Dear ChristChurch Friends,

What a joy.

“Our joy is to reach out in the power and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, with the love of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, to our community, to Atlanta, and then to the world.” (Called to Atlanta 2007)

What a joy it is to see the Lord lead ChristChurch on in his love and his plans. What a joy to find 1740 and 1760 Peachtree Street. It is a great location in the city for the sake of the Lord and his Gospel, and will allow buildings to be built which will be sufficient for the vision to be “a modern and biblical church” at the heart of the city.

Hard work but trusting the Lord.

In some ways, our hardest work is just beginning. We are entering a difficult time of fundraising. For most of us the sums seem enormous, but we know the Lord “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think”. Let us trust the Lord on this.

Re-dedicating our lives joyfully to the Lord.

Raising money is never easy, but we can learn from the Bible! The apostle Paul commends the poverty-stricken Macedonian Christians for their generosity in giving. He says: “First, they gave themselves to the Lord” (2 Cor 8:5). Let us begin by re-dedicating our lives to his service and worship.

Secondly, Paul says, “their abundance of joy overflowed”. Let’s pray for joy in our lives as we give, for joy in the Lord leads to generosity. And “the Lord loves a cheerful giver” (9:7).

Thirdly, the Macedonians “begged for the favor of taking part” in giving. May God give us a heart like theirs. And finally, such generous giving was evidence of God’s grace among his people (v 1).

May we all know the depths of God’s grace as he calls us to give in a deeply sacrificial way. If we give ourselves first to the Lord, this will be a truly exciting time for us all.

With love in Christ,

Paul Gardner
Senior Pastor