Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our session hoped to say in person what you will read below, but the changes to our Sunday schedule over the last two months made it unfeasible. We will look for a time in January or February to bring everyone together to continue the conversation we begin below. We will also seek to make one-on-one connections with you to discuss how the Lord is growing our church and how you can grow along with it.
You will have noticed that we have begun reporting on our Permanent Facility Fund and praying for its growth once a month in our liturgy, and you may have been surprised to learn that this fund even existed. We realize that we need to focus prayer and attention on building our Permanent Facility Fund. If we have sufficient money on hand that is not locked up in an asset like land, then it will allow us to take advantage of opportunities as we discover them. If we wait until an opportunity arises, then we are already behind.
We have set our goal for needed cash on hand at one million dollars. We arrived at this number based on several experiences including the most recent negotiations for the Stilesboro Road property. One million dollars is an amount that will require sacrificial giving but is attainable by a church our size and with our resources.
Cameron has noted often over the last few months that the next generations comprise roughly half of our church. This mission field provides the vision and motivation for securing a permanent facility. We all would enjoy more control over our meeting space and accommodations for our comfort. And we confess we have at times been discontent and grumbled about our current location, and we repent. Our foundation for this quest must be our participation in God’s work in the world.
Peter in his rousing proclamation of God’s forgiveness and grace to the ingathered Jews on Pentecost alluded to God’s age-old promises saying, “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” Beyond being a favorite verse for Presbyterians that practice covenantal baptism, this verse can be shorthand for the mission of our church. Our mission is to mature as disciples, train our children as disciples, and make disciples of our neighbors.
A permanent facility has the potential to focus and strengthen our generational ministries founded on God’s generational promises. Our vision is a building consecrated to the next generations inside and outside our church. We agree with the conclusion of Francis Schaeffer’s sermon “No Little People” and add to it.
Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation [and those generations to come].
As we wait together for the celebration of the revealing of our Lord and Savior who came as a little person, let’s each consider how God may be calling us to participate in His generational mission. Please pray and meditate about what you can contribute, even if it is little in the world’s eyes, as a means to grow as a disciple and to provide for little and new disciples.
With warm Christmas blessings from your session at Christ Community Church.