from the Good Shepherd Home Page

SURGE TOWARD THE GOAL

By Pastor Dave Sonnenberg

The football season is at its most exciting time right now - college teams are preparing for Bowl Games, some professional teams are in the hunt for the playoffs, while some teams are wondering “What happened this year?” (i.e., my beloved Steelers and our own Redskins)

A lot of football experts will tell you that one of the major differences between an average team and an exceptional team is how they perform in the “red zone”. The “red zone” is the portion of the field inside the 20 yard line. When an offensive team moves the ball up the field and finds themselves in the “red zone” they know that they are knocking on the door. They know they have a great opportunity in front of them but they also realize that “work is still to be done”. Exceptional teams have the knack for surging forward with momentum and consistently scoring when they need.

Good Shepherd has a strong history of “finishing” each year with a surge of generous giving. If you liken the twelve months of each ministry year to a march down the football field, Good Shepherd has always performed well in the final month of the year (“our red zone”). Over the last 5 years, nearly 13.5% of the annual budget has been given in December. Last year alone, we received 15.1% in the final month with December Income at $130,000. *With 5 Sundays in December of this year, in addition to Christmas Eve, we trust that the people of Good Shepherd will rise to the occasion once more - helping us reach our goals for the year 2007!

As we reach those goals with the expected surge, we will start ministry year 2007 with strong momentum. We have much to look forward to: 1) many new groups starting on Sundays and Wednesdays in January; 2) construction on new facilities; 3) continued development of our Worship; 4) congregational visioning sessions in the spring; 5) trips to the Gulf Coast; 6) developing our outreach to the Arc of Montgomery County; 7) addition of new staff (more to come on this issue in January); and much, much more.

Our teamwork involves our commitments to be generous with the resources that God has given to us which enables this ministry to grow. Our collective generosity enables us to reach out to each other in more profound ways and also enables us to “widen the circle” to include the newcomer. Thanks be to God for each one of you and for your daily ministry in this world.

 

Last Updated:  12/21/07 02:50 PM