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Peace Lutheran Church Has a Secret Admirer!
An anonymous donor in our midst has made a special no-strings gift to our church of
$625,000!
But it is not the donor who is the secret admirer; it is GOD!
For God knows the plans He has for Peace Lutheran Church and for the donor—plans to prosper and not harm, plans to give hope and a future. (See Jeremiah 29:11)
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“God doesn’t single out someone for a special blessing
without using that person to impact others in a unique and extraordinary way.”
- Pastor Waiser
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Every donor is tempted to grab a little credit for making a large donation that can have a significant impact on the mission of a church. Some people might request that a pew, a chapel, or a bell tower carry their name. But when someone donates anonymously, that person is responding in faith to God’s incredible grace and goodness and giving all the glory to the Lord of his life.
“Our pattern has always been to give 13% to Mission & Ministry,” the donor couple told Pastor Waiser. “So when we came into this money, we knew we would give thirteen percent.” Although the money is an outright gift, the donors asked that it be allocated as follows:
• $125,000 to “Mission & Ministry” for opportunities outside the budget
• $500,000 to pay down the principal on the church mortgage
Imagine what opportunities to GO! Make Disciples and to serve others in Jesus’ name can be funded when monies budgeted to pay interest on the mortgage are redirected for God’s purposes. Now think about the IMPAcT in God’s name if our congregation matched the generosity of the donor!
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Introducing...
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Matching Funds Capital Campaign
for 2011
For the practical heart, the obvious goal of the capital campaign is $1,000,000 of debt reduction. To appreciate what this matching funds effort could accomplish, here are some eye-popping numbers:
If we cut the loan amount in half by the end of this calendar year (doable,) and interest rates don’t go up (optimistic,) and we keep the monthly payments where they are (most likely,)
we could save approximately $1,200,000 in interest
(more if rates go up)
and cut almost sixteen years off of the length of the loan
(see Technical Stuff on the right).
So roughly every $1 of your contribution gets matched to become $2 applied to principal which then avoids $2 (or more) in interest.
SO EVERY DOLLAR YOU GIVE BECOMES FOUR DOLLARS
TO OUR BOTTOM LINE!
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Technical Stuff
Our building loan is with the Texas District Church Extension Fund (TCEF.) It is a three year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) currently at 5% interest. It is due for renegotiation on November 8th, 2012. The interest rate and monthly payment amounts can change at each renegotiation point. The good news of having an ARM is that interest rates are at historical lows. The bad news is that they may not stay this low.
As of the end of December, the principal balance was $2,033,000 and the payments are $11,692.82 a month. Matching the $500,000 gift would allow us to cut the loan amount almost in half. At that point, TCEF has agreed to renegotiate the loan early (prior to the currently scheduled 2012 date.) We would then have the flexibility to keep the monthly payments the same, or adjust the amount up or down. Obviously, the most savings would be achieved if we kept the payments the same or even higher.
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Now that's an IMPAcT!
Every $1 you invest in the IMPAcT campaign
makes a $4 IMPAcT on the mission and ministry
of Peace Lutheran Church!
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Worship
Everything we do has the potential to be worship of God…everything! (see Romans 12:1) For three weeks in March we will focus in worship on the impact that this abundant gift from God could have not only on Peace, but on God’s mission through us to our communities and the world. Make every effort to be a part of worship these three weekends and then give sincere, prayerful consideration to how you will be a part of IMPAcT: GOD’s power at work in us!
March 12/13 IMPAcT: My Offering Makes a Difference
March 19/20 IMPAcT the World: Immeasurably More
March 26/27 IMPAcT: Let Go
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Click here for a larger, printable image
Focus on the Eternal ROI
Too often we find our pleasure in calculating our return on investment (ROI). We use a simple formula of dividing the benefit of the investment by the cost of the investment. The calculation gives us a hard number to judge the profitability of buying and selling stocks, houses, raw land, and much more that we want to possess to build wealth in our lifetimes.
We tend to have a short-term view of investing that is generally limited to our life spans. Yet we’d be wiser to focus on the long-term—that is, eternal—ROI.
If Esau had calculated the eternal ROI of selling his birthright for a bowl of red stew, he might have kept his birthright and waited to eat with his family. (See Genesis 25:29-34)
What hard number can reflect the eternal ROI of investing our time, talents, and possessions for Christ’s kingdom? Not one. So why make donation commitments according to Wall Street calculations?
Martin Luther said there are three conversions
necessary in the Christian life—first the heart, then the mind, and finally the wallet.
Our Lord is a giving God. He gives Himself, His Son, and His Spirit to us and for us. All provision and blessings come from Him. Our offerings are a mere imitation of God’s abundant generosity to us. Our giving is a response to His faithfulness and promises, a form of worship, and an expression of gratitude.
 IMPAcT the Matching Funds Capital Campaign, is an opportunity for every member of the congregation to grow in the grace of giving. It challenges us to strengthen our core value of intentional generosity.
Do you have a limited view of God’s abundance? Do you figure what you can keep instead of what you can give? Paul urges each believer to “give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
“LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:16)
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Number Crunching to Achieve the Goal in 2011
If every giving household in our congregation (single, couple, family) contributed $15 each week to the Capital Campaign (apart from other directed donations) for the next 45 weeks, we could match the $500,000 gift by the end of December!
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A Pattern to Grow By
Do you remember that the donor said he had “a pattern of giving 13% to Mission & Ministry”? Well, that pattern didn’t just happen. It developed from a plan and deliberate action. People who can tell you what percentage of their income they give to the church budget their giving. And when they increase the percentage of their giving, they step out in faith and make a commitment to do it regularly and willingly. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34)
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| FAQs |
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Q. What is “proportional giving?”
A. Porportional giving is setting aside a percentage of your income to give to God’s kingdom work. In the Old Testament, people gave a “tithe” or 10% of the new harvest or livestock. It’s not about a legalistic amount, it’s about stepping out in faith and seeing 100% of what we have as gift from God. God wants us to give, not legalistically, but joyfully in direct proportion to how He has blessed us.
Q. What are “firstfruits?”
A. Firstfruits are the first crops of the harvest. In Exodus 23:19, God commanded the Israelites to “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.” The offering of the first crops of the harvest was an acknowledgment of God’s abundant provision in the past, in the present, and in the future.
Q. Should I make a donation based on a percentage of my gross or net income?
A. It is your decision; don’t give reluctantly. However, recognize that your gross income includes the firstfruits. If you give firstfruits to the government in the form of taxes, then you are giving to God out of the leftovers. And remember: you don’t find the firstfruits in your loose pocket change.
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;” (Proverbs 3:9)
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Letter from Pastor Steve Wiechman (March 15)
Letter from Pastor Justin Rossow (March 4)
Letter from Pastor Walt Waiser (Feb. 21)
Resources:
For more information about generous giving and financial peace, click here.
Read about a Texas philanthropist who donates 50% of everything he has:
Deal-Making for Good: Smart Giving = Significant Living by Dick Rathgeber
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