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 Fall 2007 the semi-annual newsletter of BGC Cornerstone Fund Project Advance - by Douglas Peck • News You Can Use • The Cornerstone Team
STEWARDSHIP My kids love family night. They look forward to the little tidbits of information we try to pass on. A while ago the theme of our family night was“stewardship.” We discussed the passage in Luke talking about the wealthy landowner who was leaving to be appointed king of a distant country. Before he leaves he calls his servants together and gives each of them a bunch of money and instructs them to take care of it, with the expectation that they will be good stewards of his money. You know the rest: two of the servants multiplied the money entrusted to them, and the third basically stuck it under a mattress and was rebuked for it. We had them write on a poster board all the things they feel fortunate to have. They included things like their pillow, High School Musical DVD (yeah, I got Tweeners), our minds (that was mine) and money. We talked about what it feels like to have all this stuff and where we got it. Well, as in the passage in Luke, God gives these things and expects us to care for them. Then we moved on to 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received (from God) to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” “Use our stuff to serve others?” Yeah, that’s part of biblical stewardship. We are not only to take care of what God gives us, but also to use our ‘gifts’ to serve others. We encourage our kids not to spend all their meager earnings on candy and High School Musical paraphernalia. They have invested much of their earnings in their own demand certificate with the Cornerstone Fund. In doing this they are caring for the resources God has given them and serving others through the ministry of the BGC Cornerstone Fund. They are part of the 1742 investors partnering with us to provide financing to churches of the Baptist General Conference. The neat thing about family nights is that my wife and I get to impart Biblical bits of truth and character to our kids in ways they actually enjoy. And we usually have ice cream.
Much of the spiritual truth Jesus taught about living on earth and getting into heaven is found in the context of money and possessions. Money and spirituality are inseparable.
The imperative of Jesus peels back layers of confusion surrounding money and spirituality. He says, . . . store your treasures in heaven. Your heart will be where your treasure is.5 A Christian can simply look at how he or she spends money and utilizes God-given resources to measure his or her rate and depth of maturity in Christ. Now imagine a church funding project that actually causes people to grow spiritually, while strengthening the spiritual fiber of the church. The Converge Worldwide (BGC) Cornerstone Fund announces the launch of a new approach to raising capital funding in your church through, Project Advance: Advancing God’s touch in your life, your church, and around the world, exclusively for Converge Worldwide (BGC) churches. A Bounce-Back Ministry Project of Generosity Project Advance is about God marking your church with His touch, evidenced in changing lives and families through a visible demonstration of His power, while raising funds to launch your next ministry phase. Although large amounts of money are given to expand church ministry through the help of Project Advance, the focus of this new model is not money. It will focus on spiritual empowerment and spiritual growth of people in the local church as they catch the vision and find profound joy in following biblical generosity principles. . . .be generous and ready to share. By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.6 Project Advance is built on solid research with a biblical emphasis of following the principles of generosity. Living and giving the way Jesus taught:
Don’t be surprised in God’s economy that a church capital project has less to do with money and more to do with the givers heart. God cares about the spiritual condition of a church reflected in the life of its leaders and people. A capital project provides an opportunity to watch God in action—to experience His touch. He works in the church, changing one life and family at a time through a pattern of generosity. In a phrase, a church capital project is building today’s ministry for tomorrow’s reward! When God’s people give, they are rewarded with real living, while advancing God’s Church and investing in eternity’s treasure. Learn more about how Project Advance can help you raise capital funding for your church in a way that is Advancing God’s Touch in life, the church, and around the world. Contact Doug Peck today toll free at 800-323-4215, 847-879-3519 (direct) or email dpeck@baptistgeneral.org NEWS YOU CAN USE: — Retirement Planning
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Advancing God's Touch
don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.11