your gifts spread the Good News in our community and around the world. We feed the hungry, care for the sick, make disciples, train the next generation, plant churches, change lives and so much more. All Saints has a 30 year track record of attempting great things for God and expecting great things from God. Our building and every program and ministry you see at All Saints is made possible by the sacrificial giving of ordinary people who became faith heroes through their generosity. You have supported over 150 ministries. 8

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11 HOW CAN I HELP? DISCERNING GOD S WILL FOR YOUR DARING FAITH COMMITMENT The most important decision you or your family will make during our Daring Faith campaign will be your own giving commitment. How do you know what God wants you to give over the next three years? Here are some steps that families at All Saints have used in the past to decide their contribution: 1. DON T RUSH YOUR DECISION. Give yourself time to hear from God. The more time you give to consider your commitment, the more God will build your faith, and the more likely you will set yourself up for a miracle. 2. PRAY THIS EVERY DAY. Lord, show me how to give in a way that stretches and builds my faith more than ever. I want to trust you. Amen. If you have more than one person in your household pray together with your family. 3. A SACRIFICIAL GIFT God does want all of us to make a genuine sacrifice for him. If my gift is not a sacrifice, then it doesn t require any faith. David said I will not sacrifice to the Lord an offering that cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). 4. DECIDE WHETHER YOU WILL GIVE BY REASON OR BY REVELATION. When I give based on REASON, I simply look at how much I have, figure out a reasonable amount to give, and then I commit to give it. This is the most common way people give. It s an act of unselfishness, but it requires no faith, and no sacrifice. Reason simply asks, What can I afford to give? But there is an even better way to give. When I give based on REVELATION, I pray, Lord, what do you want to give through me? This kind of giving requires faith. It was the kind of faith the early Christians had when in 2 Corinthians 7:3 They gave not only what they could afford, they gave even more than they could afford! How do you do that? Only by faith! You give more than you can afford because you are trusting God, in faith, to keep his promises. God has more promises in the Bible about generosity than about any other topic. Here is one: 2 Corinthians 9:7 8 says God loves it when we give cheerfully, so he then provides us with everything we need, and even gives us more than we need, so we can keep on being even more generous! 5. HOLD A FAMILY CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS YOUR CONTRIBUTION. If you have children, involve them, no matter how young they are. It s an opportunity to teach them generosity and faith. Read these Bible promises and instructions and make a list of what you learn: Proverbs 3:9 10, Proverbs 11:24 25, Luke 6:38, 1 Corinthians 16:1 2, 2 Corinthians 8:1 12, 2 Corinthians 9:6-12, Matthew 6: ASK THESE QUESTIONS IN YOUR FAMILY CONFERENCE For your Easter offering: Is there anything we could sell or convert to cash? Is there anything we could do to bring in income for our offering? 11 For your weekly or monthly commitment for 36 months: How can we decrease our expenses in order to be more generous? Are there expenditures that we could sacrifice or delay? How can we increase our income in order to make a larger commitment? 11

12 MY GIVING POTENTIAL Each of us can give far more than we think by giving it over a three-year period. Here are some examples: 12 Weekly Use your money to do good... always being ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourselves in heaven it is the only safe investment for eternity! And you will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well. 1 Timothy 6:19 = Monthly = 3 Years $115 $500 $18,000 $100 $433 $15,600 $75 $325 $11,700 $50 $216 $7,800 $35 $151 $5,436 $30 $130 $4,680 $25 $108 $3,900 $20 $87 $3, DECIDE THE TOTAL YOU LL GIVE: CASH (EASTER OFFERING) AND COMMITMENT, AND DEDICATE YOURSELVES TO GROWING IN FAITH DURING THE NEXT 36 MONTHS! Pray this over your Daring Faith commitment: Generous God, this is a big step for us. We re asking you to stretch our faith, strengthen our faith, and deepen our faith through this commitment to be generous. We realize that everything we have comes from you. So we make this commitment for four reasons. First, to express our gratitude for all you ve provided for us in the past. Second, to show our desire for you to be first in our lives right now. Third, to demonstrate our faith in your promises to provide for us in the future as we honor you. And finally, to show our support for our church family in making a difference for eternity. Thank you for this opportunity to grow in trusting you and thank you for our church family. We pray this campaign will be a great success. In Jesus name, Amen! BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE COMMITMENT CARD YOU WILL RECEIVE ON PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 20 Daring Faith Commitment Card I (We) want to be a part of building the new worship and gathering space, Cash gift (Easter Offering) $ Commitment to give over the next 3 years $ a week for 156 weeks (or) $ a month for 36 months (or) $ yearly for 3 years (or) Name Date 12

13 13 HOW TO MAKE YOUR GIFT AND COMMITMENT You will receive your personal Daring Faith commitment card and Easter offering envelope on Palm Sunday. If you cannot attend worship that Sunday it will arrive by mail during Holy Week. After praying about your Daring Faith commitment, please follow these steps: 1. Give your Easter offering online at allsaintsnya.org or enclose your check in the Easter Offering envelope to give as large an amount as you can. 2. Using the My Giving Potential Guide, write down on your Daring Faith Commitment card the amount you commit, in faith, to give during the next 36 months. 3. Bring your Daring Faith commitment card and Easter offering on Easter Sunday or mail it in the pre-addressed envelope. Dear All Saints Family, I ve been your pastor now for 30 years and you know I want God s best for you. You also know that I battle the same doubts, weaknesses and fears you have. So when I talk to you about growing and going in faith, it is not theory or just words to me. It s personal. In every step that we have taken by faith, I ve watched you grow as children of God. I could not be more grateful or proud of you. I am so blessed and grateful to be your Pastor. Now we come to a very sacred time. I have never led this congregation to rest on our past successes, believing there are no more goals worthy of sacrificing our time and money. As long as I serve Jesus and you I will never pull back into comfortable, boring safety. I do not believe you will either. I know that our best days are still ahead of us, because as long as our hearts are beating it means that God is not finished with us! That s why God is challenging us with this ambitious faith stretching appeal. This opportunity, to make a difference for the future of All Saints, to make an eternal difference with your money... to build something that will outlast your life... and to be a part of a miracle. It will be the best investment you ve ever made. Pastor Eric Arrived at All Saints May 5, 1985 February