Thanksgiving At Grace
Joyful greetings in Christ Jesus to you all –
In a few weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, a time set aside by George Washington for “public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.”
As Christians we have so much to be thankful for – above all else we have been saved from our sin and the judgement it deserves by the gracious work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Our prayer for the church is that this Thanksgiving we will take time to express our gratitude to our Lord for all that He has done for us in a tangible and meaningful way. After all, times of thanksgiving in Scripture were marked by Gods’ people expressing thanks to God not only in word but in deed.
To that end, we plan to make Sunday, November 18th a special time of giving thanks. Along with a special Thanksgiving message we will also have a special offering. Our hope is that this service would serve as a meaningful way to express to God how thankful we are for all He has done in our lives and in the life of our church body as a whole.
Our intention is to put this offering towards the stewardship of our church building. By God’s grace and the faithful support of many who have come before us, we are blessed with a facility that allows us to conduct a wide variety of ministries throughout the week. But as with any building, there are important maintenance and repair tasks that must be addressed.
We are grateful for all the hard work that has been put in by many in the congregation to improve the facility over the past several months. As we look towards the future, we recognize that there are some significant areas to address on the horizon. Primarily, we will need to invest in repairing the roof and in replacing our aging furnaces. We also want to do take steps to ensure that Grace Baptist Church is welcoming, safe, and functions well for many more years of Gospel-focused ministry.
Because this is meant to be a special offering, we ask that it not detract from your regular giving. There will be a discrete collection box set up for you to place your thanksgiving offering before or after the service. You may also give online or via the giving kiosk outside the worship center.
It is our prayer that you will join us on November 18th in thanking God for His abundant grace towards us. We also hope that you will participate with us in giving towards the continued stewardship of the facility that He has entrusted to us for the purpose of reaching our community for Christ.
All for God’s glory and the furtherance of the Gospel,
The Elders of Grace Baptist Church