In the days since making landfall the cries of those devastated by Typhoon Haiyan have been reaching us through any and every form of media available. News has reached us through network broadcasts, social media, tweets from www.ICOCHotnews.com, websites like www.DisciplesToday.org and personal communication from those we love. Most of us in the United States cannot imagine what it is like to lose everything. Many have family or friends that have been affected by natural disasters and we’ve heard stories of loss but what we hear and see from the Philippines is on a scale most cannot comprehend.
Sunday at our worship service I set aside the sermon prepared for the day and instead talked plainly about the immediate and urgent needs of those in the Philippines. We watched the video delivered to us by ICOC Hot News and we listened to Koko as he searched for words to describe to us what he is seeing as he walks down the street, We also listened to Mike Taliaferro share about the dual need of the hour, HOPE worldwide’s need for yearly support and the urgent needs after typhoon Haiyan. We sang, the elders and I prayed and read scripture over those in the auditorium and then we took up a love offering.
No one knew we were planning on taking up this offering and we had no real expectation for what would be collected. Over the past six months www.GatewayCityChurch.com has donated $277,000 towards “REACH,” a two-year $1.5 million dollar capital campaign raising money to launch two satellite locations and build a 1000-seat auditorium. We already had our HOPE worldwide yearly commitment ready to send so the entire collection given this day would go directly towards disaster relief. There is no doubt that Gateway City Church, a congregation of 340 disciples, is a generous church but knowing what had already been given this year and staring the holidays in the face I was not sure what we would be able to collect.
Later that day I was leaving the open house of our possible downtown St. Louis City church plant location when I got a text from Keith Lockhart letting me know that we collected $5,470.74. This total did not even include a good number of disciples who did not have their checkbooks available and were planning on going to www.HOPEww.org to make their donation later that day. I was and am inspired by the generosity of Gateway City Church for both Local and Global needs.
We’ve been talking a lot about the spiritual and physical needs of those around us. We’ve talked about how everyone has a desire to save the world but not many want to pay to get it done. I once heard someone ask “Do you know how much ministry you can get done with a hundred dollars?.....A hundred dollars worth. Do you know how much ministry you can get done with a million dollars?” You get the picture. We’ve been blessed with so much and have decided we will give what is necessary out of our abundance and use that money to win as many as possible. We have a long way to go and we are still learning what it means to be truly generous but we’re definitely in the battle. Our goal at Gateway City Church is simple 3/3/18. (3000 in attendance / 300 Small Groups / By 2018) Our mantra is this “we will do anything short of sin to win as many as possible.” Can you imagine how much our Philippine disaster relief contribution would have been with 3000 in attendance? I would guess it to be around $36,500. I want to be able to give that. You can do a lot more with that.
In the midst of some pretty challenging world news I wanted to share some good news with you all. I hope it has encouraged you.
We have a saying we use often here at Gateway that I would like to share with you. You may have heard it and use it yourself but it is worth repeating. Whether I am on stage preaching on Sunday or standing in fellowship with a brother sharing difficult news if one of us says “God is GOOD” the other is pretty much required to respond with “All the time.” It may be difficult to see or understand at times like these but the truth remains, even in the most difficult times, God is good. out loud.
I’ll start, “GOD is Good” ”______________”
Till the End,
Jeff Mannel
Lead Minister, Gateway City Church
www.GatewayCityChurch.com
Sunday at our worship service I set aside the sermon prepared for the day and instead talked plainly about the immediate and urgent needs of those in the Philippines. We watched the video delivered to us by ICOC Hot News and we listened to Koko as he searched for words to describe to us what he is seeing as he walks down the street, We also listened to Mike Taliaferro share about the dual need of the hour, HOPE worldwide’s need for yearly support and the urgent needs after typhoon Haiyan. We sang, the elders and I prayed and read scripture over those in the auditorium and then we took up a love offering.
No one knew we were planning on taking up this offering and we had no real expectation for what would be collected. Over the past six months www.GatewayCityChurch.com has donated $277,000 towards “REACH,” a two-year $1.5 million dollar capital campaign raising money to launch two satellite locations and build a 1000-seat auditorium. We already had our HOPE worldwide yearly commitment ready to send so the entire collection given this day would go directly towards disaster relief. There is no doubt that Gateway City Church, a congregation of 340 disciples, is a generous church but knowing what had already been given this year and staring the holidays in the face I was not sure what we would be able to collect.
Later that day I was leaving the open house of our possible downtown St. Louis City church plant location when I got a text from Keith Lockhart letting me know that we collected $5,470.74. This total did not even include a good number of disciples who did not have their checkbooks available and were planning on going to www.HOPEww.org to make their donation later that day. I was and am inspired by the generosity of Gateway City Church for both Local and Global needs.
We’ve been talking a lot about the spiritual and physical needs of those around us. We’ve talked about how everyone has a desire to save the world but not many want to pay to get it done. I once heard someone ask “Do you know how much ministry you can get done with a hundred dollars?.....A hundred dollars worth. Do you know how much ministry you can get done with a million dollars?” You get the picture. We’ve been blessed with so much and have decided we will give what is necessary out of our abundance and use that money to win as many as possible. We have a long way to go and we are still learning what it means to be truly generous but we’re definitely in the battle. Our goal at Gateway City Church is simple 3/3/18. (3000 in attendance / 300 Small Groups / By 2018) Our mantra is this “we will do anything short of sin to win as many as possible.” Can you imagine how much our Philippine disaster relief contribution would have been with 3000 in attendance? I would guess it to be around $36,500. I want to be able to give that. You can do a lot more with that.
In the midst of some pretty challenging world news I wanted to share some good news with you all. I hope it has encouraged you.
We have a saying we use often here at Gateway that I would like to share with you. You may have heard it and use it yourself but it is worth repeating. Whether I am on stage preaching on Sunday or standing in fellowship with a brother sharing difficult news if one of us says “God is GOOD” the other is pretty much required to respond with “All the time.” It may be difficult to see or understand at times like these but the truth remains, even in the most difficult times, God is good. out loud.
I’ll start, “GOD is Good” ”______________”
Till the End,
Jeff Mannel
Lead Minister, Gateway City Church
www.GatewayCityChurch.com