GameTime Update
This September we began a capital campaign called GameTime. In this series we intentionally strived to make everything about Jesus and His kingdom–which DOES bring us to the subject of money.
About a year and a half after NewSpring began, I discovered that the ONLY people who get mad when you speak on the subject of $$$ are the ones who have it as their idol…and when you attack their god, tempers will flare.
Personally, I think that one of the reasons our country is so screwed up financially is because the church has neglected to teach on the subject of money. (Yes, we are screwed up–more Americans will declare bankruptcy this year than graduate college!) But, when Christians follow Biblical advice on ANYTHING, especially money, and get their hearts right–money will not be an issue–ever.
That is why during the GameTime series we brought every message back around to Jesus. AND in this series on money we saw people give their lives to Christ!!! Folks–according to Matthew 6:21, how we handle money directly reflects who or what we worship.
What were the results of this series? Glad you asked…but first, let me hit some basics…
We had a goal of raising $20 million, BUT we said from the beginning that if we could get at least $12 million pledged then it would be a win because we would be able to secure the financing needed for every single project:
- A state-of-the-art children’s worship facility – I am sick and tired of the church losing the battle for our children…if the world spends money on them then so should the church!
- A youth building that will rock teens’ worlds - Around 85% of all decisions made for Christ are made before a person reaches the age of 18. That is why when people ask me, “Are you investing in missions?” I always answer, “You bet! There is no greater mission field than our teenagers and children!!!”
- Greenville Campus - We are aggressively trying to finalize negotiations on a SWEET location in Greenville…the deal is about 95% done…PRAY…and when this location opens we feel that thousands of lives across the upstate will be impacted.
- Missions - We are still aggressively pursuing foreign missions opportunities (more about that later). We have partnered with a local elementary school to provide them a playground AND purchase every child in the school a jacket and pair of shoes for Christmas. (Around 80-90% of the kids in this school are on free or reduced lunch. It has been reported that many of them will often come to school in the winter without a jacket or shoes, because they can’t afford it!)
- And a few more things are coming as well! (Anyone remember last Mother’s Day?)
So, saying all of that and after speaking for five weeks on vision and where our hearts are, this church has stepped up and pledged over $13 million dollars!
YEAH GOD!!! NewSpring – thank you for being obedient. Thank you for sacrificing, for giving up a thing or two to make this happen. Thank you to all the middle school, high school and college students who committed to go all out. I saw families come down together and pray over their card before putting it on the stage. I watched people who had recently given their lives to Christ just about jump out of their seats to make a pledge. AND in everyone who came down I saw joy, hope and excitement.
NewSpring–I love you guys, and I am so pumped about the future. God has given us an amazing responsibility…and as long as we keep Jesus the focus and His Word the centerpiece to everything we do, wow–dang we will continue to see Matthew 16:18 become more and more real!
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