April 19, 2008: 10:30 a.m.
A week or two ago during staff meeting our church administrator, Stan Frazier, made a comment that has stayed with me. He pointed out that all of the ministries of the church were continuing throughout the capital campaign. He added that he had heard that some churches shut down during capital campaigns. Not at Fountain City UMC. We participated in Operation Inasmuch – in fact, we hosted the kick-off. The Open Door meal has come and gone and will come again before the campaign is over. The Nicaragua Mission Team just hosted a fundraising dinner and the rummage sale is just around the corner. All of these ministries and many, many more are happening while we are all trying to figure out how to fund the future of our church.
We know that with God all things are possible but we also know from the example in scripture in Exodus 35 that God wants us to participate. He can raise millions of dollars but He won’t without our personal investment. This campaign is not about money – it is about transforming our relationship with God. He wants us to want what He wants. If you are participating in the Stewardship Bible Study you have heard about the family business. I thought about that today. What is “our family business”? Our business is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. It is to offer Christ to everyone, everyday, everywhere. We can’t do that alone. We can’t do that without God’s help. We won’t be successful if we do it “our” way, but if we do it God’s way anything is possible. God wants us to invest in the family business.
I hope and pray that everyone is taking advantage of this capital opportunity, taking time for prayer, study and service, instead of trying to figure out in our own heads how to raise the needed resources. If we are patient and trusting, God will show us the way. He has a history of doing unimaginable things in forty days.
Related to the Capital Campaign, I have a growing purple prayer chain in the dining room, a dog-eared devotion book, and a Bible study guide with lots of notes in it. I hope and pray that you do too. If you don’t, it is not too late. We still have 28 days until Celebration Sunday. Thank goodness we are not alone on this amazing and blessed journey to continue in the “family business”. We have each other as encouragers and God as our guide. I can’t wait to see what happens.
- Jennifer Smiddy, FCUMC Member
