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A letter from Pastor Troy...

by Troy Murphy on October 14, 2017

A Spiritual Family

Community Family,

I wanted to write to you at the end of this series Generous God and tell you how excited I am to be part of our church family. We are, in Biblical terms, a spiritual family that is committed to loving God and others. Our church has celebrated almost 50 years of God’s provision, blessing and life change. The local church is not only God’s strategy for reaching and healing a broken world but also our training ground where we can practice loving one another. Loving each other in the church means bringing our time, talent and treasure together to equip one another to reach out to our city with the Good News. I am reminded nearly every morning of the privilege I have in serving you and the responsibility I carry to teach you the truth from scripture.

One consistent message we see in the Bible is how the church works together through the response of generosity. Many passages address this virtue as one that only comes from someone who has believed and trusted in the gift of Jesus for our salvation. When we embrace this divine generosity from God we cannot help but become a generous family that meets needs.

This season we have experienced God deepening our love for him but we have also seen some shifts in our attendance and giving at Community. So I want to give you a pastoral challenge:

I want you to evaluate how God has used Community Church to grow, care for and bless your family. Think about the moments when God has touched you through a ministry, children’s and youth events, Sunday services, Family Night Live, a pastor or staff member. If you or your family have been impacted then Community Church needs you. There are three ways you can respond:

  • First, if you are not a regular giver to Community Church then I would ask that you begin. Start with as little as 1% of your income. Your regular giving will support the staff, church ministries and ministries in our city.
  • Second, if you are a regular giver then I would ask you to prayerfully consider an increase. We strive for excellent stewardship and transparency and would invite you to get any information you need to make that decision.
  • Third, would you prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift that is over and above your regular giving? Our desire is to make ourselves whole from low giving this summer and set up a strong cash emergency fund that will enable us to withstand low months of giving.

I want to thank you for being part of Community Church. Our hope is to reach our city with the Good News of Jesus Christ and create a campus that welcomes anyone looking for hope. My last request is that you pray for hearts to become generous beyond measure.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.   -- 2 Corinthians 9.6-7

 

Serving together,

Pastor Troy Murphy