We Say YES!

Are you ready for a history-making weekend? I can’t wait! It will be historic for two reasons. First, it’s a game-changing weekend for Grace World as we move forward into the vision God has called us. Second, it is also a game-changing weekend for our homes and families as we step forward into God’s promises over our lives.

Sunday is Commitment Sunday. For five weeks, we have been building up to this moment. Finally, Sunday is the day we come together and share what God has laid upon our hearts to commit towards the WE SAY YES campaign.

This campus expansion is the biggest, boldest step of faith that we’ve taken as a church family. It’s bold and risky, but as I have said, the risk of remaining where we are is far greater than the risk of moving forward. 

We hope to start on phases one and two of our master site plan in the coming year. Our master site plan has been thoughtfully put together in four phases to allow our church to grow alongside our community. These first two phases will:

• Open a front door to our community that says we are a church for the whole family.
• Build a bridge between our buildings, creating a central atrium that will make ministry connection possible before and after services as well as throughout the week.
• Provide much needed space for our children and youth.
• Make all our 2nd floor classrooms accessible to all members of our congregation.
• Update ministry spaces in the FLC and classrooms.

You can see the architectural renderings and project information on our “We Say Yes” webpage. I encourage you to check it out this week as you pray into the project.

I shared on Sunday that 46 families, made up of leaders, elders, trustees, and staff, came together to make an advance commitment. These families made commitments of $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, and as much as $300,000. To date, the YES campaign has received $1,337,800 in advance commitments and over $167,000 has already been given. This is all before we get to Commitment Sunday. That’s incredible!

Please do three things this week.

First, I’m asking you and your family to build an altar this week in your home to pray and ask God what your part is in this campaign. This is an amount over and above your regular giving.  

Second, I’m asking you to be open to letting God challenge and stretch you and your faith. Reaching our goal will require every single one of us to do our very best. For many, this will represent the single most significant contribution you’ve ever made towards a church.

Lastly, come this Sunday ready to share what God has laid on your heart. Let me also encourage you to bring a portion of that commitment to give in an initial offering. We are believing for a miracle offering on Sunday alongside a miracle faith commitment towards the project.  

When we began the YES campaign Jenna and I had decided on an amount that we wanted to contribute. Let me give you a little context to our thinking. It is time for us to upgrade our 2014 Ford Explorer. That vehicle has traveled around the nation and now has 150,000 miles. We’ve taken good care of the car and believe we can get three more years out of it. So we decided to forgo a new vehicle and put that money towards the campaign. That would be a generous gift.

However, as we began to go through this campaign and heard your stories, as we watched how you were capturing the vision for this project, God began to work on our hearts as well. The truth is our initial three-year commitment was comfortable for us. It made sense. It worked in our budget. But Jenna and I felt God tugging upon our hearts to double our amount. I’m not gonna lie. It’s a stretch. Seeing it come to pass will require us to make some significant budgetary cuts and to believe for growth in other revenue streams. But here is the deal, Jenna and I know God has spoken it to us. We also know that if God has called us to it, He will enable us to achieve it.  

I love this season because it’s causing me and my family to stretch and grow in our faith and think outside our own boundaries. Jenna and I expect to see miracles in our family. We expect unexpected blessings. We expect to see the exceeding, abundantly above all else!

We expect that for you as well. I am excited to watch as God does exceedingly more than you can ask or imagine! I am excited to watch as you experience an overflow!  

My friends, it’s a new season at Grace World. It’s a new season for growth and blessing. It’s a season that I’m excited to be a part of. I’m humbled that we get to do this with you.

This Sunday will be special. This Sunday will be sacred. This Sunday will be a time to celebrate! Let’s come together to say YES!