As I mentioned on Vision Sunday, the vision is to have all of us invest financially into this amazing opportunity God has put in front of us – the purchase of land ($10 million by February 2018). October 15 is Pledge Day, when we pledge how much we can give to this project in the next few months. We outlined four steps we want us all to take rather than just coming up with something that is easy and comfortable for us to give. We want to be stretched and see what God does with a kind of radical generosity the Bible talks about, and anticipate the crazy stories of how God will be faithful and provide!
The first step of the four-step process for all of us to enter into, and the theme of this week, is to PRAY. This is a week dedicated to not making any decisions except to pray and ask God to speak to you about what he would have you give to this project. Ask God to confirm through convictions, experiences, and conversations with other people how he wants you to be involved in this project financially in the coming months.
Think of Jesus when he had big decisions to make, especially at the beginning of his ministry. He fasted and prayed for forty days. There is something about that discipline of praying and asking God about something specific that makes the veil between us and him thinner.
Why do we ask you to do this? Because we honestly believe in what Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). This is the premise of everything we are doing, mission-wise, vision-wise, and now in this campaign phase of the life of our church.
It’s an exciting season to be part of this move of God in Canada! I talked to both Dustin Boreland (our church planter in Montreal) and Vinh Doan (our location pastor in Calgary) this week, and they are building amazing teams, and people are starting to get behind the Village vision in those cities as well. This is going to be a legacy built across our nation of gospel-centred churches that will outlast all of us. It’s fun to have the opportunity to partner with Jesus in this vision together!