Showing We Care! Special Christmas Offering

The River Christmas Offering
Showing We Care!
Now through December 31, 2009
GOAL: $2,000

Come As You Are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, Tell The Story

November 2009

Dear River Family,

I am excited to share with you information regarding the SHOWING WE CARE! Special Christmas Offering that begins now and runs through December 31st.

As a brand new church in the Treasure Valley, we are committed to do everything we can to carry out the mission God has given us; leading people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ by encouraging them to: Come As You Are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and to go out and Tell The Story! We are not looking for perfect people, in fact we say No Perfect People Allowed! One significant thing we have discovered about our community is that it is not irreligious, it is packed with people who believe in God but have given up on the church for one reason or another. With this in mind we have set out to be a non-traditional, contemporary church for people who have given up on the traditional church, but not on God.

When we began The River seven months ago, we determined to give our people the best opportunities available to discover what it means to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. With this offering you have the opportunity to deepen your commitment to Christ, enlarge your ministry commitment and opportunities, and provide for the needs of others.

This offering is designated to four purposes: providing financial support for IberoAmerican Ministries; Servant Evangelism to our city, beginning a Benevolence ministry to our own members, and support of our own youth ministry – STRIKE!

I hope you will carefully look over the enclosed information about this exciting opportunity for us to give sacrificially. Will you join us and begin praying now about what God would have you give, over and above your regular giving, to our Special Christmas Offering? Allow God to stretch your faith!

Your Friend and Pastor,

Dave Griewe
pastordg@aol.com

The SHOWING WE CARE! Special Christmas Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of raising $1,500 for four specific ministry initiatives.

THE PURPOSES OF THIS OFFERING

To support Jeff Phillips; Founder of IberoAmerican Ministries: a mission dedicated to reach Muslims in Southeast Asia.

Jeff Phillips and his wife Kathy left for Chile the day after their first wedding anniversary immediately after graduation from San Jose Bible College (now William Jessup University). They have been in living in Chile for the past 33 years. All four of their children, as well as their four grandchildren were born in Chile. They have seen 20 churches planted during that time which are now beginning to reproduce churches on their own. Each of these planted churches has national pastors and elders. Most recently, Jeff took a team to a Middle Eastern, war torn country, to live among and love Muslims. There he started a Women's Center to help the hurting people. IberoAmerican Ministries goal is to mobilize 1000 Latinos to move into and start churches around the world focusing on reaching people where there is no Christian testimony or churches. Two of Jeff’s children and their families have answered that call and are currently working among needy people. For more information: www.iamweb.org

To share God’s love to our community through Servant Evangelism.

Last year The River hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the Lexington Hills Community, the community where our church meets. We managed to put out over 3,000 plastic eggs filled with candy and prizes for the children and their families. We had over 250 people attend this free event to the community. This helped to develop a positive identity of The River in our community and led to a very successful Grand Opening Easter service. This year we hope to open it up to even more people within the city of Eagle.

To begin a Benevolence Fund to assist members of our church.

It is our desire to begin a Benevolence Ministry to come alongside our people in distress due to difficult financial times, a death in the family or a need for Christian counseling.

To support STRIKE! our youth ministry to Junior and Senior High students.

Our youth ministry continues to grow and in its short time has seen 15 teens make decisions for Christ! Our goal is to provide financial resources to help our youth ministry send students to camp this summer. Last year’s summer camp saw four students commit their lives to Christ.

This Special Offering will be received through December 31, 2009. Please use the special envelope in your bulletin or mark your checks or online gifts with “Showing We Care!”

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why a Special Offering?
As part of God’s plan to grow the faith of the people in His church, He calls us to sacrificial giving from time to time. This Special Christmas Offering is an opportunity for us to grow in our faith and to prepare us for what God wants to do through our church in 2010. This offering is to position us to make a greater impact in our city, in our church and around the world in 2010.

What is the difference between the Regular Offering and this Special Offering?
Your regular River offering is the proportional amount (your tithe of 10%) that you set apart on a systematic basis and give to our church throughout the year. From time to time, there are opportunities to give in a sacrificial way. This Special Christmas Offering is one of those occasions where sacrificial giving that stretches us causing us to grow in our faith. The special offering should be over and above what you give regularly to The River.

How much should I Give?
Since our goal is $1,500, this Special Offering has room for everyone to be involved. Some families within our church can give a large gift. Others are only able to give a small gift. The issue is not equal giving, but equal sacrifice. The precise amount you give is between you and God. Please prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift that will stretch your faith.

When should I Give?
The best time to give will be the next two Sundays. Please pray about giving your best gift on that day. However, you may continue to give until December 31, 2009. Please use the “Showing We Care!” offering envelopes or include a note designating that your gift is for the Special Christmas Offering. Remember, consistent gifts over time adds up – a person giving $10-$50 a week over a five-week period will give $50 to $250 to this Special Offering!

Can I Give online via bank check, debit or credit card?
Yes. You may give at www.RiverChristianChurch.com via online giving, simply select the “about rcc” drop-down menu and click on “support rcc”. Then select the “donate” button. That will take you to our PayPal account. To donate by check online, you must have a PayPal account, otherwise you may use your debit card or credit card. You can also use your bank online payment option to send a check directly to the church office. Again, simply mark in the memo area that your gift is for the “Showing We Care!” special offering.

Can I Give In-Kind Gifts of Stocks or Bonds?
Of course! Since The River is a 501c3 organization there can be tremendous tax benefits for you by giving in-kind gifts. For information on this type of giving, simply contact Pastor Dave.

Are My Gifts Tax-Deductible?
All gifts to The River, whether via your regular offering or this Special Christmas Offering, are completely tax-deductible. Your gift will be deductible in the tax year given (i.e., gifts given in 2009 will be deductible on your 2009 taxes). Please be sure to include your name and address when you give so that a receipt can be sent to you for your tax preparations. You are not required to utilize a tax-deduction for your gift, but it is available for all gifts.

How Will I Know if We Reach Our Goal?
Please pray for God’s guidance as we all give sacrificially. You will be updated on our giving progress during our Sunday services. Reaching this goal will be a celebration of what we can do together as we stretch our faith under God’s leadership.

Have additional questions? Please contact Pastor Dave Griewe at pastordg@aol.com