In our church services last Sunday (6/23/24) we observed the Halfway Celebration of our Building Impact Initiative and gave some great updates to the strategic ways Community Grace is impacting our community and world right now. Those updates and thoughts perfectly launched my message on Acts 13.

They say that when preparing to travel, you should lay out all your clothes and all your money, then take half your clothes and twice the money! That’s wise advice, especially when traveling to a place like Africa where many unexpected things can happen – to Central African Republic (CAR) specifically, where Team Community Grace is sending a group of representatives this fall, as part of the Building Impact Initiative and our formal adoption of the Fulani people of CAR. Those representatives are: Mike and Myra Taylor, me and my daughter Gabby, Max Ashenfelter, Pastor Steve, and Jay Bell.

We are all very excited, but WE are not “the team.” That’s right! Because this is a churchwide adoption of an Unreached People Group (UPG.) Therefore, “The Team,” as we see in Acts 13, includes those who are going AND all who are sending!

This is true for all five focuses of the Building Impact Initiative:

Our main air conditioner is one of those focuses, and an exciting update on that – It has been installed! The old A/C, affectionately called “Big Bertha,” is no more. Bertha lasted 5 years beyond life expectancy! Now, it would be cheaper to issue a little battery-operated box fan to everyone as they enter each week. But walk into any building in town and you will be cool because A/C is a baseline standard in our cultural context. It is a barrier to the gospel not to have it. So, we prioritize it. And by YOUR faithful giving, we avoided taking on debt to pay for it. I think you, and we can celebrate that!

We consider the other four wonderful items as all-church team focuses as well. I urge everyone to reread our detailed FAQ sheets about all five focus items of the initiative, now that we are halfway through it. You will be reminded of the great vision and purposes God is accomplishing through us right now. Then, keep reading the fantastic personal testimonies, and keep praying about how you will be involved.

We have raised $125,134.50 toward the $200,000 goal -- More than halfway there at the halfway point. But that is with only slightly over half of our church participating so far. What could we do for these five identified impact items with 100% participation? It will be awesome. It will impact every one of us and many others who are waiting for us to reach them. 

God could turn rocks into gold to cover costs, but He doesn’t. He invites us to co-labor with Him and gives us personal growth as we invest in growing His Kingdom!

Will you participate right now? How can you?

1. Fill out the Faith Promise Card —This is the main tool to participate.
2. Give as you are able by the instructions below, or on the back of the brochures and our weekly bulletin.
3. Instructions for giving Gifts in Kind can be found towards the end of the FAQ sheet.
4. Kids are joining this initiative, too, by filling a Lego bank and enjoying emptying it down the Giving Chute!  

This, brethren, is how every work of God has always been and continues to be funded and supported... Starting with the first Gentile church in Antioch, in Acts 13, as the entire church participated, meeting needs and sending out the first two missionaries ever sent. This is the legacy of Jesus’ church which we can continue together today.

God continue to bless Community Grace and keep us devoted to You. For your glory and our joy,

Pastor Reg