Stewardship Campaign 2023
Scripture
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4: 4-5
Prayer
Please join us in praying this prayer daily through November 20.
Let us pray:
Loving God, I thank you for all with which you have blessed me to this day. I thank you for my church and the ways you are at work in my life and the lives of the wonderful people of my church.
I ask your blessing upon my church; as we embark upon this years’ stewardship campaign, inspire each one of us to offer ourselves more fully to your will. Unite us in our common purpose and help us to do all we can, to give all we can, that each one of us serves you faithfully and our church fulfills the hope of our calling.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray. Amen.
A Letter from Pastor David
October 19, 2022
Dear Desert Spring Church:
Years ago, while still wrestling with my call to ministry, I met with Rev, Travis Kendall. During the meeting, Travis interrupted my “talk” by saying “David, it is time to stop running. You need to go to Seminary, and you need to go now.” Those words started me down the path of answering my call to ministry. They were simple words, yet so powerful. The power of one man’s words changed everything for me. Thank you, Travis!
We all have experienced the power of one—one person making a huge difference in our lives. In our church, we have experienced the power of one person launching a ministry that impacted countless lives, we have experienced the power of one vision that resulted in a mission in Sandy Valley, we have experienced the power of one gift making new ministries possible. This year, our Annual Stewardship campaign is called “The Power of One.” Each one of us has the power to make ministry happen. One pledge—your gifts—provides funds that empower ministry and change people’s lives. And when your pledge is added to the pledge of another person, and another, and another, our ministries thrive, and we experience the power of one church faithfully serving God!
As you know, our church has a single purpose—one purpose: We welcome all people to discover and live a life of purpose through Jesus Christ as together we make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Next year, our plans to live out our purpose are bold. We will be expanding our ministry in Sandy Valley as well as with our Desert Spring Community Resource Center. We will be finalizing and implementing a Discipleship Plan that provides clear pathways for people to engage in ministry and grow in faith. We will continue to improve our online ministries and opportunities. We will be expanding our congregational care ministry. All of this, and more, while continuing to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Our bold plans for ministry coupled with inflation challenges us greatly. Next year our budget will need to increase by 7% to meet the demands. It is a big ask, and it will be a challenging goal to achieve. Even so, Desert Spring always rises to any challenge.
During our Annual Stewardship Campaign, you will be invited to hear testimonies about the power of one. In November you will receive a pledge card as well as more information about the campaign. Pledge Sunday will be on November 20, when we will be inviting everyone to make a pledge to fund ministry in 2023. In the meantime, we invite you to pray about how you will participate.
Finally, we have enclosed a prayer for this year’s stewardship campaign. Please join me in praying this prayer each day through November 20. And remember, your pledge is very important to the life and vitality of our church: The Power of One.
God bless you,
Pastor David
A Letter from Pastor David
November 9, 2022
The Power of One. You probably have stories you can tell. Desert Spring has many stories to tell! Over the past few years, we have experienced the Power of one in many ways: One decision, one gift, one service, one person and so much more. Here are a few of the stories.
The Power of One decision. A few years ago, we made the decision to partner with Keystone, a non-profit organization in Sandy Valley. That partnership has resulted in improved quality of life for hundreds and hundreds of people who live in the community. And we have only begun!
The Power of One gift: Our 2020 Different Kind of Christmas gift was given to start the Desert Spring Community Resource Center. In 2022, approximately 200,000 meals were provided for the community through the Resource Center, totaling ABOUT 250,000 pounds of food distributed. In addition, the gift we gave was able to be leveraged resulting in grants that will sustain the work of the Resource Center for years to come.
The Power of one Worship service: Upon the recommendation of a family member, a young man watched one of our online worship services. The service connected with the man, who began joining online worship weekly. Recently, the young man made a decision for Christ and asked to be baptized. The baptism was awesome as is this new member of the church who continues to worship with us online each Sunday.
The Power of one person: Throughout the pandemic, the church experienced many changes. Some of the changes involved staff members. Jake Skarin joined our staff as our new Traditional Music Director. Jake has revitalized our traditional music program, while bringing great joy to the lives of choir and bell choir members as well as all of us who worship at traditional services. Our music program has always been good, and now is better than ever!
There are so many stories I can tell. One decision, one gift, one worship service, one person can make a huge difference in the lives of so many people. These stories are all part of One Church—Desert Spring UMC—as we live out our One Purpose: “To welcome all people to discover and live a life of purpose through Jesus Christ as together we make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”
This year’s annual Stewardship campaign is called “The Power of One.” Each pledge, each gift given to the church, is critically important to fulfilling our purpose. The pledge you make and the gifts you give will result in even more stories we will be able to tell. Please prayerfully consider your pledge for our 2023 ministry. And take a moment to read the included brochure. It will provide information about our ministry goals for 2023 as well as the goal of increasing giving by 7%. And remember the Power of One: your gifts make a huge difference!
Thank you and God bless you!
Pastor Dave
“One Prayer”
“One Church”
“One Family”