October 26, 2023
Dear Central Church,
Probably the most famous unnamed character in the story of Jesus is found in Mark 10. We know him only as “the rich young ruler.” Apparently, he had everything it takes to be successful in life: he was young, educated, and (most importantly) rich! Using my sanctified imagination, I picture him looking like Tom Cruise.
Despite all the things he had going for him it’s probably more accurate to say he is “infamous” in the story of Jesus. He had the opportunity to follow Jesus and be a part of something that lasts for eternity. Sadly, however, he was unwilling to make a soulshift. He chose to consume his wealth rather than to steward it.
As followers of Jesus, we are invited to make a soulshift from being a mindless consumer to a purposeful steward. The shift from consumer to steward means that we view everything we have as a gift from God and surrender it to God for his divine purposes.
I’m thankful to be in a congregation that has a long and rich history of stewardship. Let me share with you an update on how God is using the gifts of his people at Central Church.
Tithes and Offerings. This is the starting place for wise and faithful stewards. The Bible teaches us to give 10% of our income to the local church. God takes these gifts and uses them to transform lives through ministries of proclamation, discipleship, worship, justice, and compassion.
At Central Church, our fiscal year begins on June 1 and to date we have received $685,077 in tithes and offerings, which is 97% of what we anticipated by this time in the year. Thank you for your generous support of the mission of God through Central Church. If you haven’t made stewardship a regular spiritual practice, you can make this shift today! The best way to do that is by setting up a recurring gift to the church by visiting our secure, online giving portal.
Faith Promise. We recently had our “Faith Promise” weekend in which we emphasized the local and global mission of the Church. Many of you made a “promise in faith” to financially support missions over and above your regular giving to the church. Our goal for 2023-24 is $196,000, and we are currently at $168,920 in commitments. We will continue to receive commitments through the end of the month. Click here to join with others and help us fully fund missional initiatives outside the walls of our church.
Our Turn Now. We are just 3 weeks away from worshiping in our newly remodeled sanctuary. This is made possible through the generosity of those who gave to the Our Turn Now campaign. A total of $1,514,695 was committed to the project by 229 families. To date, we have received $1,105,527. Praise the Lord!
As families at Central continue to honor these commitments, we believe we will receive all that was committed and complete this project with minimal debt. The campaign doesn’t formally conclude until June of 2024, so if the Lord is leading you to participate, it’s not too late to be a part of this movement of generosity! Just mark your gift “Our Turn Now” or select this fund in the giving portal.
I share all that, so you know what it looks like to make this shift from consumer to steward. Central Church is full of people who have experienced the joy and freedom of putting God first in their finances. It sounds like an impossible task, but let me share with you some good news from Mark 10 that I wish the Rich Young Ruler would have stuck around to hear:
“For mortals this is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)
Until He’s Finished,
Pastor Mark