The Thursday Update

OCTOBER 6, 2022

Lakeshore friends—

One of the great tragedies I see all the time (and all around our country) is people who have discovered faith in Jesus Christ and seem to be okay with not going much further in their faith beyond that decision.  Sometimes the reason is that their decision was not a true decision for Jesus, and that explains it clearly.  But other times, it is a case of being fine with believing in Jesus, asking Him into my life by faith, and not doing much more than that. 

That’s tragic.  If you were to ask someone who is in this spot in their faith some spiritual questions, too often their answers may sound like this:

“Are you reading the Bible regularly to get to know God and truth better?” “I’m too tired to read it.”

“Are you connecting with other Christians at church and in a small group so you help each other grow?” “I’m just too busy for all that.”

“Are you using your gifts in the way the New Testament teaches so that you help Christ’s church thrive?” “I’m not sure I can help.”

“Are you putting Jesus and His will first in every decision you make to glorify God and to find true joy in your life?” “Sometimes.”

“Are you giving back to God a tithe of what He has given to you?” “Um, have you seen my bills?”

Jesus promises us an abundant life if we take the next steps beyond simply discovering faith in Jesus, and that’s what we’ll talk about on Sunday as we continue our series, 3D Christianity. 

If you want to live a truly fulfilling Christian life instead of the bland, consumeristic version we see around us, this series is for you.  You can watch last week’s kick-off message here, and you can see our “3D flowchart” showing each stage here.

Hope to see you here on Sunday (and Thursday, October 6 for Midweek Bible Study),

Warmly,
Vince

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Lakeshore friends—

Last Sunday, we celebrated a great milestone in our history— we paid off our mortgage!  It is an exciting accomplishment, and it would be easy to assume that we will be more comfortable financially as a church, and that we can start to take things a little more easily.  In truth, that would be the exact opposite of what we think God wants us to do.  The reasons are simple:

In the short run, we are behind in our 2022 General Budget giving by as much as we ever have been before.  To help you stay up to date with where we stand financially, we have added a new feature at the end of our weekly email that gives you a look at where our General Budget stands, week-to-week.  With 13 weeks left in the year, we have time and an opportunity to close the gap.

In the long run (which is really important), we have a plan to use the money saved from our mortgage to reach more people and help everyone grow in their faith.  We are as excited as ever to continue doing what we can to fulfill our vision of helping people discover and develop a growing relationship with Jesus. 

How will we do it?  As I taught at the end of my message last Sunday, we will pursue a “6 M” plan to increasingly impact our world over the next few years.  The “6M’s” are:

1. MISSIONS

We will add more missionaries and increase our giving to them by over 50% starting next year so that we help them reach more people in Rochester, across the country, and around the world.

2. MAINTENANCE

 We will set aside some money to prepare for eventual building repairs that come with a building that is over 18 years old (phase 1).

3. MINISTRY BUDGETS

We will help our staff have more money for their historically low annual budgets so that they can do even more to help our children, students and adults find and grow in Christ.

4. MARKETING

We will invest more in trying to promote and advertise our church through every means possible (digital and physical media), as well as encourage everyone to invest in and invite people to church.

5. MULTI-SITE CAMPUS

We will start a fund that will help us with start-up costs if we decide to have another Lakeshore campus site in the years ahead (likely either south or east of our campus).

6. MINISTRY ROOM

We will build off of our phase one auditorium upgrade (LED wall and lights) and plan for a late 2023 or early 2024 phase two auditorium sound upgrade that will give us a more uniform and clear sound system.  After that, phase 3 will give us new automated cameras and upgrade our technology in the atrium, children’s classes, the gym and student rooms.

Thanks to every single person who gives so generously to make all this happen.

Warmly,
Vince

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Lakeshore friends—

This Sunday will be one of the most special in our church’s history.  After 27 years, we are debt free and our mortgage is paid in full! We'll celebrate that during and after each service on Sunday as we conclude our “God Is…” series “God Is Faithful!”

It’s hard to put into words how this makes me feel.  It seemed like a day that I could hardly imagine coming.  For so many years, my focus was just to hold a mortgage that we could afford to hold.  Now, it’s paid in full.  God gets all the glory for this.  Yet, He has used so many people to help make this day possible.  Thousands of people, many of whom aren’t even here today.  Many of you have had a part in it, too.  Small or big, you helped make it happen.

What will happen now that we have our mortgage paid off?  In short, we will have more money to spend on the things we will need to invest in so that we help more people find faith in Jesus— both locally and around the world.  We call them “The 6 M’s”, and I’ll cover more of the details on Sunday.

So if you love Lakeshore and what God is doing at Lakeshore, be here to celebrate this monumental day!

Thank you for making this day happen.