Click here to view the Stewardship Committee’s Videos – Tips, The Offering & Mastercard
November 2011
Dear Friend in Faith,
God is on the move at Christ Our Shepherd! THANK YOU for your partnership in these exciting days of ministry.
Boats were central in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus taught from boats. Jesus prayed and rested in boats. Jesus transformed his disciples into people of great faith in boats. In a way, a boat is a great metaphor for what Jesus does in all of our lives: Jesus invites us into his life-boat and moves us from the sidelines of the shoreline into the adventure and joy of Deeper Waters. (Did you know that sanctuaries are called “naves,“ as in “navy” because they are to represent the boat of faith? Many sanctuary ceilings are designed to resemble a boat’s hull.)
Clearly, Jesus is moving Christ our Shepherd to Deeper Waters. God’s given us the mission of taking the best of our Lutheran-Christian heritage into a future that needs the light of Christ. New land (33+ acres at Palmetto), new disciples, new staffing arrangements, new initiatives with kids and small groups, new ways to serve our neighbors.
As you know through worship, we’ve been using Luke 5.1-11 to navigate the Holy Spirit’s teaching about our identity as stewards. Those original twelve disciples were overcome with joy as Jesus took them to deeper waters where they pulled in a catch so bountiful it almost sank their boats! Jesus offers us the same experience. Jesus says “Trust and commit yourself to the Deeper Waters of life with me, and see if you will not find deeper joy, satisfaction and life.” At COS, our Stewardship Team has issued three specific goals as we do Deep Water ministry with Jesus in 2012.
DEEPER WATER GOAL #1: USE A FAITH COMMITMENT CARD.
We tell God our gift to God matters when we take some specific time to pray and calculate what a worthy gift should be. Plus, sharing our intended specific financial faith commitment with the church helps our leadership plan well. Right now, 35% of our congregation provides a “pledge.” Our goal to have at least 51% of congregation share this valuable information and mark of discipleship. Please prayerfully fill out the enclosed faith commitment card. Bring it to worship on Sundays Nov 20 or 27. You’ll have a chance to place it on the altar as a sacrificial gift of thanks and trust to God.
DEEPER WATER GOAL #2: ACTIVATE “SIMPLY GIVING” OR “ON-LINE GIVING.”
Not all of us remember to bring our checkbooks to church (let alone sometimes find our checkbooks at home). For us, Simply/On-Line Giving is a wonderful tool. The Bible teaches us to offer regular, first-fruits gift. Simply/On-Line Giving helps us do just that by ensuring the very first financial move we make each week or month is our offering to God. Plus, the program greatly reduces both erratic income patterns and the paperwork for our Monday morning clerks. See the enclosed informational sheet for directions. Our goal is to move from 50 family units to at least 100. Would you help us achieve our goal? Please let us know of your intention on your faith commitment card.
DEEPER WATER GOAL #3: SELECT THE RIGHT DEPTH FOR YOUR GIFT TO GOD
As you heard in my sermon, I loved fishing as a boy with my Grandpa Wiese in Michigan. Part of the fun was putting on the bait, setting the sinker and determining the right depth. “What’s the right depth?” is also a question Jesus-followers ask about their giving to God, in terms of time and treasure shared. When I have to make such decisions, I need frames of reference. So let me share the way I think about this. Review the chart below of typical house-hold expenditures for PTC-area residents:
Concert Series Tickets to the Fred, one person, $247
Subscription to AJC Newspaper, $288
Chick fil-a Spicy Chicken Combo Meal, once a week for a year, $317
Verizon Phone Plan, One Phone, $480
World Gym Membership, $540
Comcast Cable Plan, $720
Verizon Phone Plan, Family Plan, (No data plan), $1080
“Equal Share” for Typical COS Family Unit. ($1,000,000 COS Ministry Plan for 2012 divided equally for our 436 adult family units), $2,293.
Family Cruise for four, $2595
Canongate Golf Memebership, $2666
Golf Car from Peachtree Golf Cars, $5000
Tithe. 10% of the Median Family Income in Peachtree City, according to Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live article, Sept 2011, $10,286. For your tithe, figure 10% of annual income.
What’s the right “depth” for you? What signifies a worthy “thank you” to God? More than the cost of cable? More than a vacation? King David once said in 2 Samuel, “I will not offer a sacrifice that costs me nothing.” Where do you “put in your line” above on the chart for King David’s philosophy on giving to ring true for you?
THANK YOU again for your partnership in our ministry for Jesus at Christ Our Shepherd. God’s Work, Our Hands. If we all trust Jesus’ call to move to Deeper Waters in the way we steward our time and treasure, the impact at COS will be phenomenal. Not only will we wipe out our $100,000 annual shortfall, we’ll be a richer blessing to our neighbors. Like those first disciples, we’ll be laughing with joy at the abundance of our catch with Jesus.
Following Jesus to Deeper Waters with you,
Pastor Fritz