A VALLEY LIFE CHURCH GENEROSITY INITIATIVE

Meeting a challenge with an “abundance of joy” | 2 Corinthians 8:2

Our primary goal is not to raise money but to make disciples. So, Leaning In is first, a discipleship journey that we are asking everyone to go on. We are calling everyone at Valley Life Church to Lean In as we step out in faith into all that God has for us and for our church family moving forward. This is BIG, and we cannot do it alone.

We are better together. If everyone does 100% of what God asks them to do, we will accomplish all that God wants us to accomplish. This includes each of us joining together to pray fervently, commit fully, cheer loudly, and give generously.

Are you LEANING IN?

While we have set a financial target of $2.1 million dollars over the next two years, the primary aim with our secondary goal is for everyone at Valley Life Church to grow in generosity through, LEANING IN. Generosity is a heart issue, and therefore a discipleship issue. Our hope is for a “Wealth of generosity” (2 Cor. 8:2) over financial wealth. And we believe this “wealth of generosity” will help us accomplish all that God has in store for Valley Life in the next two years.

THE VISION BREAKDOWN

Valley Life Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ who are identified by worship, community, and mission. Our key values as a church are: Scripture Matters, The Gospel Matters, Community Matters, Family Matters, Mission Matters, Leadership Matters.

LEANING IN changes none of that! Instead, it continues to invite us into all of it. During this two-year initiative, we will continue to maintain our giving to the on-going ministries and regular operational expenses at Valley Life. Put another way, we do not want to trade the mission for a building!

Valley Life Church commits 10% of all general giving to the expansion and establishment of churches beyond our walls.

Partnered with the Acts 29* church planting network, we have helped to see churches both financially supported and planted over the last seventeen years, and we have every intention of continuing with this commitment, even during this two-year initiative. We will keep making disciples and planting churches!

Back in 2015, Valley Life Church was gifted this campus by the former Lebanon Evangelical Church. Since that time, we have been working to renovate the various spaces to better serve our ministry needs. Today, what was formerly the gym/annex building, sits empty, all boarded up. That is nearly 7,000 square feet that we need. Not having that space primarily impacts our children and our youth, but it also affects our ability to gather more informally as a church.

LEANING IN will help us accomplish phase 1 of our campus plan, the new Community Center. The space will serve as an education space for our elementary kids on Sundays and your space during the week. Additionally, the Community Center will provide our church family with space for gathering together outside of more formal gatherings (i.e., receptions, potlucks, etc).

The total cost is estimated at $1.75M. Here is how we expect to fund the project:

$400K (savings)
$550K (borrow)
$800K (generosity initiative)

______ $1.75 MILLION TOTAL

Phase 2 of the project will come at a later date and will include building out the patio space between the Community Center and our main auditorium. Now, should we exceed our financial goal during the LEANING IN initiative, we will be able to sooner begin phase 2.

Because the primary goal of LEANING IN is about discipleship, we decided against a more traditional “building campaign”. Again, what we are hoping to accomplish is bigger than just a building.

So, instead of giving towards multiple funds (e.g., general fund, building fund, mission fund, etc), we will be combining all generosity into One Fund for the next two years. This fund will include all the day-to-day ministry (i.e., regular budget) as well as what we hope to accomplish with our facility.

A NOTE FROM PASTOR PATRICK

Looking back, this will not be the first time that God has called us to LEAN IN as a church. And every time, it was a challenge and a risk, but in the end, it was rewarding. Looking at Scripture, this is how God chooses to work more often than not, for His glory and our good. And so, I could not be more excited about what is ahead for our church family. Will it be hard? I’m sure it will be. Will it be scary? At times, probably. But will it be worth it? How could it not be! I’m LEANING IN! What about you?