a very good sunday

For the past six weeks we have been planning for an upcoming direct mail campaign. We were blessed with a donor who offered us matching funds and a friend who provided deep discounts on the postcards themselves. As part of the fundraising process, we solicited money from outside sources and planned for a special contribution at LifePoint.

Yesterday was the day for our special contribution. For the uninitiated, a special contribution is simply a second offering. This would be our first special offering since starting LifePoint last year. Doing a special offering during summer is a bit risky because of the unpredictability of attendance patterns. Yet, in order to do the campaign this fall we needed to have this offering in July.

So ... we began promoting it and encouraging people to make plans on how they could help. The Lord smiled down upon us. We had our largest crowd of the summer and the offering even exceeded my own expectations ("Oh ye of little faith," as the King Jim would say). We raised over $3,000 for our direct mail campaign -- in addition to what was given in our regular offering. And all of this from a group of 52 people, many of whom were first or second time guests!

As I introduced the offering, I mentioned that though small in number we are strong in spirit. That was certainly manifested yesterday. As we counted the offering, I was a bit overwhelmed by the faith and trust that people are beginning to have in LifePoint. God is indeed good.