Saturday, February 27, 2010

Laying a Foundation for a Loving Community

We are growing on Wednesday evenings, too. If you were here last Wednesday evening you may have noticed that there were more children and youth than ever. The decibel level was higher than usual because their young voices reflected excitement. I am grateful for the fact that so many children and youth are coming to New Hope. They are with us because of the preparations made by Cheryl Secunda and her leaders. Wasn’t it great to hear that group of older children recite from memory all the books of the New Testament a couple of weeks ago? Our thanks to Leesa Holloway and Erma Dreas for teaching them. And we thank Joanne Kirk, Beth Gibbons, Kelly Secunda, Debbie Shelver, and Fred Griffith.

What we are seeing is the fulfillment of this truth: Children (and people of all ages) will come when they know that they are cared for and have been prepared for.

When you see Jim McCroskey thank him for all he has done to get our building and grounds in shape. Our playground equipment was acquired by Jim as a gift from the City of Daytona Beach Shores where he is Assistant City Manager. The lights in the parking lot and along our sidewalk also came from Jim’s work on our behalf. We got a huge bargain on them. Jim led in the installing of our lights and of our playground equipment.

Two weeks from today, March 14, we begin our Laying a Foundation for Growth Campaign. The purpose is to give as much money as we can in March to pay down our mortgage debt. You will see the bricks building up as we give above our regular budget offering. We are building not buildings yet. We are building a loving community.

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