Stewardship

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:3-6

 

Dear Beloved Members of Christ Church Anglican,

As we begin our stewardship season for 2021, this passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippian church comes to mind. It has been good for us to partner with you in the gospel over the last year. In so many ways it has not been an easy year, and yet through these trials and through your generosity, the Lord has poured out his blessings on our congregation time and again. We are thankful that we have been able to be good stewards of what was brought in, and we thank God for your faithfulness in giving during a difficult season. A year marked by tremendous uncertainty is ending in the sure confidence that the Lord has been with us and that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

John 15 says that every branch of the vine that does produce fruit will be pruned that it may bear more fruit. God has blessed us with fruitfulness and he desires that we produce more fruit. Examples of fruitfulness abound.  At Christ Church, we have an abundance of leaders with a heart for the growth of God’s Kingdom in our city and around the world. Additionally, we have been able to meet the needs of numerous individuals and para-church ministries through our outreach funds. How might the Lord continue to prune us so that we might continue to grow in our fruitfulness for the sake of God’s Kingdom? Here are a few areas where we see God at work:

–It seems that the Lord is calling Christ Church Anglican to develop and support more leaders. We are becoming a center in the city for this leadership development and may be called to raise up leaders to serve Christ Church, a potential daughter church plant, or other parishes in the Anglican Church.

–We believe that God is calling Christ Church to increase our budget for both missions and outreach, as we anticipate increasing needs in our city for the lost and the least.

–We believe that God is calling us to increase, not only in our financial giving, but with our times and talents as well. Surely, we will continue to see this fruit in the coming year.

We could say much more about what God is doing through our church, remembering all the while that it is God who does the work. But it is best to end this stewardship letter on a note of confident trust in the Lord. As we reflect on the many trials and tribulations that Christ Church has faced over the last year, we can only credit God’s faithfulness, goodness, wisdom, and might for the place of stability we find ourselves in. God has done so much for us, given us so much, and we are right to anticipate even more from Him in the coming year with grateful hearts and open hands.

Would you prayerfully consider pledging to support the ministry of Christ Church Anglican in 2021, with confident hope and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has raised Jesus Christ from the dead on our behalf?

Yours in Christ,

†Bp. Mark and Fr. Matt