One of the consistent comments that we hear about our church is that we don’t always talk about money. We don’t pass an offering plate on Sundays and those who are new to our church often find it difficult to know where to give when they are ready to engage with the mission of our church in this way. For those of you who are newer to our community, we have a box on the wall outside the sanctuary at our Midtown location and a similar box near the door at CGCC-West.

 

The other side of this giving coin is that we do have a mission that we believe God has called us to accomplish, and it requires financial resources. We have new churches that we have planted and partnered with in Indy, Flagstaff and Eugene with more opportunities on the horizon. We have vision partnerships that we have established in other parts of the world, ongoing facility costs, compassion opportunities (benevolence), and a pastoral staff team that helps to equip our community. All of these require financial resources to continue in the way that our elders believe is in line with the mission that God has called us to. So, we need to talk about giving sometimes.

 

We are 8 weeks into our new budget that was presented to the community in January. After these 8 weeks, we find that we are behind in our giving. This is a very similar situation that we found ourselves in last year about this time. Last year, we informed you about the situation and you responded. We are asking you to prayerfully consider committing a portion of your income to the ongoing work that God has called us to. We recognize that there are many people who call Common Ground their church family who don’t contribute or who don’t contribute regularly to the financial needs of our church. We are inviting you to consider joining with those who do.

 

The administrative elders who oversee the budgeting process have been proactive this year in structuring our budget so that we can respond to these types of situations. They are prepared, if necessary, to make significant cuts in the planned expenses. Because of the way we budget, these cuts will mean that vital ministry initiatives will be put on hold, staff salaries and benefits could be reduced, and opportunities for new ministry could be eliminated. Our budget does not have much, if any, “fat” so the cuts will be felt. We are praying that this will not need to happen and that giving will respond. In addition, we have also recognized that there could be an increase in the needs for families in our church that have been affected by the current financial crisis. We are prepared to free up more of our resources to assist families and individuals within our community who might need help. As our collective participation in this area increases, so does our capacity to help folks who are struggling. When those who can give do give, we are able to truly see a vision of the early church emerge (Acts 4:32-37).

 

While the financial climate of our day is bleak for sure, we can navigate through these tough times by continuing to announce the kingdom of God by demonstrating our trust in Jesus as Lord and by caring for one another along the way.

 

Blessings,

Jeff

This Sunday, March 1 is our second annual blood drive with St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. St. Thomas is located at 4600 N. Kenwood Avenue (across the street from our Midtown location). Donations will be accepted from 8:15 am until 12:45 pm this Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome and childcare will be provided while you donate.

 

The blood drive is a long-standing event for our Midtown neighbors and we are excited to partner with them in 2009. Last March, nearly 120 pints of blood were raised for our community and we look forward to even greater success this year. For a list of donor requirements, please visit the Indiana Blood Center website.

Common Ground will host our first Spiritual Formation Conference the weekend of May 8-9. Spiritual formation is a call given to the entire community – everyone is included and all are needed for its fulfillment. We are excited about this great opportunity to grow deeper in becoming more like Jesus.

 

Details such as the guest speaker’s focus and how to register will appear in future issues of the e-news. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for a weekend of formation!

Leaman Mosley first came to Common Ground in 1998 and has been an active participant ever since. He’s served as a house church leader, elder, training school participant and as a mission team member.

 

Lee has been called to serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Traditionally MAF is known as an aviation ministry that has served people, churches and missionaries in remote locations for over 60 years. Lee will join MAF as part of the Learning Technology (LT) department. In LT, the goal is to develop training materials for the 3 million pastors and church leaders all around the world who have little to no training and little chance of receiving training.

 

It is the hope of LT to be able to train pastors in remote areas, bringing the education and training to them. MAF uses many different types of technology, distance education programs and instructional design principles to make that happen. “I'm excited about this opportunity because it combines my passion for missions, the church and encouraging those who minister. This lets me express that passion in everything I do,” shares Lee.

 

Lee is presently in Indy doing his initial fundraising. To connect with Lee and to learn more about opportunities to support him financially and with prayer, send him an email. You can also learn more about Mission Aviation Fellowship by visiting their website.

When was the last time you visited the Common Ground website? Do you have opinions regarding the look and feel of our site? Below is a link to a brief survey that we hope will give us a better understanding of our website as a communication tool and how you feel about its look and usefulness. As we consider making enhancements to our site, it would be invaluable to us if you would take a few minutes to help us understand your perspective. If you’d like, you can provide your name at the end as we may contact a few participants for additional insight. Thanks in advance for your participation!

 

This survey will be available for one week. Please click here to participate now.

Join Larry Mitchell as he leads this Vision Trip to Toronto, Canada, one of the most culturally diverse cities. This journey will provide a context for participants to experience faith and life formation through a variety of formal and informal city moments. The team will stroll the streets, dialogue with friends and strangers, and share in moments of grace, communion and worship.

 

Interested? Plan to attend our informational meeting on Sunday, March 15 following the 11 am service at our Midtown location (4550 N. Illinois Street). The meeting will be held in the Conference Room.

 

Below are some additional trip details:

Contribution letters for 2008 were mailed in mid January. If you have questions or have not received your letter, please contact Stef immediately. Since our bookkeeper works one day per week, it will be very difficult to handle urgent last minute requests for contribution letters.

 

Intro to Common Ground is an opportunity for those who are new to CG to learn about the vision, values and story of our community. The next gathering is Tuesday, March 3 at 6 pm. Attendance is limited and a light dinner and childcare are provided. Follow this link to register.