Finishing Strong

In just four weeks, the books will be closed on the 2006-07 ministry year at LBC. We’ve watched in amazement at what God has done and what He continues to do in and through our church family.

Our mission statement continues to direct all our efforts. We want to glorify God by seeking to present every person complete in Christ.

God is changing lives; people are stepping out to love others by serving within the church and in our community. More and more people are connecting with others in order to grow in their relationship with Christ and live out their calling.

One of the most amazing things we have witnessed in the past year is God’s financial provision for our church. As the new auditorium neared completion, we issued the “Finishing Strong” challenge to complete our “For this Purpose I Live” commitments and to go beyond that to consider what God could do in our community and the world if we were able to completely pay off the mortgage for our facilities.

Month-by-month we have watched God provide “manna” from heaven to meet our general and missions expenses and keep us within our construction loan limit. There are countless stories of individuals and families who have stepped out by faith to give generously and even sacrificially in response to God’s prompting. What is remarkable is not the size of the gifts received, but the sheer number of families who are giving regularly. This giving reflects the broad ownership of our mission and a deep love for Christ and His people.

Simultaneous to the end of the fiscal year, our construction loan will be rolled into permanent financing (i.e. a mortgage). While we have excellent terms for our mortgage, we believe God would have us pay this off as quickly as possible, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest that could be redirected into ministry. We believe God is calling all of us to reach out to our community and world as never before and we’d like to see our financial resources directed towards those efforts.

Please pray that giving would remain strong through the summer months and ask God what He wants you to do to help finish this fiscal year in a strong financial position. Every dollar given by July 31 will reduce our mortgage and the monthly payment, making even more ministry possible.

In our services next weekend, we’re looking forward to sharing more of what God has done. We’re also very excited to share a greater picture of the vision God is giving us during the State of the Church weekend, September 8th and 9th.