Off to a great start

We set out to bring Hope. 

Hence, the Hope Initiative.

We want to do two things; 1) double the size of our sanctuary, and 2) plant churches.

The result is, dozens of families bought in. Hundreds of people believed these things are worth sacrificing some personal things for.  Some of them sacrificed (I more prefer the II Cor 9 term "sowed") tens of thousands of dollars! Many families stretched themselves to give up a house addition, or an extra vacation, or a new car. Others gave what they believed they could. $608,000 in three year commitments, $25k in cash came in to get us started.

Heroes, they are. Somebody sacrificed to create an environment where they could discover that Jesus cares passionately for them. Now they are sacrificing their hard earned dollars so that others can find the fresh water they found.

There ought to be a way to celebrate people like this more. Somebody ought to throw them a lavish party, in an ostentatious, opulently appointed mansion in some far away exotic place, with rewards for their kindness and all the friends around them that they sacrificed for. Great celebrities should be brought in, like maybe that guy whose life split history in half, along with his twelve closest friends who died for him,  and the guy who invented faith,  and the man who invented laws, and those great prophets who literally described the future into existence.

Wouldn't that be grand?

Heaven, even.