Generosity Abounds
by Gary Nelson, Stewardship Ministry Team
Just as I was getting ready to recap a fabulous year of generosity at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, I came across a news article that ranked the Minneapolis-St.Paul metro area as the sixth most generous in the U.S. Shortly after that, I saw another article that ranked Minneapolis-St. Paul as the #1 metro area in the country for volunteerism-for the third year in a row!
Then there's the story of generosity at Bethlehem. The story started generations ago, and continues today. The story is about a congregation that is strong, vibrant, and growing in its stewardship and in its faith. And did I mention generous? Like the city we live in, generosity abounds at Bethlehem. Through the entire fall season beginning with the capital campaign, Living, Giving, Thriving, continuing with the annual stewardship campaign, Sharing My Abundance, through Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Bethlehem congregation continues a miraculous trend of generosity.
Maybe it's something in the water here; or more likely, it's in our heart as a congregation. We have willingly taken the generosity lead from those who have gone before us-those who have set the stage for us to carry out God's mission from home base in the beautiful church in which we worship. We've added our own exclamation point to the generosity theme through several successful capital campaigns over the years ensuring the long term continuation of our ministries. There is no doubt that our generosity as a congregation has helped us individually grow our relationship with God, and has allowed us to find the true joy that can only come from giving. Plus, let's not forget that what we do as stewards of God's abundance today will carry forward for generations to come.
We're living in a generous city and we're part of an amazing congregation whose generosity is steady as a heartbeat, and is making a huge difference in people's lives.
On behalf of the Stewardship Ministry Team,
we thank you for your generous giving!
