End of Year Giving

What a year this has been. None of us could have guessed all that we have experienced in this calendar year. It’s been daunting in many ways, but the Lord has been faithful to move his mission forward. In November of 2019, I wrote to you:

With God’s help, here are a few things we are looking forward to in 2020:

∙ We are making exciting changes to grow, refresh and deepen our Kids ministry.

∙ We are developing a team of students who are helping to lead worship at RSM.

∙ We will introduce new Elders and Deacons to serve the church.

∙ We are planning our first Men’s Retreat.

∙ We are introducing new content and formats to engage the needs of women.

∙ We will seek to grow our investment in Small Groups and in Equipping classes.

∙ We will renew our efforts to raise funds for a more permanent church home.

∙ We will invest in deepening our love for our neighbors through meaningful conversations as ambassadors for Christ who hope to reconcile others to God.

As I reflect on the goals above, I’m amazed at how you have advanced each one in 2020, by God’s grace—even in the midst of significant challenges in 2020. With the help of your passion and generosity, we have seen God work in and through our church. We’ve seen ten people baptized, 37 become new members, and 40 new people join serve teams. Our care and prayer team has served individuals passionately throughout the Covid-19 crisis. We also began live-streaming our worship gatherings, which has been a blessing to those who attend our church as well as others who live literally all around the globe.

Then, through our HOME Campaign, we blew past our goal of $450,000 to give more than $525,000 in cash and commitments toward funding a permanent home for our church family! What a testimony to God’s grace and your faithfulness!

In a culture experiencing anxiety at every turn, our world needs the stability and strength of a local church. These unprecedented times offer us incredible opportunities to reach our city for Jesus. People all around us need the grace and truth of Christ. Many are looking for hope, searching for truth, longing for grace — and we have the chance to point them to the One who can meet their deepest needs. Our vision is to help everyday people wake up to a deep, meaningful life in Christ.

The HOME Campaign has been a wild success, and we want to keep that excitement going. We also want to make sure we are being faithful to our current ministry in Edmond. So, we are aiming to raise $110,000 by December 31, 2020 to close the year out strong.

While we cannot predict what trends and trials may arise, we can say with confidence that we will invest 2021 in reaching new people with the love of Christ and helping authentic disciples of Jesus mature and grow:

• We will work diligently to find a permanent home for our church
• We will create opportunities to reach out to your friends and neighbors through culturally engaging events
• We will seek to overcome current challenges in our world to make sure kids and students have fun and stay safe without sacrificing our mission to develop their faith and understanding
• We will launch new Redemption groups to offer community and growth for new people
• We will host retreats for both women and men to foster spiritual friendships
• We will grow our technological capacity to enhance our live-stream of our worship gatherings
• We will equip people through new learning environments, both in person and online, to grow in theology, character, and life-skills.

I am excited for the year ahead. We are going to need steadfastness, flexibility and creativity.  Some things may not work like we want them to. We may have to try something new. But the mission never changes — we exist to make authentic disciples of Jesus who live for the glory of God and the good of our world.

Let’s continue to build on our testimony of all that God is doing in the midst of a crazy year. You can contribute toward these opportunities at redemptionokc.com/give.

All for Jesus,

Jeff

Financial Note:

With this letter, our team is including a record of your giving in 2020 through October. If you did not receive a statement with this letter, that means that we do not have a record of your giving in 2020. As required by the Internal Revenue Service, please do not file your tax return until you have received your year-end contribution statement from us in January, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@redemptionokc.com or (405) 285-8146.