Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words have guided our focus this month to practice abundance. Abundance isn’t something we acquire or accumulate as much as it is something we live into. Jesus’ desire for us is that life would be full of God’s abundant gifts, and more often than not, life is. We often have a difficult time seeing just how abundant life can be until we practice abundance, until we grow in our relationship with God. As we have focused on #abundance over the last few weeks, I pray that this has been true for you – that worry and anxiety have turned to trust, that a sense of scarcity has been replaced by abundance, that you have been able to see more clearly the many ways that God is abundantly present and blessing your life each and every day.
We are also growing into the abundant blessings God has given our ministry. Today in worship, we shared a vision of further abundance through youth and family ministries. It is built on who we already are as a church. It is a vision that believes we have what we need to do what God is calling us to do. It is a vision that seeks to grow our ministry, to build more capacity through church members and through staff, so that we can reach more people with God’s abundant grace. Our vision believes that when trust and abundance guide our vision, God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
Today, we ask that you express your faith as part of our church’s desire to live the vision God has given us. Our session invites us to increase our pledge in 2013 by 10% in 2014 that we may live into the vision expressed in the inserts included below. We want to build a Sustainable Youth Ministry with a youth coordinator, continue employing Rev. Tami Seidel as Parish Associate and support the vibrant ministry already happening.
Below is a link to our online, safe and secure commitment form. Click on the link below and the page that opens will guide you through a series of items to fill in and/or click. Make sure to click “continue” all the way to the end of the form. You’ll see a progress bar in the top right corner of the page to gauge your progress. Once completed, the information will be sent to Kim in the office.
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e8aaohu7hmas81wp/start
Thank you for the abundant ways your faith builds up the Body of Christ called First Presbyterian Church. Our cup overflows with all the ways God has blessed us. The living water that flows through us is reaching out to many lives to share the abundant life Jesus intends for all.
Chip