All members are invited to attend the Jack and Jill wedding shower cookout for LaJasmine Youngblood and Devonte Jones on Saturday, April 29, at 5:00 PM at the AU North Pavilion.
LaJasmine and Devonte are registered at Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Directions to the North Pavilion: Go north on North College, past the college and downtown area. Continue through the Shug Jordan intersection, and past the Fisheries (on the left) and the Forest Ecology Preserve (on the right). Make a left at W Farmville Road. Take a right at the next big intersection -- on Auburn Lakes Road. The North Pavilion will be on your right. (If you are coming from Montgomery, you can take the Wire Road exit and go left. Take a left on Shug Jordan, and then left on N. College.)
Generosity: This Sunday!
The following is a summation of Ken Watson's talk this past Sunday:
Our goal this year for Generosity Sunday is $8,000.
This is about 4 times our regular weekly operating cost of $2,100 a week. Last year our operating cost was $2,400 a week, but we started meeting at the VFW, and that saves us about $300 a week, so that's a little help!
That makes our yearly operating cost a little over $109,000. amount covers meeting facilities, ministry staff, an insurance policy to cover us in case someone gets injured on the premises during a worship service, and some odds and ends like communion supplies, kids class stuff, and fellowship meal supplies.
For serving the needy, the members give totally separate and apart from this. Right now all monies collected go to operating costs. Why is that? Because we are typically a couple of hundred dollars short per week in meeting our needs. That isn't because our members aren't generous. They are, and they are to be commended for that. We just need more of us.
Several years ago, when we hired Mike and Marge to lead the ministry, that was walking by faith, not by sight. We believe that the return on this investment has been well worthwhile.
We started out with some money in the bank, and we still have around $33,000 in savings that we use to cover the operational shortages. The reason we have this money is our yearly offering.
For the last couple of generosity contributions we talked about getting a ministry intern to work with the campuses, and our big sister church in Atlanta had offered to help fund that position. But the right person hasn't been found, so that hasn't happened. Which is just as well, because we've needed whatever we've collected to meet out current operating costs as much as we can.
Thus, we ask that our members prayerfully consider what they can give for Generosity Sunday. This is a freewill offering. No pledge cards. No hard sell. Just, "This is our situation, and give as you are able."
Everything collected this Sunday will go toward the Generosity Contribution unless you mark it as regular contribution. We will continue to collect for the Generosity Contribution through May 7th.
This year, anything we collect over 8k will go to a charity: Sheep not Goats, a brother and sister who run a farm down in Nicaragua, and do an incredible job serving the poor in that community.
These are worthwhile investments, and give good returns. Let's continue walking by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:6-10.
Volunteer at the Magnolia Retirement Home this Sunday at 2:00 and Monday evening at 6:45.
Sat. April 29 -- Jack and Jill Shower Cookout for LaJasmine and Devonte, 5 PM AU North Pavilion. Sun. April 30 -- Generosity Sunday, Worship at VFW, HOPE at Magnolia Retirement Home, 2:00 PM Mon. May 24 -- Game Night at Magnolia Retirement Retirement Home, 6:45. Sat. May 13 -- Travis Hawkins' Graduation Party
Giving on 04/23/17 was $2035.52
Minimum Operating Budget: $2100
