PURPOSES
The BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING Special Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of $50,000 to support ministries at home and around the world:
60% of the funds received from this offering will go toward:
Investing in global missions and church planting:
We are a church with a heart for the lost and a church that loves missions. Through this Special Offering we will be able to increase our mission efforts by bringing on two new missionary families: Kyle & Sarah Fox (Uganda) and Bob & Val Hultslander (Highland Park). This offering will also provide partial scholarships for those at ERBC who desire to take first-time mini-mission trips overseas. Along with these endeavors, we are designating a portion of the offering to help plant churches in under-churched areas of the US through cooperative efforts with other mission-minded congregations in Converge Worldwide (Southwest Conference of the Baptist General Conference).
Sharing God's love with our community through local outreaches and evangelism:
Because we have received more than we could ever ask for or even imagine from our Lord, we also want to give more to others. Next year, we're planning numerous outreaches that will bless others in our community in very tangible ways. Along with church-wide outreaches during Easter and Harvest-time, a portion of the offering will go toward funding special projects between us and our partners in ministry: EF Homestay International (a Christian organization that helps church members host foreign exchange high school students from Europe who don't yet know Christ), World Impact (an inner-city missions organization dedicated to planting churches among the urban poor), Commission on Compassion (a ministry in Highland Park which houses, feeds and clothes the deaf and blind) and Habitat for Humanity (an organization dedicated to providing affordable homes to the poor). Along with supporting these outreach efforts, the offering will also help us start up new evangelism efforts at local parks, schools and stores.
40% of the funds received from this offering will go toward:
Supporting local organizations that assist widows, orphans, and the poor and needy at Christmas
Christmas is a time for giving... so what better time to bless and provide hope to those in our community who are in the greatest need? That's why through this offering we'll be supporting local organizations, such as Elizabeth House (a shelter for homeless pregnant women and their children), World Impact and Operation Christmas Child (a division of Samaritan’s Purse, which provides gifts and essential items to those in need around the world), that are really making a difference in people’s lives and, at the same time, sharing the love of Jesus in some very practical ways. This holiday season we'll be helping these organizations buy and distribute gifts for those in our community with huge needs.
Funding our counseling ministries to assist those at ERBC going through difficulties
As a church, we desire to help our attenders in practical ways in times of great need. Through our Counseling Ministry, we desire to do more to provide properly for people's emotional, relational, spiritual and financial needs by supplying solid Christian counselors and equipping materials. Through classes like Marriage 101: Back to Basics, Financial Peace University, and Grief Recovery, ERBC is helping provide this support. For this reason, a portion of the offering will fund partial scholarships for these life-changing classes. Additionally, funds received through this offering will also help to subsidize clinical counseling fees for congregants in need.
Enhancing our Children's, Youth, Men's & Women's programs and capital improvements
We consider it an honor to assist parents in building strong Christian homes and encouraging their children to follow Jesus. To do this, we offer a fantastic experience for children on Sunday called Grow Zone and for our Youth on Wednesday and Sunday called Refuge. Of course, we are always looking for ways to make improvements in these ministries, and 2012 is no different! This offering will help provide improved software to support these ministries, new teaching materials that will ensure that these ministries are the best, and youth camperships to assist students who wouldn't otherwise be able to go to camp this summer.
To equip the men and women of ERBC, we're enhancing these ministries to incorporate mentoring, spiritual retreats and service components so that we all will be more effective leaders for Christ in our homes, workplaces and communities and so we can more effectively reach the generations following us. A portion of the offering will off-set these retreat and material costs.
In addition, we also want to continue to offer the best opportunity for more people to become more like Jesus! To do that, we want to use the best resources, offer the greatest opportunities to grow spiritually, and create unique settings that invite people to consider a relationship with Christ. To that end, in 2012 we're planning on making some facility improvements, including updating ERBC’s signage as well as the Worship Center platform. A portion of the offering will help us to make these updates.
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