Today is a celebration of all God has done in our exceeding the first MILE MARKER goal of $25,000 which qualifies us for a matching donation from Mr. Jim Walters. Mr. Walters is not with us today due to knee surgery and rehabilitation. We miss having fellowship with him, but he has been faithful to make his contribution so that our One Mile for God’s Glory capital campaign now stands at $27,879 + $25,000 (matching donation) = $52,879. We are now one-sixth of the way toward completing the overall goal of $300,000 which includes $150,000 gifts from the members and friends of Grace plus $150,000 matching contributions from Mr. Walters.
We now know what the children of Israel must have felt like when they reached one-sixth of the way in their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. We can celebrate with Nehemiah who led Israel to complete one-sixth of the wall around Jerusalem. Think about what it must have felt like to Peter and the disciples when they baptized one-sixth of the 3,000 souls that were saved on the day of Pentecost. Remember today the testimony of the apostle Paul when he and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem from their first missionary journey:
“When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27)
Today is a day to celebrate and give thanks for the OPEN DOOR God has given us.
When our One Mile for God’s Glory campaign began, we asked every church member to pray and ask God what He would have each member/family contribute to the $150,000 goal. On January 15 this year the pledges were received and, when the report was given, 54 pledges were received totaling a little over $86,000 to be given over the two-year period. The Stewardship Team wants to give every new member of Grace and all of the members that have not yet pledged to the Campaign an opportunity to do so. Simply ask God what He would have you do, and then be faithful to follow through.
George W. Truett tells how he was helping a small church raise $6,500 for a building campaign. During a fund raising dinner in which Truett was the main speaker, the pledges fell short of the goal by $3,500. Dr. Truett asked the guests, “Do you expect me to give the $3,500? I’m just a guest speaker here tonight?”
At that, a woman stood up and in shaking voice asked her husband, who was on the platform recording pledges, “Charlie, should we give our small home? You know, we were offered exactly $3,500 for it yesterday.”
Charlie stood up, turned to face his wife, and said, “Jennie, I was thinking the same thing.”
Then, he turned to Dr. Truett and said, “Brother, if it’s needed, we’ll raise our pledge by $3,500.”
Tears began to fall all over the room because everybody there knew what this would mean to a retired couple on a fixed income. Hands went up all over the room. People began to make additional pledges adding to what they had originally put down. When the total was reported, the campaign goal was exceeded and the couple did not have to sell their home. Today we honor and celebrate all the sacrifices that are being made toward our One Mile for God’s Glory campaign.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!