Generosity of Discipleship

October 1, 2021

Dear Church Family:

In preparing for this years’ stewardship campaign, the words “generosity” and “discipleship” came to us as an area of focus. Each year, your gifts allow us to sustain, grow and pursue excellence in worship, Christian education, and missions. We are also able to maintain our facility, which is not only a blessing to our congregation, but also to the community at large. Most importantly, through your generosity, people come to know Jesus and learn to follow him as disciples. As we approach a new year, I want to ask you to prayerfully consider both a financial and non-financial investment in Galloway.

1 Peter 4:10-11 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power for ever and ever, Amen.” Peter calls on each of us to be faithful stewards of God’s grace which comes in many forms – everything from serving as a Sunday school volunteer, to participating in the craft ministry, to partnering with a child as a prayer partner for the Elijah Project, to writing passages for the advent devotional, etc. We have been entrusted with God’s grace, and he has given it to us in service to his church. Let us not hide what we have been entrusted with, but instead use it and grow it in service to God.

Enclosed is a pledge card that we ask you return by mail or by placing it in the offering plate. We will begin receiving pledge cards on Sunday, October 10. Pledging is a helpful tool to encourage each of us to be deliberate and disciplined in our giving. It is also helpful to the leadership of the church as we plan and budget for the upcoming financial year.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this letter and prayerfully consider the generosity of stewardship to ensure the success of our mission and ministry, both for ourselves, and for generations to come.

Grace and Peace,

Amanda Annison, Stewardship Chair
Cary Stockett, Senior Minister

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

To the Galloway Family,

Grace and peace to you, from Jesus Christ our Lord, the great gift.

We are called and invited to be a part of the ongoing work of Christ in our world. As we think of our place in that work, we do well to remember 3 things:

Jesus is not an absentee landlord; he is with us in this, his world.
Jesus has not gone into retirement; he is active and working.
Jesus delights in making us a part of what he is doing.

Your financial support of Galloway is real participation in the work of Christ among us. Think of just a few expressions this in our church… Children and youth are taught the basics of our faith in an atmosphere of acceptance and belonging. Our message to adults of every age is that our journey of discipleship with Jesus is a lifelong path, fed by community, worship, learning, and serving. Our Congregational Care ministry nurtures those dealing with sickness, grief, or other losses, but also trains our members in care giving to others. The vocal and instrumental music that so enlivens our worship and stirs our hearts is yet another part of the work of Jesus among us.

But let us remember that our giving to Christ through Galloway is not just ministry to our church family; we are called to works of compassion, service, and witness beyond our walls. This outreach is embodied in our Early Child Development Center, in our Grace Place ministry, and in our weekly broadcast (now in its 44^th year) of our worship service on WAPT and Livestream. It is fleshed out in our Mission Shares, through which we financially link arms with other churches for ministry that is global, regional, and local.

In Galloway’s yearly timetable, we are in that season in which we commit ourselves to underwriting the ministry budget of the church. In addition to those ministries I’ve already mentioned, this budget also pays the salaries of our faithful staff, who resource the congregation and our programs. At the same time, it covers the care and upkeep of our building where we worship, and which facilitates so many of our programs. Our Galloway budget is a broad palette, from which the Great Artist paints on the canvas of our shared life together. His creations often surprise us, and we are thrilled to have been in on the work.

Please join Mechelle and me in the coming weeks by making your own planned commitment to our 2022 ministry year. Your financial commitment packet will be coming soon, and Commitment Sunday is October 10^th. Our gifts are not equal, but we all stand under the teaching of scripture, to give sacrificially, and in proportion to our income. This is an expectation we as a church family have of each other, even as it is a call from Christ. Let us help shoulder the load and rejoice in the work.

Engraced,
Rev. Cary Stockett