Honda Pilot on its way to Guatemala

Yesterday I got see part of a six month dream come true:-)
The Honda Pilot Encounter purchased with funds that came in from our November 18, 2012, Day of Generosity offering, was put on a double-decker car carrier headed for Houston, TX.
From there it will be put on a second car carrier and eventually make its way to Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Our friend Rut Chamale, the director of VisonTrust Guatemala, is the recipient.  
Encounter has visited the small village of Cruz Blanca, Guatemala twice in the last 3 1/2 yrs. where our people sponsor 60+ orphans.  We've seen the great need for a reliable vehicle to transport food, medical and craft supplies as well as volunteers to the ministry center.
CLICK HERE to go to Encounter's FB page to see a few pics. of the Pilot being loaded onto the truck.
Something else fun I just found out about was that the Dublin Villager Newspaper printed an article about this story in today's paper. CLICK HERE to be taken to that article.
In all this, we desire to God's name lifted high, not our own.  He is the one choosing to work through us and we count it a privilege.

Highest Offering in Encounter's Four Year History!

Wow Encounter Church!!! 
Did you ever give above and beyond this morning!
With gifts that came in before and after the Day of Generosity, our offering has totaled out at $20,486.39.
That's simply amazing!
Can't wait to tell Rut and the team down in Guatemala about this:-)  

November 18, Day of Generosity

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the focus for our November 18th, Day of Generosity was announced last Sunday. (scroll down on the link to see past Day of Generosity focuses) 
Each year Encounter takes a Sunday morning offering in November and gives 100% of it away.  It is promoted weeks ahead of time and usually is the largest offering of the entire year.
This year's focus is the purchase and delivery of an SUV for our ministry partners down in Cruz Blanca, Guatemala working with orphans through the ministry of Vision Trust International.
On Sunday I had some fun showing the congregation "potential" vehicles the elders considered.  Most of them were quite silly. But after talking with Matt Storer, president of Vision Trust and another couple at Encounter who also had this project on their hearts, it was decided the vehicle would be a Honda Pilot.
The hope is that it would be five years or younger with really low mileage. It will need to be a four wheel drive version and the plan right now is to drive it down instead of shipping it.  It's approximately 2,800 miles, in case you were wondering:-).
As I said above, 100% of the November 18th offering will go towards the vehicle and its delivery, though people are encouraged to send support money into the church office prior to that date as well (Encounter church, 6160 Riverside Dr., Ste. #103, Dublin, OH, 43017). 
More details will be discussed this coming Sunday in the service.

Week #2 of "Getting Out & Staying Out"

So we're in a three week message series on getting out and staying out of debt.  Last Sunday was more about the "getting out".  But I also spoke about something even more burdensome than being in debt: being personally enslaved to money.  We read Jesus' words in Matthew 6:24, "You can't serve both God and money."  It's like Jesus is saying the number one thing that will keep you from loving and serving God is being a servant or slave to money. Whether we're in debt to it or greedy for it, loving money is a killer to our relationship to God.
This week we'll be talking about the "staying out" of debt and the love for money.  You see, it's one thing to get out of something, it's another to stay out.  We'll explore what it looks like to be content with what we have.  And in studying for the message I was hit hard by this statement: 

To be more content with what I have, 

I have to become more and more discontent

 with what other people don’t have.

What a great phrase!  It's like saying I've got to become more satisfied with the "needs" God has taken care of in my life and then instead of using the excess for my "wants", I'm positioned to fill the needs of those He puts in my path.

Hope you can make it this Sunday.  

Click on the series logo below to hear last weeks message.

Guatemala Spaghetti Lunch Fundraiser

This past Sunday, June 10th, Encounter had a lunch to raise money to help finalize the funds needed for those going to Guatemala this summer. It was a fun time for those going to serve the rest of the congregation and work together as a team.
Our people didn't disappoint. Their generosity was great. $2,532.61 was raised!!!
Thanks Encounter Church for showing that you believe in helping the less fortunate.

Encounter People Give

This past Sunday I informed the people of Encounter Church how their financial giving met the needs of people in 2011.

Out of our benevolance fund (5%) and what we gifted over the year to our missionaries (10%) Encounter's giving will top $40,000.00 by years end! Wow!

I'm so proud of our people.

As we continue to "workout" our generosity muscles, they continue to get stronger and stronger:-)

Day of Generosity Offering Results

Wow! I wondered what the Lord would do through the people of Encounter and He didn't disappoint!
As you can see in the previous blog post, we were very specific to where the funds would go this year. I believe this helped our people be even more generous than previous years. We know the two missionary families and some of our people will be personally involved in the projects in Cruz Blanca, Guatemala.
Normally we have our offering earlier in the service but because we weren't keeping any of the funds we moved it to the end of the service so people could respond to the message.
The total amount given was $8,593.56.
That is the second highest Sunday morning offering in Encounter's history and it totally pays for the mobile classroom and community outreach for next summer's mission trip. We will send the $2,300.00 to Vision Trust as earmarked funds for the trip. The remaining funds blesses our two missionary families in a big way.
Thank-you Encounter Church for giving so generously.

Day of Generosity, Sun. Nov. 20

One Sunday a year, Encounter gives away an entire mornings offering.
We call it the Day of Generosity. This year there are four receipients of the funds.
The first $1,800.00 will go towards the supplies and building of a mobile classroom in Cruz Blanca, Guatemala during our trip next summer (July 10-17, 2012).
The next $500.00 will be used for the rental and supplies for an outdoor community event also in Cruz Blanca next summer.
All remaining funds will be evenly divided between the two missionary families we support as a Thanksgiving/Christmas gift from Encounter. They are Matt & Cheryl Storer, with Vision Trust International and Ryan Janosko, with Campus Crusade for Christ at OSU.
Check out this link on our website to learn more about them:
http://www.encounterchurch.us/missions.html
If you are part of the body of Christ at Encounter Church, ask the Lord what He would like you to give this Sunday.
(If you will not be in the service please send your gift to the church office so it can be included in this offering: 6160 Riverside Dr. Suite #103, Dublin, OH 43017)

Guess What's In My Pocket Right Now

From day one of our church plant we have talked about and dreamed of sending out a church plant from Encounter.

Not surprising, the most asked question I've had in the almost three years we've had services is, "What's your timeline on land and a building?" Here's the thing; it's certainly not that I think owning land and a building is wrong...you've got to have something to meet in! But we at Encounter just like the flexiblity renting allows us and the ability to be extra generous with the funds that are given by our people.
Again, from day one of having services (Feb. 1/09) we have laid aside 5% of total offerings for a future church plant. The amount as of September 30 is $27,400.00.
So what's in my pocket...a check for $10,000.00 to add to Encounter's future church plant!
Praise the Lord for Kingdom minded people!

Encounter Church Gives to GBIM

For the second year in a row Encounter Church took 100% of a Sunday mornings offering and gifted to Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM). It was in partnership with the Day of Generosity.
This years offering totalled $5,232.00.
Praise the Lord!

Encounter's, Day of Generosity, Sun, Nov. 21

I'm excited to see how God will work through the generous giving of His people at Encounter this Sunday, November 21st. We've been talking about the Day of Generosity for a few months now, preparing our body of believers to give above and beyond.
100% of the offering will be gifted to Grace Brethren International Missions, (GBIM,) a partnering ministry within our fellowship of churches.
Amazingly there are less than 300 of our churches in North America, but over 2900 across Africa, Asia, Europe and South & Central America. Huge amounts of missions work has been done to reach the lost for Christ.
As is often the case, we in America have great financial resources whereas our Christ following brothers and sisters across seas have little.
This Sunday is our opportunity to show the love of Christ in our financially giving.

Encounter Church Gives

Last week I had been e-mailed by a few of my NewThing Network buddies who were having special offerings for the relief work in Haiti. It inspired me to do the same. After checking in with all our ministry coaches, small group leaders and apprentice leaders, this is what we decided to do. We emptied our benevolence fund and took up a special offering at the end of our service. The total of the two added up to $5,485.00.

Our desire is to be a generous church body and there's no better way to become generous than to seize opportunities to be generous.

I heard a pastor friend of mine named Troy McMahon say, "Generosity is like a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it gets". He's right and we're on our way to strengthening that muscle.

We sent our gift to VisionTrust International where my buddy Matt Storer is the president. As you may know he is also one of Encounter's officially supported missionaries. He has a work in the Dominican Republic and knows others with the hospital and orphanage pictured here. They are both right on the Haiti-DR border in the city of Jimani, DR. That is where our monies have gone. Matt also tells me that the US government has chosen the site and has set up a large scale treatment center there.

CLICK HERE to see the site via Google Maps.

To God Be The Glory.

Encounter Church gives

In yesterdays blog entry I said I'd tell you what our November 1st offering was b/c we're giving it all away to Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM).

Before I tell you I wanted to let you know how the morning went. As I told you yesterday my friend Rob Comfort was going to co-preach with me. As it turns out when we connected this morning before the service I saw how much he had prepared and felt like I should just hand over most of the service to him. So I opened the morning up with some verses out of Proverbs and some general statements about being generous and then brought Rob up to interview him. After five questions I sat down and Rob spoke humbly from his heart about how essential biblical giving is. You did a great job Rob! If you'd like to hear the message CLICK HERE.

Now before I tell you this amount I'd like to preface it with this:

*I'm not telling you to brag about how great Encounter Church is

*I'm not telling you so you can figure out how much our new church is bringing in weekly

*I'm not telling you so other partnering churches can feel better or worse depending on what they gave

I am telling you so that you can celebrate what God is doing through His people at Encounter.

To God's glory we are sending a check for $5,863.00 to GBIM.

Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford

Here is a funny video that SNL did years ago. I can see us using it in a message series on personal finances in the future:-) It's such a simple concept and makes sense but often we don't live our lives by it.
Enjoy.

$urprise Ble$$ing$!

On the way down to Hocking Hills with the family I called our treasurer to get his thoughts on using some of our "Give Away" funds for small groups to use. We'll be talking more about this at Leadership Community this Saturday morning.
When I asked him how much money we had in that section of the budget he couldn't give me an exact number but was happy to tell me of an incredible anonymous gift given to ENCOUNTER. I don't even know if this person attends our services or not but someone gave $10,000.00 to us this week!!! That is so crazy fun for me to hear! Yes that's TEN THOUSAND dollars.
Praise the Lord for He is good. He gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!!!