Prepare the Way...with Thanksgiving!

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7

With the red and green lights already sprouting up around my neighborhood, it’s easy to tell that Christmas is coming! And while I look forward with anticipation to the “most wonderful time of the year” – I also suspect that Thanksgiving is the perfect preparation for our celebration of Christ’s birth. While Christmas can at times get all tangled up with our consumer-driven culture – Thanksgiving seems to resist commercialization and remains a profoundly spiritual exercise. It is the giving of thanks that reminds us of the goodness of God and the blessings he has poured out on our lives. It is the giving of thanks that reminds us of God’s love and presence made flesh through the love and presence of family and friends. It is thanksgiving that prepares us for the celebration of Christmas!

And I believe it is the giving of thanks that will propel us as a church family to Prepare the Way for God’s future in our church! Week after week I hear stories of people and families whose lives are in the process of being transformed by the power of Christ. Week after week I see people investing their time, talent and treasure in serving the world in the name of Jesus and I am so proud – and thankful - to be part of FBCG!

As you know, Prepare the Way is an initiative to reduce or eliminate FBCG’s debt between now and the end of February, 2010. While I am absolutely convinced this is the right thing for us to do as a church family and that through our collective generosity God can do far more than we can imagine – I am equally convinced that our motive must be thanksgiving. We can give out of duty or obligation or guilt – but the greatest joy comes when we give out of love and thanksgiving!

As you consider your part in Prepare the Way I encourage you to do two things:

• Remember that Prepare the Way is a challenge to give above and beyond your normal giving


• Make your gift(s) to Prepare the Way an expression of your thanksgiving to God for all he has already given to you

May you enjoy the joy and peace of Christ as you gather with family and friends this Thursday, and may your hearts be prepared for the celebration of the Advent season!

Thanks for being part of the FBCG family!

Prepare the Way

We believe that FBCG is called to REACH the people and families of our local community, CONNECT them to the church and each other, and EQUIP them to SERVE the world in the name of Christ.

We also believe that God has not only blessed FBCG with facilities, staff, programs and over 1000 families that call FBCG home - but that he has given us a vision to reach, connect, equip and serve our community and our world as never before!

We also believe that if our vision to see more people and families reached, connected and equipped to serve is to become a reality - we must first Prepare the Way.

Prepare the Way is an initiative to reduce or eliminate FBCG's debt in order to pursue our vision for ministry. While the amount of debt we currently carry (see Questions) is certainly reasonable, we do believe it is wise stewardship to reduce our debt in order to Prepare the Way for both ministry and facility development.

Prepare the Way is an opportunity – between now and the end of February, 2010 for us as a church family to invest in the future of God’s vision for us as a church. We would like to invite everyone who calls FBCG home to consider giving above and beyond to share in this opportunity. We believe that God can and will use our collective generosity to Prepare the Way for greater things for FBCG!

Prepare the Way is a simple and straightforward challenge. We are going to reduce our debt, period. It’s the right thing to do and we believe this is the right time. You won’t be asked to make a pledge—but you will be invited into an exciting challenge. Every dollar given toward Prepare the Way will go to debt reduction – toward preparing the way for God’s future!

To participate in Prepare the Way, simply write “PTW” on your giving envelope or on the memo line of your check. For information about giving electronically or contributing capital assets (e.g. stocks) please visit Other Ways to Give