May 25, 2023
Dear Central Church,
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the phrase, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Humans like to be with other humans who are similar to them. We find it easier to connect with people who have similar cultures, backgrounds, interests, and language.
Several years ago, church growth experts described a strategy called the “homogenous growth principle.” Recognizing that it’s easier for people to invite others to church who are similar to them, it encouraged churches to be intentional about programing that was targeted toward the dominant culture of a congregation.
While this may have resulted in numerical growth, this is far from God’s vision for the church. On the day of Pentecost the church is born through the giving of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit enables people from different places who were ethnically and culturally diverse to come together to hear the Gospel in their own language. From the beginning, the Church was intended to be a multi-cultural kaleidoscope.
This Sunday we are going to celebrate Pentecost by having a combined service with our Hispanic and Brazilian congregations. It’s a picture of what the church originally looked like on the day of Pentecost and what it ultimately will look like in Heaven! We’ll sing in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. We’ll also hear the Bible read in multiple languages.
This Sunday we’ll have one service only beginning at 10 AM.
We’ll also have a special time of prayer with our friend Pastor Fritz Ommani, who led our African congregation before covid. The pandemic forced this ministry to be put on hold, but we believe Pentecost is the perfect time to pray for God to revive this ministry at Central.
The Lord is making us one! We come together in worship not because we are all the same, but because we worship the same God and have all experienced the same grace.
Our Turn Now Update
I wanted to share an exciting update with you concerning the Our Turn Now initiative. This past Sunday, we were called to "give God something to bless." God moved in a significant way as 81 families made a new or additional commitment to the vision. This includes 35 new commitments! Seeing everyone get on board with this vision is what excites me as a pastor. Together we are going to sacrifice for this to become a reality and together we will reap a spiritual harvest in the days ahead!
With these additional or new commitments we've added $243,000 to the $1,200,000 that was committed in February of 2022. This brings the current total of the campaign to $1,443,000. This is phenomenal. It's hard to not be excited about the total dollars committed, but the real indicator of God's hand in this is the increased participation. In 2022, approximately 65% of our congregation made a commitment. With these new commitments, that participation level has increased to roughly 80% (.791)! It truly is OUR turn now...we're doing this together.
I believe there are still some who are praying about what God would have them do. If you would like to make a new or additional commitment to the campaign, you can do so by filling out this online commitment card. Let's move that number to 100% engagement. How awesome would that be? I believe participation at any level is what matters to God. Scripture teaches us that stewardship is in the local church is not about equal gifts, but equal sacrifices.
I've got more good news to share. We recently selected a contractor for the project who gave us a bid that was $200k below what we had anticipated! What we thought was going to cost $1.9M will not exceed $1.7M! God is already providing a way for this to move forward.
With $1,443,000 currently committed and a $1.7M budget, we are looking at a $257,000 gap. Perhaps God is calling you to help fill the gap. We're going to continue to receive commitments for the next week.
We'll see what God does over the next few days and our leaders will share a plan for moving forward. Here are some important dates for the future:
June 4 - We'll vote to approve a financing plan. This includes a temporary construction loan and potentially a long-term financing plan.
June 11 - Last Sunday in the Sanctuary
June 18 - New worship schedule in the Student Center: English at 9 and 10:30am; Hispanic at 3:00pm; and Brazilian service remains at 7pm.
June 19 - Construction begins. Contractor has promised 130 days. Pray that this work is completed safely and on time!
Thank you for believing and participating in the Our Turn Nowinitiative. Our best days are ahead, and I'm excited to be on the journey with you!
Until He's Finished,
Pastor Mark
