It is an exciting time to be a member of House of Prayer! Why do I say that? Because this congregation continues to be very generous toward important Ministry causes. We recently raised $7200.00 at our Community Festival. $4600.00 of this total went to our Local Chapter of Lutheran Social Services and is directly helping homeless youth in our community! In addition, I am excited to announce that our number of young families with children and young couples is growing. Our average Sunday attendance is up 10 over last year. And many ministries are going well.
I believe this is happening because God is at work through the people of House of Prayer! I also believe House of Prayer is being called to help people make connections between faith and daily life and to move us forward in faith! One of the gifts of the people of House of Prayer is that we are practical in the way we strive to do ministry. We value teaching young people and one another what it means to be followers of Christ in today’s world and to serve the people around us as Jesus calls us. This short phrase, could very well be our mission as we move forward as a congregation…House of Prayer, helping to make connections between faith in Christ and daily life!
This month we will be beginning an important ministry effort designed to move us forward as a congregation. This effort will help us take practical steps to improve the condition of our church facility and prepare us for the future ministry God is calling us into. So, I am pleased to introduce to you our upcoming capital campaign “Faith Forward!” The Faith Forward campaign will begin on Sunday October 6th with a guest ELCA Pastor Karen Soli (Pronounced Car–en, So–lee), and will run for the next three years culminating in a number of improved facilities and ministries. I strongly encourage you to attend on October 6, to hear all about this important campaign.
Recent demographers project that by the year 2030, if current trends continue, only half of the current ELCA churches will continue to keep their doors open. Our Faith Forward campaign is designed to move House of Prayer forward into the next generation by being good stewards of the facilities and ministry God has blessed us with as well as by preparing us to better be able to do ministry in the years to come.
Here are the goals of our Faith Forward campaign: First and most importantly we must replace our leaky roof and improve our energy efficiency which should reduce our monthly heating and cooling costs. Another high priority is to improve the sound, lighting and visual components in our sanctuary so that everyone can see and hear during worship. We will also renew our restrooms, flooring and other parts of our facility so that we are proud to have guests and potential members in our space. I encourage you to join us on Sunday, October 6 to hear more about moving our Faith Forward together!