When God’s People Give

When God’s People Give

Hello Family,

I hope you’ve found rest in the grace of Christ this week. My prayer for you over the last couple of days has come from Psalm 25: “Show us your ways, O Lord, teach us your paths; guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are our God and Savior.”

In lieu of a theological or devotional article, this week I just wanted to thank you for your generosity. Next week you’ll be receiving your End-of-Year Giving Statements along with a letter from me celebrating some of the (incredible) things that God has done in and through Northpoint over the last twelve months, but for the moment, let me share with you how God has blessed this church financially through your faithful giving.

In October 2016, I sent you a paper letter (yes, those still exist!) in which I informed you that our giving was slightly behind schedule due, in part, to the “sending off” of some mature believers in order to plant ReBuild Church in Riverside. Well, I have been deeply encouraged by how beautifully you responded. As I write this email, our year-to-date giving for this ministry year (August 2016-July 2017) has exceeded both last year’s giving and our budgeted income for the same period. Below are the numbers (each through 25 weeks):

’15-’16 Giving: $874,567

’16-’17 Budgeted Giving:   $851,730

’16-’17 Actual Giving: $880,591

There are so many ways that God encourages me through you, and one of those ways is through your faithfulness in giving. Not simply because your generosity reveals your willingness to sacrifice for God’s kingdom, but because it shows how deeply you are committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it enables us to continue making disciples who make disciples in cities like Corona, Norco, Riverside, Athens, Gaborone, Barcelona, Pretoria and many others.

May God continue to do more than we ask or imagine, through his mighty power at work within us!

With joy,

Pastor John