Gary Johnson - January 2018

Dear Ones,
A couple dates I want to draw your attention to....
On Sunday, January 28, from 2:00pm-4:00pm, there will be an open house to honor Dave and Tara Sims for the 20 years they have served Sterling Christian Church. Be sure and stop by and let them know how much you appreciate their long time service here at Sterling.

On Sunday, February 4, the entire non-designated offering will go toward paying off the debt. At the end of 2017, $213,557.84 was still owed. I know there has been money given to help pay on that debt in January and I have not received that amount as of yet.

I would ask all of us to rise to the challenge and eliminate this debt. This is my prayer. I am asking you to take a few minutes each day and ask God to guide you in this decision on what to give on Debt Reduction Sunday, February 4th.

I do not want you to be frustrated, overwhelmed or upset with the amount of time we are giving to the stewardship series
(4 weeks). The Bible has over 2,300 verses about money. Many of Jesus’ parables deal with money. 

From an article by Mike Holmes: 
“The church of today is not great at giving. This isn’t exactly news. But it is a statistical fact:
-Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. - Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. 
- Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. 
Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let's say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here's just a few things the Church could do with that kind of money:
- $25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years.
- $12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years.
- $15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day.
- $1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work.
- $100 to $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion.

​Those are some amazing numbers. The truth is: Giving is a heart issue, not a money issue. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
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The full power of tithing is found in grace and not in fear--it's something we get to do rather than something we have to do.”

Love, Gary