Thanksgiving Offering, Sunday, November 15th
On Sunday, November 15th, our church will receive a Thanksgiving Offering for all the blessings that God has given us through First Baptist. It’s our way of saying, in a monetary way, “Thank you, Lord” for the good things that have happened this year.
Life is filled with unexpected gifts and challenges. This year has been no different. We’ve seen God’s hand at work through choir tour, Sabal Palm, our internationals ministry, the baptismal waters, and dynamic Easter services—just to name a few.
We’ve also had a few challenges, some expected and others unanticipated. We repaired the Duval third floor air conditioner and the Adams wing elevator. At Vacation Bible School, we grew enough to need two new floors of ministry space for that week of ministry to children. We’ve enjoyed the blessings of a new sound system. We met and responded to the needs of an international member who died suddenly while his family was overseas.
The good news is that our church has been faithful to support all these efforts. The needs are great, and people have risen to the occasion. We have not, however, met our budget requirements to support these ministries.
Financially, we’re behind about $200,000 where we need to be by this time in the year. We have already reduced expenses in staff and programs this year, and we plan to decrease the 2016 operating budget by over 4%. Without your help, however, we will face a deficit that will impact 2016’s ministries, facilities, and staff.
What better way to meet the ministry needs by giving thanks with our treasure? On November 15th, we’ll receive a special offering that will go to three purposes: 2015 budgeted ministries, capital needs, and current indebtedness. The first $200,000 will offset our budget deficit, the next $100,000 will fund the capital projects from this year, the rest will supply the needed resources to fund the budget, facilities, and reduce our indebtedness. Our goal is $500,000.
The Thanksgiving Offering is an “over and above” way to express your gratitude and meet this year’s needs. Simply indicate “Thanksgiving offering” in the memo line of your check or return your gift in the designated “Thanksgiving Offering” envelope to receive this offering. You may also give online by clicking the give button on our website, choosing give online, then selecting “Thanksgiving offering” after you log in or register.
Prepare to give over the next thirty days. Take a look at the unexpected blessings of this year for yourself. Just the reduction in fuel costs alone since last year have been one surprise for all of us. If you’ve never tithed, use this month to give a tithe of your income for this month to the Lord. Come Sunday November 15th, and share God’s blessings with our church