The Gift of Giving and Forgiving

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful time of year. The birth of the Christ child is a great cause for celebration. Christmas is a fun time for many, particularly for children who enjoy all the festivities, Christmas decorations, and especially the anticipation of receiving gifts on Christmas morning.

I believe that we have been richly blessed as a nation and as a church. This past year we had the privilege of supporting a number of local ministries, such as Pregnancy Resources, Love INC, Hope Ministries, and Special Gathering. We also had the honor of contributing to several oversees ministries like Fisher of Mens Ministries in Haiti, a missionary in Israel with Operation Mobilization, and our very own Chris Schoff in Guatemala. It is your faithfulness throughout this past year that has made this all possible. Thank you for your very generous support.

This past Sunday I started a Christmas series entitled, “Christmas is For-giving.” As I mentioned Christmas is a fun time for many, but for others it can be a very trying and difficult season. Sunday we looked at the incredible gift of forgiveness that God has graciously given to us. As we look at the Bible we understand that the Christ child was born to die. He died both for the forgiveness of our sins, and so we could forgive others as God has forgiven us. There is certainly no greater gift that we can give this year to someone, than the gift of forgiveness.

Another blessing we have as a church is that we have no debt. “We owe no man nothing,” so to speak. When we do use credit cards we use them for convenience and pay them off each month. We are however, running significantly behind our budget for the year. This means that our income has been below what we budgeted for ministry. In the short term we have been able to draw from savings to make up for the deficit. In the long term this will become a more serious problem. As I have prayed and thought about this I believe God has challenged me to believe for and pray that we would end up the year in the black against budget. This would put us on a good financial footing for entering into 2011. Please pray and agree with me that this would become a reality. Also please ask the Lord how you might be able to participate. Perhaps you would consider an end of year offering to help us meet our goal? I believe God is going to bless us as we look towards him in this matter and are willing to sacrifice for the building of His Kingdom here on earth. I do not believe God is calling us to draw back, but to advance in ministry. We serve a Mighty God of hope.

From the Pastors, Elders, and Staff of COTRM, thank you very much for your faithful support. May God richly bless you during this Christmas season.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,
Pastor Gary