“Operation Imagine”
Phase 1 of our recent Operation Imagine stewardship campaign is well underway. We’re a little more than halfway to $75,000 (as of June 4). Here is some helpful information to keep you up to speed.
We currently have electrical poles going across our back parking lot that prevent us from expansion. And while it doesn’t exactly sound like a thrilling idea to move electrical poles, it’s a very exciting answer to a problem the church has been in for the last 20 years… being landlocked. The two main things Operation Imagine does for us is: (a) saves a considerable amount of money by doing it now rather than later, and (b) provides future expansion opportunity. While we are still in the initial phase and, as yet, do not have specific plans, Operation Imagine – Phase Two will likely take shape someday as a building to provide educational and fellowship space.
We’ve got till the end of August 2008 to fund it entirely without having to dip into outside sources of funding. So we thought we’d share some helpful information about our plans and progress. Here’s the text from a letter to the congregation that was sent out June 4, 2008.
Dear Friends and Family of First Christian Church,
As you know, we have started a brief stewardship campaign called Operation Imagine with the dream of expanding our facilities in the future. As a congregation we have committed to a great opportunity to move the power lines spanning the parking lot in the back of our property at a substantial savings ($75,000 instead of at least twice that).
We understand ‘moving electrical poles’ doesn’t exactly sound like a thrilling project, but we are excited because this important work allows us to do what we’ve been attempting to do for the last 20 years… accomplish infrastructural change and capacity for growth because we gain land previously unavailable to us. It addresses our current problem of being landlocked.
In September of last year we voted as a congregation, 130-4, to move ahead with this plan, and it is time for us as a congregation to come together in a spirit of Christian unity to complete the work to which we committed as best as we can!
Work on the project will begin as soon as late August, so we have a little less than 3 months to complete our funding of the project! The Elders and Deacons have prayerfully and thoughtfully considered their leadership role in this campaign and have committed themselves to a seed gift of $10,000 of additional giving from now until the end of August. Based on this figure, this leaves about $216 per family/giving unit. This is $18 per week from June through August.
So, we are asking that you also consider how you and your family can help us complete the work to which we believe God has called us. We understand this may be a challenge for some, and you may be unable to give, but we ask that you would please prayerfully consider if you can help in any way to fund this Kingdom building work. It is extremely important that you do not use your regular giving for this project, as all church ministries will continue as they currently are and must be funded.
This Sunday, June 8, at the end of the service, we will make a presentation and then ask that you commit, together with the church leadership, to provide additional funding over the course of the next few months to complete Operation Imagine debt free. If you are unable to attend worship with us this Sunday, please don’t hesitate to call (639-0126), send, or email us (operationimagine@fccgreeneville.org) your commitment. Also please feel free to call us with any questions you may have.
We’ll be “going public” with our one-last-push campaign during worship this Sunday, June 8. Please pray with us that our congregation will humbly seek God’s wisdom for our future!