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Evergreen Heights Christian Fellowship
a Mennonite Brethren Church in Simcoe, Ontario, CANADA
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Q: What is the difference between a "fundraising" campaign and a "giving" campaign like Building to Serve?
ANSWER: A BIG difference! The purpose of a "giving" campaign is to challenge each of us to give out of our OWN resources. In a "fundraising" campaign, you collect money from someone else by selling them a product or service. A giving campaign always results in personal spiritual growth -- a fundraising campaign just raises money. The Building to Serve campaign was designed to (1) Stretch your faith, (2) Build your hope in God’s promises, (3) Deepen your love for Christ & his church, and (4) Teach you Christlike generosity. By learning to sacrifice personally for the cause of Christ you will grow toward spiritual maturity.
Q: "I am a single parent with several kids and almost no income. But I want to be a part of building our church. How can I give?
ANSWER: First, let me commend you for your heart’s desire to give. It reminds me of the poor widow Jesus honored for her faith in giving in Mark 12:41-44 "Jesus sat near the Temple Offering Box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. Then a poor widow came and put in two copper pennies. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people together! They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on."
From this moving example of sacrifice, Jesus taught 3 important truths:
o Your attitude is more important than your amount in giving.
o It is always possible to give something IF we really trust God.
o God measures our faith by comparing what we’ve given with
what we have left over after we’ve given.
This is why our theme is "Equal sacrifice, not equal gifts" As you pray about what a genuine "sacrifice " will mean to you, I urge you to read the Bible story of the miracle that happened when another single parent gave away what little she had (1 Kings 17:8-16). God took care of her the rest of her life. And God is still doing miracles today in the lives of those who dare to trust him!
There are many ways to give - if one is willing to give. Pray about giving what you can in cash on May 11, and then make a faith commitment to give an additional amount over the next 36 months. Then watch God fulfill his promise to meet your needs (Phil. 4:19).
Q: Are we paying any fundraising consultant for this campaign?
A: NO! We have designed this campaign based on the biblical instructions God gave for raising the money to build the Temple in 1 Chronicles 29. Other churches who have followed this model, have also helped guide us through this process. Q: How will the money we raise be used? A: The building fund is kept separate from the general ministry funds. All Building to Serve gifts will be used to pay the expenses of building facilities. It is important to remember that our Building to Serve gifts are to be in addition to our regular giving for the on-going operation of the church. Otherwise our day-to-day ministries would suffer. Q: What about money that has already been given to our building fund? A: It is currently in a savings account gaining interest. Some of that money has been used for architectural designs and site preparation. Q: How soon will we be able to use our new facilities? A: If we collect $250,000 in cash (approximately $90,000 more), we can start building in September 2008, and hopefully complete by next spring.
For more information please contact Pastor Richard Martens at 519-428-0960 or through email at rich@evergreenheights.org
