At our eighth birthday in September we shared our joy of how God is growing us a community of His people, transforming lives through his grace and mercy. We also shared a little of our plans for the year ahead, which included news of a new warehouse building.
There have been some developments, which I need to bring to your attention and ask for your grace and understanding.
Some of you will have noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign going up outside the building, so we would like to tell why.
Firstly, you need to know that we have a very good relationship with the owner of the warehouse. He has been a generous and faithful friend of Storehouse for over two years.
He is also a businessman. Along with the warehouse he owns the two other units next to it, which he currently trying to sell. However, he is finding that businesses are only interested if all three units are available. His business is, of course, his number one concern. And this means our plans have had to change.
It means that, as things stand, our tenure at the warehouse will now only be for one year. Of course, that could well change again, so we will continue to be open-minded about its future use for us. However, we still believe that it is God’s provision for us for today.
One of the attractions of the warehouse is the additional office space. It was going to save us thousands of pounds. At the moment, such is the wonderful growth of the church, we are having to dig deeper into our reserves – more than we would like. As everything grows so does our need for more money.
So may we ask you today to first pray about our financial needs, so we can continue to invest in God’s work in this church and our community. And secondly, pray about your own giving to God.
The Bible talks a lot about giving from a heart of gratitude. We are called to be cheerful givers. It also speaks of God’s heart, and he asks if we would willingly tithe 10% of our income back to him.
Now, that can seem a lot, but then when we remember how much God has given us through his son, Jesus. And, for me, I find that puts everything into perspective.
King David declares to God, “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” (1 Chronicles 29:14). So we give back to him only what is his, and only 10% of it.
May I request that you give through Stewardship, our planned giving scheme. It enables us make your gifts go 25% further, courtesy of the taxman. Many of us are already giving sacrificially, thank you. But I can ask others of us to review our giving, not least if we have had a change in our circumstances in the last year and find ourselves a bit better off.
You can pick up a form from the Welcome Point on Sundays or request one from the church office. Alternatively, you can go to our online giving page.
Meanwhile, if you do have any questions about the warehouse or our finances, do please talk to Emma or myself or any of our trustees. We’d love to talk to you.
Thank you and God bless,
Andrew Stewart-Darling, Senior Pastor
October 5, 2015 in news & events, news and events by andrew
Every day more than 50 children are taken into care in the UK. Some of them need a temporary home in an emergency until they can return to their families. Others need a permanent home with a new forever family.
Home for Good aims to make adopting and fostering a part of a churches life and ministry. It is a fantastic opportunity for the Church to be good news in society, change our communities and transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the UK.
At Stour Valley Vineyard Church on Sunday 6 November we will be putting a spotlight on fostering and adoption in Suffolk and how we as a church can help to support the work of Home for Good.
Home for Good are hoping that over 200 churches will take the opportunity during this years Adoption Sunday to pray for the foster carers and adoptive families, raise awareness of the 6,000 children waiting for adoption, and celebrate our adoption into God’s family.
In the mean time if you would like to find out more about Home for Good follow the link to their web page or speak to Paul & Louise Bunton.
October 2, 2015 in event, news & events by andrew
