Dear Friends,

It was humbling to hear our friends in Uganda say over and over again “Grace Church” did this…or “Grace Church” did that! But as our team saw the water tanks we built, met nearly 70 of our sponsored children, toured the Amazing Grace Bakery, and saw the “Grace Place” portion of the new school, I was amazed how your generosity has impacted the lives of so many people halfway around the world.

At the same time I am humbled by your generosity here in our community, which impacts the lives of over 100 catechism students, 150 children in SONday School and Rockin’ Kids Bible Club, and the 200 adults in various Bible studies, online classes, circles, and spiritual formation opportunities at Grace. What’s more, your generosity has poured out into our various outreach ministries such as: Hope 4 Youth, Stepping Stones, and Sand Creek Elementary School! Like I said, I am humbled!

God has been good to us as he has grown our generosity. Since our Take A Step to Give Stewardship Focus in October, our regular offerings have grown by 13 percent!  In addition, Grace will soon receive a $26,000 gift from the Don and Maureen Olson Trust to help support youth ministry staffing. Once again I am humbled by the ways God provides!

And yet there are some financial challenges that remain. Let me share them:

• We are still “catching up” from the low attendance and subsequent lower offerings during the summer months. This is not uncommon, yet it takes time to replenish where we have borrowed.
• Our offerings have not grown enough to adequately handle the additional expenditures of calling Pastor Steve full-time as well as hiring Kristi Larson as our Director of Youth and Family Ministries that began more than a year ago.

In light of these challenges we have a set a goal of $40,000 End of the Year Giving. This will help us not only meet our financial obligations this year, but give us a solid fiscal foundation for the next year. Can we reach this goal? I believe so, if we give with the same generosity we have expressed in the past.

Therefore, I ask you to prayerfully consider a financial gift to help us finish the year well! If you are able to do so, please mail a check to the church marked “end of year gift” or click here to give online. If you can’t give more at this time, I certainly understand and ask you to pray for us to end our year with a strong financial foundation.

Lastly, I want to genuinely thank you for your generosity and partnership in this ministry of Grace in the heart of Andover and beyond!

Blessings upon you during this season of celebrating our Lord’s birth!

Pastor Mark Hellmann