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Dear Friend,
A wonderful thing is about to happen at the House of Praise. An initiative that will test our faith, teach us how to tap into God’s endless resources and ultimately bestow upon us and our community the unimaginable blessing that Heaven can afford! We are about to embark on the House of Praise Expansion (HOPE) project which God has named… Time to Build! Essentially there will be two ways to partner with us during this exciting time. First will be the Time to Build Offering Day on March 18th where we will each bring our prayerfully considered one-off gift before the Lord. Second, and equally as important, we will all receive the opportunity to come before God and ask what he wishes us to give over the next 36 months during the Time to Build project (direct debit forms for this purpose can be found within your folder). Bless you as you read on and determine God’s will for YOUR part in this exciting expansion project.
Pastors Andrew & Yemi Adeleke
Call now on 020 8293 3730 or email ttb@houseofpraise.co.uk to get involved now.
Our Time To Build Goals
If we raise £3,000,000...
…we will be able to begin building our Worship Centre!
If we raise £6,000,000...
…we will finish, furnish, and move into our Worship Centre
If we raise £9,000,000...
…we will also begin building a Children's Sunday School building
AND Sports Complex at the same time! |
4 Essentials Needed To Reach Our Goals:
1. We must believe it CAN be done!
Jesus said, "According to your faith it will be done!"
2. We must involve EVERY FAMILY in our church!
It will take all of us working, praying, and committing together.
The challenge is too great for only a few to carry.
3. We must each be WILLING TO SACRIFICE.
Nothing great is ever done without sacrifice.
Your church needs your commitment now, like never before.
It's time to give something back.
4. We must BE CREATIVE
We must find ways that each of us
can give more than we Initially think possible |
Our Personal Giving Commitment
A guide for discerning God's will
The most important decision you will make during this campaign will be the decision about your own giving commitment. As you pray and consider what your commitment will be, remember - this program involves not only a cash gift on March 18, but whatever amount God leads you to commit to give over the next 36 months. Most of us can give far more than we initially think, by giving it over a three year period.
There are two basic approaches to giving:
• You can give based on REASON by figuring out what is “reasonable,” and commit that amount. It takes no faith to give by reason as reason asks, “What can I afford?”
• You can give based on REVELATION. This means you determine your gift by praying, “Lord, what do you want to give through me?” This requires faith. When you make giving a matter of prayer, your decision becomes an act of worship. Read 2 Cor. 7:3.
Suggested steps for determining God’s will:
• Begin by praying every day, “Lord, I want to give sacrificially. Now please show me how to give a gift that will stretch my faith.” If you’re married, pray with your spouse.
• Give yourself time! Don’t rush your decision. You’ll find that the longer you genuinely pray “Show me how,” the more ways God will show you how to give more!
• Plan a family conference to discuss ways to give. Ask them to think of ideas in advance. Involve your children as this is a great opportunity to teach giving and faith.
• As a family, make a list of what you learn when you read these Bible verses: Prov. 3:9-10; Prov. 11:24-25; Luke 6:38; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:1-12; 2 Cor. 9:6-12; Matt 6:19-20.
• In your family conference, ask yourselves aloud these questions:
• Regarding our cash gift: How much cash could we gather by March 18? Is there anything we could sell or convert to cash? Do we have any tangible gift we could give?
• Regarding our 36 month commitment: Are there ways we could decrease our expenses in order to make a larger commitment? Are there ways we could increase our income in order to make a larger commitment?
• Decide as a family the total amount you’ll give, hold hands and have a prayer of commitment similar to this:
“Father, this is a big step for us. We’re asking you to strengthen our faith and help us grow spiritually through giving. We thank you for all you have given us. We know we wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for you. We want to be cheerful givers. We’re claiming the promises you’ve said in your Word that y
ou’ll take care of our needs if we trust you. Thank you for this opportunity to grow. Thank you for our church. Help us to reach our goal to build the first building. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Your Questions Answered - Interview with Pastor Andrew
Click on a question below to reveal the answer. Click the question again to hide the answer.
Question 1 - “I’ve attended HOP for 9-10 years and have appreciated the fact that our church does not do constant “fundraising”. Instead, you’ve just clearly taught us what the Bible says about giving. What is the difference between a “fundraising” campaign and a “giving” campaign like TTB?
A BIG difference! The purpose of a “giving” campaign is to challenge each of us to give out of our OWN resources. In a “fundraising” campaign, you collect money from someone else by selling them a product or service. A giving campaign always results in personal spiritual growth -- a fundraising campaign just raises money. The Time To Build campaign was designed to:
• Stretch your faith
• Build your hope in God’s promises
• Deepen your love for Christ & His church
• Teach you Christlike generosity. By learning to sacrifice personally for the cause of Christ you will grow toward spiritual maturity.
Question 2 -“I am a single parent with several kids and almost no income. But I want to be a part of building our church. How can I give?
First, let me commend you for your heart’s desire to give. It reminds me of the poor widow Jesus honoured for her faith in giving in Mark 12:41-44 “Jesus sat near the Temple Offering Box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. Then a poor widow came and put in two copper pennies. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people together! They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on."
From this moving example of sacrifice, Jesus taught 3 important truths:
• Your attitude is more important than your amount in giving.
• It is always possible to give something if we really trust God.
• God measures our faith by comparing what we’ve given with what we have left over after we’ve given.
This is why our theme is “Time To Build”. As you pray about what a genuine “sacrifice“ will mean to you, I urge you to read the Bible story of the miracle that happened when another single parent gave away what little she had (1 Kings 17:8-16). God took care of her the rest of her life. And God is still doing miracles today in the lives of those who dare to trust him!
There are many ways to give - if one is willing to give. Pray about giving what you can in cash on March 18, and then make a faith commitment to give an additional amount over the next 36 months. Then watch God fulfil his promise to meet your needs (Phil. 4:19).
Question 3 -Why are we having this 4 week Time To Build Campaign? Why not just announce that we need funds to build?
Because it takes this much time and effort to fully communicate the need... the purpose... the goals... and the vision to everyone in a church our size. With over 1,000 members of HOP, it requires an enormous amount of communication to ensure that everyone knows exactly what is going on.
Question 4 - What kind of reactions should we expect from people?
We began this campaign knowing there would be three different reactions: First, there are those who are already committed to giving. They don’t need this campaign. They are spiritually mature, they understand all the reasons why we must build, and they give sacrificially whenever they are asked to. Second, there are those who are not going to give no matter what we do. They will come up with all kinds of objections, excuses, and criticisms about this campaign. But the real issue is they simply don’t want to give. We’re not doing this campaign for this group either. And we won’t let the objections of a few rob the rest of us of the joy of giving. Third, there are those who will want to give when they catch the vision of what we’re attempting and how giving will help them grow spiritually. These people are the reason for this emphasis.
Question 5 - Are we paying any fundraising consultant for this campaign?
The campaign was designed based on the biblical instructions God gave for releasing the money to build the Temple in 1 Chronicles 29.
Question 6 - How will the money released be used?
The building fund is kept separate from the general ministry funds. All Time To Build gifts will be used to pay the expenses of building facilities. It is important to remember that our Time To Build gifts are to be in addition to our regular giving for the on-going operation of the church. Otherwise our day-to-day ministries would suffer.
Question 7 - What about money that has previously been given to our building fund?
It has been used for the purchase of the LAND.
Question 8 - What if we realise more than our goals?
The money will be used to provide necessary infrastructures
Question 9 - How soon will we be able to move into our new Worship Centre?
Because of it’s practical and economical design, it can be built very quickly. We hope to move into our Worship Centre as soon as the money is realised
T-shirts
Don't miss your opportunity to get a hold of your very own official Time to Build t-shirt. Whatever your size, whatever your favourite
colour, we've got a t-shirt for you!
Call now on 020 8293 3730 to order yours. |
