Dear Friends of Grace United Methodist Church,
Living a life that is “greater than” has been shown in so many transformative ways throughout the past several months. The love and generosity of God has shone brightly through all of you at Grace in the ways we support local and global ministries, and continue making followers of Jesus Christ to transform the world. There truly is so much to celebrate here at Grace UMC!
For our stewardship series this year we are focused on the theme “Greater Than”, and looking at how we can continue to expand our reach and the love of God further into our neighborhood, our community, and our world. This congregation has always supported Grace through generously giving of your time, wisdom, experience, passion and financial resources to sustain and grow our ministries and mission. With the continuance of your generous and faithful gifts, our congregation will be able to do ministry that is “Greater Than” as we recognize that together is greater than alone.
Let’s be honest, stewardship often gets lumped into the conversation of “the church is asking for money again”. That’s only a portion of the conversation though! Stewardship is about how we manage ALL the gifts God has entrusted us with. Those gifts include our finances, our abilities, our time, our relationships, the ministries of this church, etc. It could be easy for us to appreciate the status quo and comfort, not only in our lives, but in our call to collective ministry. However, we serve the God of possibility who continues to use and grow all of our gifts for the kingdom.
Below you will find a commitment card for 2023. This commitment card will help us establish goals for the coming year, create a budget that aligns with our mission, and help you consider how God is calling you to serve through Grace UMC. Please note, this is not a pledge card for anyone to get hounded down about, rather a guide for yourself in the coming year. Before filling out the commitment card, take some time to be in prayer of what God is calling you to in the coming year. On October 30 during our worship service, we will have a time to celebrate our group commitment together!
We invite you to make plans to join us for worship for the next several Sundays as we journey through this series together.
October 9: Investment > Quick Fix | Matthew 7:24-27
October 16: We > Me | Acts 2:14-18 Laity Sunday, Diana Stead preaching
October 23: Generosity > Comfort | Malachi 3:8-15
October 30: Possibility > Status Quo | John 14:8-14, Commitment Sunday
Faithfully in ministry with you,
Pastor Taylor Johnson
Phyllis Murray (Vision and Ministry Team Leader)
Paul Anderson (Operations and Resources Team Leader)