We kicked off our Stewardship season on Sunday!
Our 2022 Stewardship Theme is First Fruit. God asks us to give the first fruit of our harvest back to God. This comes from a story that Moses tells in Deuteronomy:
“Now, O Lord, I bring the first fruit of the harvest that you have given me. I shall set it down before you Lord and bow down before my God.”
-Deuteronomy 26:10
All we have is from God. We do not give to God anything that does not already belong to God. This is why we dedicate our first fruits to God. Out of gratitude and thanksgiving for the many ways God has blessed us, we give back to God.
One way we give back to God is through the local church. Unity Presbyterian Church is a collection of roughly 600 individuals who are dedicated to working together to bring God’s vision of a loving, just world into reality.
As a part of implementing this vision, we ask that each person turn in an Estimate of Giving Card.
This is an estimate of what you believe you can contribute to the ministry of the church in 2022.
Note— this is not binding in any way. This is simply an estimate.
You can now fill out your Estimate of Giving card online— https://www.unitypres.org/estimated-giving/
At our website you’ll find a simple form that will help us build the budget for 2022.
This year, I personally am asking each person to contribute to both the General Fund and the Building Fund.
The General Fund is the budget for…pretty much everything in the church. Facilities, staff, outreach, ministries, all of it.
All of it…except for the building loan.
Unity built an absolutely beautiful sanctuary and fellowship hall in 2005. By the end of the year we will have about 6 years remaining on our building loan and roughly $700,000 left on the loan.
Currently we pay $10,000 per month on the mortgage payment on the loan.
I have a goal for us and I believe we can accomplish it together: to pay off the loan in 3 years.
If we pay off the loan in 3 years, we will save $50,000 in interest payments. Wow!
This is $50,000 that will be saved and can be used directly for ministry.
Please help us accomplish this goal together.
Here’s what you can do to join us:
Fill out your Estimate of Giving Card and please give to the general operating funds as you normally do.
But then, please commit an additional amount to the building fund as well.
We will need to pay $20,000 a month to reach our goal of paying off the loan in 3 years.
We can do this, but the only way to do this is to do it together!
All church members were mailed an Estimate of Giving Card last week. There are three ways for you to turn these in.
1. You can mail it to the church office: 8210 Unity Church Rd. Denver, NC 28037.
2. You can drop it off in the sealed container outside the office or sanctuary doors.
3. You can fill it out on-line at https://www.unitypres.org/estimated-giving/
Unity is one of the most generous churches I have ever been a part of!
It is a joy to partner with you in ministry. As we prepare for the upcoming year, I believe God is going to accomplish great things through the people of Unity. We have weathered 18 months of a devastating pandemic, but our ministry has not slowed down. Can you imagine what we’ll be able to accomplish once life can fully resume?
This is going to be a great year.
Let’s see what we can do together!
On Sunday we’ll start a new preaching series titled The Big Three- Faith, Hope and Love.
See you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
