Together in Giving, Together in Mission
As always, I’d like to take a moment to thank God for the opportunity to do ministry with you as Good Shepherd! If you’ve received this, you have likely invested your time, attention, and finances at Good Shepherd this year, and I want to thank you personally for being a part of our life together and for your giving…but I also know you don’t do it for my thanks — I believe you do it because you care about the mission!
As I recently mentioned in a sermon, our giving has multiple dimensions. For one, it affects our vertical relationship with God – letting go and sacrificing a bit of what we’re holding onto releases the grip that ‘stuff’ has on us, and it opens us up to faith. But giving also has a horizontal dimension with others – our gifts support our neighbors directly or through organizations or congregations like Good Shepherd.
This year your support (financial and otherwise) has continued to nurture the lives of people young and old who heard God’s Word proclaimed, gathered around God’s table, and were renewed in the waters of baptism. Your gifts helped over 100 kids experience the loving care of God at Little Lambs Christian Preschool this year. You helped support a new kind of worship for all ages in Messy Church. Your gifts helped pay the salaries of leaders who have continued to find new ways to do our mission in changing times.
Because of your participation in Good Shepherd’s ministry – even in the midst of inflation and uncertainty – dozens of hungry people receive food gift cards, bus passes, and have utility bills paid each year. A portion of the gifts you share with Good Shepherd allow organizations like Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran Disaster Response to use 100% of every dollar they receive for projects like recovery after Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and Cuba. Our partnerships with the Interfaith Food Pantry and Mildred Helms Elementary School reach a wider circle than we see around here. I know our mission is being lived out when I overhear Good Shepherd members talking about having faith in the midst of difficulties or trusting in grace, even when most of the world seems to think grace is outdated. Lives are changed every day because of you. We could not do what we do together without your gifts.
Because of the generosity of those who came before us, Good Shepherd continues its mission. But the rising expenses of operating a congregation in this time and place are not going away any time soon. For Good Shepherd to remain sustainable, we will need to grow in our membership and giving. For the past couple years, as a congregation, we have increased our giving to God’s mission – even in difficult financial times. What a blessing! As we prepare next year’s budget, we’ll be talking more about what we’ll need to do together to ensure this mission continues.
I believe one of the best tools for this is to prayerfully consider our plan for giving in the year ahead. If each of our households takes a moment to be intentional about planning to use and share God’s gifts, not only will we invite God into our individual decisions, but our congregation will gain a clearer sense of ministry direction. Please use the Estimate of Giving Card to plan your financial commitment to our mission. You can make your estimate of giving in one of three ways: you can return an estimate card by mail, you can bring it in person and place it in the offering plate, or you can fill it out securely online at <www.mygoodshepherd.net/estimate>.
If you gave financially to Good Shepherd in 2025, you should receive a mailed statement of your giving so far. You can also check online by visiting https://mygoodshepherd.churchcenter.com/giving/profile and logging in with your cell phone number. If you provided an estimate of giving last year, you can compare whether you are on track for your estimate. Please let the office know if you find any discrepancies. We want to get it right!
Also note that our Semiannual Congregational Meeting will be held online on Zoom on Wednesday, December 3rd at 7pm. We will be approving our budget for 2026 – our spending plan for doing mission in the next year. You can log in by going to https://mygoodshepherd.net/meeting or by calling 929-205-6099 from a phone and using Meeting ID: 891 2230 7863.
It is a privilege to work alongside generous disciples like you, and I look forward to how God will use us to nurture lives for following Christ in 2026!
Pastor Keith