Newsletter
Hi Village,
Jesus was all about raising up leaders. I've just begun reading the gospel of Mark where Jesus calls his first disciples, Andrew and Simon (Peter). Jesus' disciples follow him and are eventually sent out to do his work.
At Village, we want to continue to train up new leaders who do Kingdom work at Village and maybe even beyond Village. One of the best ways to train leaders is through programs like MTS or a Village Traineeship.
But not everyone is willing to give up a year or two of careers. Not everyone is able. Can I just say how thankful to God I am that he has brought us Laila. Her faith and faithfulness has been a blessing to our Church and I'm sad she will be finished up.
We are hoping she will be able to stay at Village. And we're thankful for Fin currently doing MTS. My prayer though, is that God would lead many more people at Village to give a year, two years or even their whole lives to serving God with ministry as their vocation for God's glory and the growth of the Kingdom.
At Village, we want to continue to train up new leaders who do Kingdom work at Village and maybe even beyond Village. One of the best ways to train leaders is through programs like MTS or a Village Traineeship.
But not everyone is willing to give up a year or two of careers. Not everyone is able. Can I just say how thankful to God I am that he has brought us Laila. Her faith and faithfulness has been a blessing to our Church and I'm sad she will be finished up.
We are hoping she will be able to stay at Village. And we're thankful for Fin currently doing MTS. My prayer though, is that God would lead many more people at Village to give a year, two years or even their whole lives to serving God with ministry as their vocation for God's glory and the growth of the Kingdom.
Budget Update & Celebration Dinner
As you may know, money is tight at Village. We now receive very little external funding and so rely almost entirely on internal giving. The good news is, we are hanging in there. The tricky piece is, only just.
We have gone from around $3000 per week to $3600 per week. Our goal, you may remember, is $4000. That doesn't get us ahead. But it does prevent us having to make a staffing decrease.
Here's what I'm asking. Would you consider increasing your giving by 10%? So to be clear — if you currently give $50 per week, would you consider changing to $55 per week? Or $150 per week to $165? If we can increase our giving by 10%, we should be ok.
Additionally, as it's the end of the financial year, I'm asking that you might consider giving a one-off gift to our MTS Fund. This is how we pay Fin and future MTS or Trainees. It's tax deductible — so you'll get a bunch of it back. Even $100 makes a big difference.
I know that not everyone will be in a position to do this. However, I encourage you to consider. It might mean sacrificing one thing during your week. My prayer is that God would provide the financial means but also the faith for you to be able to do that.
Please remember — we give because God gave us Jesus and everything we have. And we give because it contributes to the work of Village seeing more people trust in Jesus and grow as disciples.
We have gone from around $3000 per week to $3600 per week. Our goal, you may remember, is $4000. That doesn't get us ahead. But it does prevent us having to make a staffing decrease.
Here's what I'm asking. Would you consider increasing your giving by 10%? So to be clear — if you currently give $50 per week, would you consider changing to $55 per week? Or $150 per week to $165? If we can increase our giving by 10%, we should be ok.
Additionally, as it's the end of the financial year, I'm asking that you might consider giving a one-off gift to our MTS Fund. This is how we pay Fin and future MTS or Trainees. It's tax deductible — so you'll get a bunch of it back. Even $100 makes a big difference.
I know that not everyone will be in a position to do this. However, I encourage you to consider. It might mean sacrificing one thing during your week. My prayer is that God would provide the financial means but also the faith for you to be able to do that.
Please remember — we give because God gave us Jesus and everything we have. And we give because it contributes to the work of Village seeing more people trust in Jesus and grow as disciples.
Life Series
We've just finished our Life Series online. I've been encouraged hearing from a few people who have watched it and sent it to friends and family. Personally, I've sent it to a few people. The great thing about what we've got in the Life Series online is that it's now always available.
Here's my encouragement — use it, Village! Just this week I met someone who was interested to hear more about Jesus, so I sent them the Life Series link. I'm praying that God would draw many people to himself through this resource.
Here's my encouragement — use it, Village! Just this week I met someone who was interested to hear more about Jesus, so I sent them the Life Series link. I'm praying that God would draw many people to himself through this resource.
Pray for Summit
In a few weeks time, the Leadership Team plus a couple of people I've invited, will meet for two days to do an Annual Review of Village. We call it the Village Summit as we look down from a height to reflect on our Church.
We want to ask questions like: are we growing in number and in health? Where are we strong? Where are we weak? What does the data say? How can we keep growing and what's stopping us?
I would love your prayers for this time, and keep an eye out in July when I'll get us all together to share some of our thoughts and findings.
We want to ask questions like: are we growing in number and in health? Where are we strong? Where are we weak? What does the data say? How can we keep growing and what's stopping us?
I would love your prayers for this time, and keep an eye out in July when I'll get us all together to share some of our thoughts and findings.
That's it for me this month.
Remember, Life Series, consider your giving and keep serving Jesus.
Remember, Life Series, consider your giving and keep serving Jesus.
Tim