HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD NEWS?

I like good news! I am always encouraged when I hear about people growing and taking next steps. I have some very good news that I want to share with you today as well answer a question about our new development a lot of you have been asking.

Sunday afternoon a young couple stopped me at the mall because they wanted to share their excitement about what God was doing in their lives.
They had been a listening to the messages about “Minding Your Own Business” and had decided to take a step to financial freedom and to tithe. They were anxious to share with me what God had already done in their lives this last week and how helpful the messages are. I have been so encouraged to see people taking next steps in getting out of debt, becoming financially free and putting God first in their lives. Both Pastor Brent and I have been getting a bunch of feedback from people about what God is doing and the courageous decisions they are making.

The good news is that we do not have to live “the normal (average) American lifestyle,” deeply in debt, full of anxiety and fear, and living from paycheck to paycheck. In fact, I believe that we can be abnormal (interpreted above average) and live in financial peace and freedom. I will be conducting a Financial Freedom Seminar tonight at 6:30 pm at the church and next Wednesday night also. I will give you practical hands on ways to get a financial plan, start budgeting, saving, getting out of debt and investing. These tools are from Dave Ramsey and Crown Financial. There is no better time than the present to start. We also have financial coaches available for you.

You will receive in the mail this week a letter about our Thanksgiving First Fruits Sunday November 23. We are encouraging everyone who has made a commitment to begin tithing (10%) or giving to start on Thanksgiving Sunday November 23. We are also encouraging those who are already faithfully tithing to bring it that day. We will be giving a tithe (10%) of this offering to meet our goal of $15,000 for our current Habitat For Humanity House; also to restart our Families in Crisis Fund for New Hope families going through financial difficulty. If you did not get to fill out the Three Month Tithing Challenge with God’s guarantee, there will be one in the letter that you can fill out and bring back this Sunday.

Some more good news is that we had over 1700 last Sunday in church.
The week before, 46 new guests visited New Hope. Over the last three months we have had 429 new and returning guests. Wow! These are just the ones who are registering. Our return rate of third time guests to first times guests has been 75% over the last three months. On a recent Sunday morning we had eight new families just in Waumba Land at the 9:00 am service. Pastor Brent will be sharing more exciting news about all this with you on Sunday.

Many of you have been asking how the current national financial crisis is affecting our new project. I have been in meetings for the last week trying to determine exactly how this will affect us. The short answer is that we know it will delay us by 6-12 months and possibly longer, depending on the length of the credit crisis. The good news is that the project is still moving ahead and the start date will depend on God’s timing. We are still involved in the entitlement and zoning process and that is all proceeding nicely. I will keep you posted.

If you have stories about financial next steps or how God is working in your life in your giving, financial planning or getting out of debt, please share them with us on this blog. We would love to hear from you.

Don’t forget we have some great classes and groups on Wednesday evening's Dig In and Pastor Brent is starting a new SHAPE Class tonight. Click here to find out all that is happening.

Just a quick personal note, my daughter Andria and her husband Jordan will be coming home from University of Chicago this weekend and will be at church on Sunday. Jordan has been invited to be one of the speakers at a celebration at the Portland Art Museum honoring Jay Barber’s retirement. Congratulations Jay and Jan, we are so proud of you and happy to have you on Team New Hope!

Keep encouraged and keep trusting God as you take next steps. Looking forward to hearing from you!

PASTOR RAY