Friends,
THANK YOU to all who prayed & discerned during this season! Through emails, conversations, and hand-written notes, we’ve sensed profound sincerity and dependence on Jesus welling up among all of us at IAC. Thank you for entering in with us so deeply.
I want to encourage you to keep those embers of prayer and discernment aflame during the next few weeks. This brief update is meant to fuel those prayers and give you insight into how to pray.
It feels wrong to simply report financial numbers as the “result” of this campaign. We have numerous glory sightings of growing faith, unity, courage, holy imagination, healing from church hurt, generosity, and missional commitment to our community. We aren’t moving into the next season the same, and we praise God for that.
However, it is also imperative that we become more financially prepared to Create Space at the Table, and God did that through this campaign as well.
As of Wednesday morning, March 5th, you have given $2,712,004 toward the campaign. Thank you, and praise God! There are still gifts coming in, pledge cards being clarified, stock gifts clearing the bank, and IAC’ers discerning their offering. I suspect that by the time we gather up all the remaining gifts over the next week, we will be at or very near $3 million.
There are several ways to frame this result. Most simply, this reflects a very healthy and fruitful campaign! This amount is double our annual tithing income, which reflects widespread unity and sacrificial generosity. And the fact that we were able to raise this amount without unhealthy strong-arm or manipulative tactics has been a deep joy to me and the rest of the leadership. “Who we are” as a church feels like it has only deepened. Praise God.
However, you may remember that our overall goal was $4 million. This amount was no doubt a “stretch” goal, but one that would have made us confident to engage a property quickly. The amount raised doesn’t mean we can’t engage a property quickly: it simply means we must take additional care in the discernment process.
We ask that if you have any gifts that have not been given or pledged, please submit them (or let us know what you’re thinking) as soon as possible!
We also have received word that some households are eager to “re-discern” based on the outcome of the campaign. Please know that we will keep the online Commitment Card open for the next few weeks, and the Facility Fund will remain available at springsiac.org/give. Please email Pastor Peter, our Treasurer, at peter@springsiac.org if you have any questions or need more information that might help you discern.
Above all, please continue in prayer, particularly for wisdom and unity for our leadership. There are some deeply impactful decisions ahead, and we need the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God” (James 1:5).
The next step of discernment for our leadership is around the property at 2727 Palmer Park Blvd. Over the next week, we will be negotiating with the seller around purchase price, receiving final estimates on the cost of renovation, discussing options with our bank, and assessing other properties around our target area for comparative purposes. We would also welcome any thoughts you have at facilityfeedback@springsiac.org.
Our Church Council will then need to make a decision about 2727 Palmer Park Blvd. before March 17th, which is fast approaching. If it “seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28) that this property is our best option, we will move forward with the purchase. If not, we will re-assess the path forward.
But we trust that, however the Spirit leads, the “boundaries will fall for us in good and pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). Christ is with us, and he is leading us to a place well worth going!
In expectancy,
Pastor Ken (on behalf of IAC’s Leadership Teams)
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with us for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, Occasional Prayers)