This Week in Worship

Dear Grace Family,

We had a wonderful celebration in worship last week on our Commitment Sunday. I loved watching our children collect the noisy offering for The Children’s Place in Kansas City. It was a record collection of nearly $1500. Thank you for being so generous. In addition, we have had a tremendous response to our stewardship campaign, but there is still work to do. Let me share with you some numbers.

As of today, we have received 186 commitment cards for a total of $758,003. I challenged you to consider a 5% increase in your pledge for 2024 and 84 families have committed to at least a 5% increase which totals just over $70,000. Of the 186 commitments we have received, 41 did not pledge in 2023. That does not mean these families did not give to Grace in the current year, but the new pledges total $123,350. Now for the work that still needs to be done. We are still hoping that 97 families who turned in commitment cards in 2023 will do so in 2024. That is not unusual at this time of year, but if all 97 cards come in at the same amount as last year, we would have about $166,000 more pledged then in 2023. If these families increased by 5%, that number would be $16,000 higher. We would be able to fully fund all the ministries we have planned in 2024.

If you are not a numbers person, let me say it like this, 2023 has been a difficult year financially at Grace. With the transition in leadership, we have been falling farther behind each month. October was the first month since the first of the year that our giving has equaled our spending. We need to finish strong these last two months, but your commitment to the ministry and goals we have set for the coming year has given me hope. Grace has a bright future ahead of us and I am grateful to serve as your pastor.
If you have returned your commitment card to the church, thank you. Your generosity is making a difference. If you have not returned a card, it is not too late. You can fill it out online at this link, or mail it into the church, or fill one out in worship this Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, we will celebrate All Saints Day in each worship service as we remember our saints who have died this past year. I know the Chiefs play Sunday morning, but there is no better place to be than with your church family as we worship together.

See you in worship,
Barry

Each Tuesday Pastor Mitch publishes a devotion on his website Weeklydevotion.com.  If you’d like to receive this in your inbox, drop him an email at  [email protected] and just say “Sign me up!”