When: December 16th
Goal: $13,000
Northside’s Christmas Offering began a few years ago when we decided that during the holidays we wanted to bless some people and projects beyond our normal operating budget. Your regular tithes fund the budget. This is an opportunity to give sacrificially, over and above your regular giving, toward two specific initiatives.
Our goal this year is $13,000. 100% of what is raised goes to these areas. Although we have designated December 16th as the day for this event, you can give towards the Christmas Offering until the end of December. Envelopes designated for this purpose will be available for your use or you can indicate your gift is for Christmas on your check memo line.
Both of our initiatives are born out of these verses:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19, 20 NLT)
1. Northside’s Christmas Outreach – Kindness to our Community
Let’s make a difference in the lives of people in our community, spiritually, physically and relationally!
What we want to do is buy hundreds of dollars of gift cards to put into your hands so that you, your family, or your small group can bless people in our community who have a need. We want you to pray and ask God to lead you and then, we want to empower you to respond – to physically meet the need. Then, since we believe this is also about relationships, we hope some will reach out relationally as well. This could look very different from one situation to another but perhaps you might take someone shopping and then out to a meal or maybe you will buy someone coffee and a tank of gas. Maybe your small group or a couple families together will pool gift cards to bless a whole family and then maybe invite them to dinner.
We believe God has exciting plans for some people in Newberg – but it will stretch us too, relationally and financially. But when we obey God’s leading and connect physically and relationally, we believe that God will move people toward becoming disciples and we ourselves will be blessed.
2. World Missions – Support our Missionaries – the Edinger’s:
We are blessed to have people like the Edinger family who have been called to help meet the spiritual and physical needs on the world stage.
Scott and Natasha Edinger left for Kigali, Rwanda in early January 2012 to serve the Free Methodist Church in Rwanda. Scott is teaching/facilitating pastoral training courses to help replenish the need for pastors after the genocide that happened in the 1990’s. Natasha is supporting the International Childcare Ministries (ICCM) staff.
As a family they have taken some radical steps of faith that are very inspiring and we want to bless them with the finances that are needed for 2013. By doing this they won’t have to worry about this part of their lives and can concentrate on pouring into the people of Rwanda!
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
PS. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at [email protected] or you can call me at 503-476-4362.