Christmas Eve Offering

Dear Gathering Community,

It is not often that I write a special letter to the whole congregation, but this week is different. I could not wait to share this news. We just finished processing our Christmas Eve offering and it totaled over $110,000! That is nearly 50% higher than last year and is an amazing testament to the generosity of our church and our potential to impact others through missions. Just as last year, this offering will be divided between our projects at Kingdom House and safe water projects in Mozambique. Because of some designated giving, about $65,000 will go to fund wells next year in Mozambique and nearly $45,000 will support our Family Center at Kingdom House. You can learn more about the projects by watching this video…

As I said in our newsletter earlier in the week, Christmas Eve was a celebration of “firsts” at The Gathering. The first time we had over 1250 in worship, the first time we worshipped at our new Clayton site, the first time I preached five times in one day, and now the first time we have ever collected over $100,000 in a single day’s worship. I cannot express through words how proud I am of our congregation. By celebrating Christmas differently, our worship of God will result in lives being saved, families finding hope, and kids being nurtured and supported. This is better than a few more gifts under the tree. It is a way of celebrating that is counter-cultural, and worthy of the Jesus we follow, serve and worship. Thank you Gathering. God is using you in powerful ways and I look forward to that impact growing in 2012.

Peace+
Matt Miofsky