I need your help...

UPDATE: We met our goal...!

Friday, December 12, 2014

Dear Antioch Church Family,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus our Lord, the Babe of Bethlehem and the Savior of the world! I trust your heart and home are filled with His presence as we prepare to celebrate His birth.

I am so thankful for what God is doing at Antioch Church...! Our November attendance was up 40% compared with what it was before we moved into our new building. Even more importantly, our facility is slowly becoming known as a house of prayer for all people, the way Jesus desires as recorded in Mark 11:17. An increasing number of people are asking us to intercede for them during our Midweek Prayer Service and we are experiencing a precious sense of God’s presence as we call out to Him.

During the month of December, I want to ask you to give the most generous offering to our General Fund over and above your normal tithe that you possibly can. Because work is being done on the roof and brick parapet of our building, construction equipment and raw materials are occupying a number of parking places that normally bring us revenue that supplements our Tithes and Offerings. This drop in income is taking place at the very same time that we have some unusual end-of-year expenses. They include the annual license fees we must pay to the City of Dallas for our frontage on the West End DART rail station platform and for the “porch” area immediately outside our front doors.

Here is the “bottom-line”: We need an extra $15,000 for our General Fund between now and the end of the year in order to be able to meet all of our obligations. When you receive this letter, would you please pause a moment and pray, asking God what He would have you to do to help meet this need?

If every one of us will incorporate a special gift to the work of the Lord at Antioch Church into our Christmas budget, perhaps even making it the most generous of any we give during this holiday season, we will be honoring God by our act of faith and gratitude in the true spirit of Christmas as we celebrate His great gift to us in His Son Jesus Christ. Each of us is in a different place financially, so I am not asking for equal gifts, but for equal sacrifice. Together, we can meet this need and start the year strong. As always, your contributions to Antioch Church are fully tax-deductible according to IRS regulations, including gifts of stock or other properties or assets. For your convenience, you can give online via the following link: give.teamantioch.com.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this letter and prayerfully reflect over what I have written and for doing whatever God puts in your heart! Our church family is the most generous of any church I have ever known – a true “Antioch” kind of congregation (Acts 11:27-30) – and I am so happy to be a part of it.

In closing, I want to encourage you to think about the promises contained in one of my favorite passages in Scripture regarding the supernatural reality of God’s kingdom economy:

2 Corinthians 9:6–12 (NLT) — 6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others…11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous…

Teresa and I love you and thank God for the privilege of serving you and of raising our children among you! May your heart and home be filled with the true spirit of Christmas!

Pastor Mark