THANKSGIVING OFFERING
With the end of October, the holidays are officially upon us…though some are admittedly holier than others. We’re surrounded by pumpkins for both Halloween and Thanksgiving and can expect to see Christmas decorations going up any day now.
Before we get caught up in the whirlwind of activities and holiday travel, I hope we can pause to give some advanced consideration to Thanksgiving and our focus for this time of year. If you think about it, all ‘thanks’ requires ‘giving.’
When you’re truly thankful, you make some expression of your gratitude — whether a simple word of appreciation or a tangible demonstration of just how thankful you are. You want the source of your blessing to know that you appreciate the blessing and that you haven’t taken it for granted.
For the past couple of years, we as a church have set aside a Sunday in November preceding Thanksgiving to make just such a tangible expression of our gratitude to the Lord for all that He’s done for us individually and as a church. We’ve used this offering to support the essential work of our church and to finish each year in a solid financial position and ready to begin the new year with a strong start.
These additional funds allow us to responsibly maintain both our facilities and our ministries. Any shortfalls in budgeted giving adversely impact both, so we want to make sure we’re being good stewards with all of the resources and opportunities that God has entrusted to us.
This year, we will once again collect a Thanksgiving Offering, and I would like to invite you to consider how you can support this effort within our church. Please give prayerful thought to making a one-time financial gift in addition to your regular giving to the church. You will receive a special envelope that you can then bring that with you to worship on Sunday, November 19, when we’ll collect this year’s Thanksgiving offering.
As we see from Scripture, God is the One who brings the increase, and He can bless any gift and any amount. My prayer is that the Lord will once again show His faithfulness through the faithfulness of His people.
— Josh Hall