The Thursday Update

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Lakeshore Friends—

What if I told you that you just won the Lottery and you have a choice of being paid a lump sum of $50 million dollars or getting $2 million a year for the rest of your life?  Understanding that God has a dim view of gambling, let’s just say that you were given the ticket by a friend...  I “bet” you’d be excited, wouldn’t you?  After tithing $5 million to Lakeshore (it’s free to dream, isn’t it?), you’d be set for life…. but just this life!

Now, what if I told you that after you die, you will spend eternity with the living God in bliss and joy that is so incredible that it is simply unspeakable to describe?  All your aches and pains and problems would disappear and all you would do is wonder in amazement at why God would let you spend eternity with Him.  You’d be set for more than life… you’d be set for eternity!

Anyone of a sane mind would choose the latter every time, right?  And yet, we don’t always spend our days on earth thinking that the latter is infinitely greater than the former because if we did, we would tell everyone we could about how to spend eternity in heaven.

On Sunday, I will cover the third and final “D” of 3D Christianity: Declaring!  It’s something that few of us do as well as we’d like (me very much included), and yet something that is important for others to hear (see Romans 10:14).  And the Good News is that there are ways to do it that make it more natural and relatable to the people we talk to.

I hope you’ll be here on Sunday if you want to live the Christian life to its fullest and experience the joy that comes from it that Jesus Himself promised us.

Warmly,
Vince

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