Bobservations: First Quarter Update with a message from Pastor Britt

January marks the end of the first quarter of the new fiscal year at Sunridge, and I cannot think of a better way to start this year’s blog than sharing Pastor Britt’s email reflecting on all that God is doing through you!

As I write to you, I’m looking out of my office window on a sparklingly clear morning, and what I see makes me think of Sunridge. You see, this is one of those rare mornings in our valley. We’ve had some rain over the past couple days, but today the sun came out. The air smells clean and fresh. The hills adjacent to our campus where I mountain bike are popping with fresh green growth. Even the bunnies I see on the trail seem happy! That’s how Sunridge feels to me. God has been so good to us as a church. Sunridge is thriving; there is fresh growth. Sunridge feels alive! We are becoming people who are deepening faith, bringing hope and living love.

I am grateful to God for how he’s uniquely using each of us. I am grateful for you, one of Sunridge’s 518 financial partners. Here are some ways your consistent support has made a difference in this first fiscal quarter of 2018-19:

The following is a note I received during the Christmas season:
“For the first time in my life I’ve celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ today. It’s been such a wonderful season, and year. I wanted to tell you that you (Sunridge) were and continue to be a huge part of bringing me to that realization, and that I will be forever grateful to you!“

Sunridge provided memorial services to a family in our community without a church affiliation. Our Memorial Team was thrilled to serve them, and their family attended one of our Christmas Eve services. They said they felt so much love from Sunridge they just had to check it out. Just this week, our team also hosted a service for another family. Although they attend another church in our Valley, their church was unable to hold the service. I’m grateful for all the sacrifices people have made so that this campus can be a beacon of God’s love. And, I love that our Memorial Team is so dedicated to providing this service to families during a time of crisis!

We reached a record number of people through our Christmas Eve services-1850! That means almost two thousand adults and kids heard about how the Prince of Peace is also The Mighty God. I am so grateful that God entrusts us to share the gospel with families in our valley!

Just this week, our Agape fund helped a family reunite with extended family in Colorado. The family needed to move in order to have a roof over their heads, and so the husband could receive daily care from his cousin due to major health issues. They had nowhere to turn, but your generous gifts to the Agape fund enabled us to get them home!

During the “Greater Things” series in November we filled 300 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes; sponsored over 70 kids through World Vision; and, I have reference documentation for a family looking to adopt a child through ICA on my desk as I write this!

Our second Thursdays at Sunridge will launch this month. It will offer our core curriculum of Rooted, Lasting Promise, Financial Peace University, and a variety of other bible studies – with childcare!

We baptized seven people this month!

We asked you to be extra generous in December and you gave a total of $185,000! Wow! Because of that, we were able to show an extra portion of God’s love to ICA, MOPs and our Deaf Ministry.

These are just a few of the ways God is using you, your offerings and Sunridge! Thank you for your generosity and faithful support of our mission to help people find and follow Jesus. Thanks be to God for his “unspeakable gift!”

We truly couldn’t do it without you!

Britt

January is a peak season at Sunridge for the financial team. On top of the normal routines, we are busy preparing annual reporting like the W2’s, 1099’s, 940’s and, of course, your donation statements. I can be so focused on the tasks that I forget why tasks are important and overlook the big picture. But, after reading these stories of what God is doing through you at Sunridge, it inspires me and causes me to pause and thank God for your generosity and sacrificial giving. It reminds me of Proverbs 11:25, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” If you are not already investing in what God is doing at Sunridge, I’d like to invite you into this amazing experience. Here are a few easy ways to start:

• Online – Click here to set up a one-time or repeating gift
• Mobile Device App – Text “pushpay” to 77977 and download a free app that works on iOS or Android
• Cash or Check – Simply drop a check or cash donation in any of the give boxes located throughout the facility