November 19, 2021
Church Family,
As we begin the Advent season in just over a week, we have the opportunity to begin focusing our minds and hearts on the greatest gift ever given – that God sent His only Son into this world to be our Savior. This year, during the Christmas season, out of joy and gratitude, we will once again take up our special Christmas offering, The Gift.
Over the last few years, consumerism has invaded our culture and even modified our language. We now have Black Friday and even Cyber Monday. In light of this, we will begin giving to The Gift this year on Giving Tuesday, November 30th. If you desire or plan to give in person, you’ll need to wait until Sunday, December 5th. That’s great, too!
Here are the needs and ways that we will be stewarding our gifts this Christmas:
- Blessing families within our own congregation & community who are currently struggling financially and in need of help this season. We will be assisting some families that – without our help – would not be able to have many of the basic things we enjoy at Christmas: a healthy meal, the delight of a Christmas tree, and the joy of being able to give one another gifts.
- Providing several families with Christmas Boxes through King’s Table, ensuring that no one’s pantry is depleted during Christmas. This will go above and beyond our regular budget and monthly aid through King’s Table and Lunches of Love.
- Supporting and investing in our church planting partners. Very specifically, we will be giving support to our Acts 29 church planting partners at Aim Church (Southside) and New Eden Church (Decatur), as well as our partners in Seattle, Awakening Church. Along with our financial gifts, we are also looking to send a team to Seattle in 2022 to assist Awakening Church with some important community ministry efforts.
- Now living in Queens, NY, working full-time with Global Gates, Haley McCoy is working with a team who are reaching & ministering to the Sikh people group. We are grateful to continue partnering with and supporting Haley.
- Investing in our global mission partners in India & Nepal. As we support the International Mission Board, E3, Wycliffe, and Mountain Child, we are providing opportunities to train & equip people to share the good news of the gospel, funding the translation of God’s Word into peoples’ native tongue, supporting missionaries who are in the field and doing the work of sharing the gospel and advancing the Kingdom.
- In 2022, The Brook will begin partnering with Community of Hope, working to end chronic homelessness, providing permanent housing solutions and job opportunities.
In Matthew 25, Jesus said that when we see the hungry and give them something to eat, or we see the stranger and welcome him, or we see the naked and clothe them – “as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” In James 2:14-16, James goes on to say: “Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, ‘Well, goodbye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well’ – but then you don’t give that person food or clothing. What good does that do?”
Our faith is evidenced by our actions, our love, and our generosity – by responding to the needs of others. Considering this, as we move into this holiday season and reflect on all that we have to be thankful and grateful for in our lives and in our church, we’d like to ask you to begin praying now over how the Lord might be calling you to partner with us as we bring The Gift – a gift that blesses others in unspeakable ways.
Know that when we erase someone’s fear of hunger, we give them hope.
When we walk alongside someone in times of trouble, we give them dignity.
When we train someone to share the gospel, we are advancing the Kingdom of God. What a gift!
This year we are praying – and believing – that the Lord is going to do something incredible through this opportunity. We are not only asking you to pray, but to believe and to give with audacious faith; a faith dependent on God to move, provide, and to come through as we give for the sake of others & the Kingdom! With this in mind, we are setting a church-wide goal of $50,000 this year for The Gift.
Special envelopes will be available in the Worship Center if you desire to give in person. You can simply drop those in the offering boxes in the back. You can also give online through the website.
To be clear, we have budgeted for our local and global mission efforts, as well as the financial partnerships we have established with many of our Missions partners. In those instances, our gifts will be above and beyond those budget dollars.
Thank you for joining with us to partner in the gospel, to be a light in the darkness, to minister to those in need, and in living intentionally to bring God’s Kingdom everywhere we go!
Pastor Brian