Throughout our faith journey, we are extended many invitations. From the invitation to make our confession of faith and be baptized, to the invitation to care for a sick neighbor, to the invitation to bring food to the next church event, to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, our life in a community of faith is full of invitations.
During this next year, our church community is going to be intentional about how we respond to the variety of invitations we receive and how those invitations spur us along in our faith development. Jesus invites us to bring all that we are and all that we have when we become a follower, a disciple of Christ. It is a sojourn that is meant both to form us more into the image of Christ through the disciplines of study, worship, prayer, service, and generosity; as well as to strengthen us in becoming powerful agents for the good that God is doing in our world. When we make an intentional decision about what we bring before Christ, we extend a blessing of health and wholeness to all of creation, because we are certain that this is ultimately what God desires. The world is broken and hurting, and we are called to be a movement for wholeness among its many fractured pieces. We can be agents of grace if we are generous in our response to the invitations that are presented to us.
Our faithful financial stewardship is one way we are invited to respond to Christ’s invitation. Our generosity funds the mission and ministry that we are deploying as a sign that God’s Realm is among us. By Thanksgiving, 2022, we will pledge our offering or tithe amount for the coming year. In this way, we let our church family and leadership know what we can commit to in 2023. I hope you will be intentional about responding to this important invitation, not simply to offer your estimate of giving card, but to celebrate with us what is coming in the new year. God has done and continues to do remarkable things through us and with us – things that matter in our community! Your prayers and your participation are keys to helping us advance further on the pathway of discipleship.
We know that when the early church gathered, they did so with glad and generous hearts and that there was no need among them (Acts 2). We desire such a spirit of true community to be among us. I look forward to considering with you what it means for us to be generous in the new year, as we seek to be faithful disciples in this place.
Thank you for walking alongside me as a part of First-Calvary Baptist Church
Prayerfully,
Rev. Jeffrey B. Snyder