By Troy Nelson, Church Treasurer
WE ARE NOT DONE YET!
Of course, I am talking about the Capital Campaign. It’s been a BIG job, and in some ways, a bigger job than we expected. We set a large goal, and by the grace of God, we have already received more pledges than in any previous campaigns at Shepherd of the Valley. More than 3.5 million dollars! We are thrilled and we thank everyone who has prayerfully considered and made gifts to our campaign.
This Campaign is not just about paying off our mortgage, or making improvements to the building. Over the past 30 years, members of our church looked into the future with faith to lay a foundation and build a church that would serve by spreading and living the Gospel. Each of us are beneficiaries of that prayerful foresight. It is now our turn to lay a similar foundation.
Yes, it is summer. You are busy and everyone else is busy. That is why a visit with you will only take 30-40 minutes.
The goals of this Capital Campaign, to eliminate our debt, improve our facility, and expand our outreach, may not seem as exciting as building a new sanctuary or narthex. Yet, they are just as crucial to the continued success of our ministry, and they build upon the solid foundation of those earlier campaigns.
Our community, our ministry, and our need to be stewards of what God has given us are changing. Today, we are paying close to a $1,000 a day in principal and interest on our mortgage. That is one-eighth of every dollar that you give now, or 12.5 cents. That one-eighth limits our ability to adapt to our changing world and community.
Right now, we are midway through two weeks of Vacation Bible School. How many more children could enroll if it was free to them to attend? Same thing for Christian education during the school year, if it were free?
In Apple Valley there are 3,000 people or 6.4% of our neighbors living in poverty. How many more could utilize our Food Shelf and other outreach programs help if we had the space and the ability to do more?
There are so many ministries where we could do more, and that is why WE ARE NOT DONE YET. We still want to reach out to every SOTV household with accurate information on which to make a decision. Our original plan was to accomplish our goal by May of this year, and we still need to make contact with about half of these households.
Yes, it is summer. You are busy and everyone else is busy. That is why a visit with you will only take 30-40 minutes. So I humbly ask you for your help. Please accept the phone call from a volunteer visitor, schedule your visit, get the pertinent information, then prayerfully consider laying a new foundation for the future. Thank you.
Together, We Can Do More!
