"Aim Small, Miss Small"
“Aim small, miss small.” That was one of the catchphrases of my high school golf coach who was obsessed with transforming his scatterbrained young charges into focused, intentional athletes who could ignore all external thoughts and concentrate solely on a small, precise target in order to execute a golf shot with maximum confidence.
At the midway point of our Hearts Ablaze campaign at church, it’s a timely piece of wisdom for us, too: “Aim small, miss small.” The main target has never been about dollars and cents, but about coming together as a community so that more and more kids and grownups alike can have a “hearts ablaze” experience with Jesus. That’s a picture of the future that we can achieve only with 100% participation by each “All-In” member of our congregation. And if we achieve that level of participation, God will be honored and the dollars will work themselves out.
In every campaign, there is a healthy tension between the dynamics of human engineering and reliance on the Holy Spirit. I like to think that we lean towards the latter. But, we’ve also done a lot of preparing, planning, pledging, and praying over the last few years to lean into this very moment.
And there is a significant financial component to the campaign, an audacious God-sized goal of raising $11.5 million dollars from the pledges of our generous, all-in members before the end of 2026. Here’s how that $11.5mm number breaks down between three targets:
- Two years of our regular ministry and operations budget ($6.5mm)
More than half of our campaign pledges are devoted to what we’re already doing, carrying on the regular mission and ministries of the church.
Debt retirement on our building and campus ($4mm)
After 17 great years at our current location, it’s time for our only remaining debt to be our debt of gratitude to God. After an original cost of $25mm, the remainder of our mortgage obligation has been cut from $4mm to $1.9mm over the last twelve months. This is amazing progress and is freeing up more of our tithes and offerings for ministry!Funding for ministry improvements, expansion, and capital maintenance ($1mm)
We have no shortage of great ways to keep growing Up, In, and Out.(Read about them HERE.) And this year, God opened a door for our church to become the new host site for the Elmhurst Farmers Market, which brought tens of thousands of friends and neighbors to our campus on Wednesday mornings. And even though our campus still feels very new, a number of repairs and replacements are on the horizon as we near the 20-year mark at 149 W Brush Hill Road.
As of today’s writing, our community has committed to giving $11,303,187, and more than $6mm has already been given. Those are such big numbers that they boggle my mind (maybe the same is true for you.) But by God’s grace, we’re actually ahead of the curve in honoring our promises and commitments.
If you’re still wondering what this is all about, or missed last Sunday’s worship service, I’d love for you to take a few minutes to view our Hearts Ablaze, Keep the Fire Burning Video, which describes via words and compelling images what we believe God is asking us to aim for.
This promises to be another great Sunday of worship. I’m going to wear my “Hearts Ablaze” t-shirt from last year as a sign of hope for what’s still to come. If you have one, feel free to join me - might feel like a throwback uniform!
Grace to you,
– Pastor Gregg