“Moses gave the command, “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” ~ Exodus 36:6-7
God’s people were bringing all that was needed to build the Tabernacle and were actually told to, “Stop!” When was the last time you witnessed or heard about this level of generosity? Can you imagine the word going out in a capital campaign saying, “Stop, we have more than enough!” Well, it is totally possible for the OSL family.
Has one local church ever built a seminary before, a seminary to serve not just an entire country, but all of East Africa? Yes! The congregation of OSL has done such a thing, as the Spirit has led us. You are this congregation. You are this people. You have given the Gospel wings for generations in Uganda and beyond.
Now it is our turn. Now we are going to give the gospel wings in our own community. Now we seek to expand facilities for one purpose: to expand our efforts to disciple the saved and reach the lost. Now is the time to provide an anchor of stability for the Gospel and our commitment to teach the faith, here in McKinney.
The world is changing. The gospel changes not. Saving faith is being snuffed out at every turn. Now is the time for a congregation to take a stand on the Lord, His Gospel, His Sacraments, and His call to vigilantly teach the Scriptures, in their purity and power, to the next generation.
We have six families who have challenged the rest of their OSL family to match their generosity. We have $1.5 million put forth which will match dollar for dollar your gift, up to this amount. Can you imagine if we are moved to be generous, like our ancestors (Israel)? Can you imagine if we exceed our $3 million dollar goal? Can you imagine if we had enough left over to complete the finishing touches on the seminary in Uganda? Can you imagine if we had to say, “Stop, we have enough?”
My prayer is that you join OSL, at this historic time, to be a vital part of changing the future of our members’ lives and the great residents and families of our town. Remember, we know not the day or hour of our Lord’s return and we can’t take our riches with us. May we fill the offering plates with our commitments this Sunday! May the Gospel go forth! Glory to God!
WE'VE RAISED
AS OF TODAY
WHY A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN?
ALIGN THE CHURCH CAMPUS WITH THE CHURCH’S VISION OF MAKING THE HOME THE CENTER OF FAITH FORMATION.
Children and youth who grow up in the church are not staying in the church through young adulthood unless they see the faith lived out by their parents and have relationships with adults who are living out their faith.
While the statistics of youth leaving the church are alarming, the situation presents us with a tremendous opportunity. If we can engage parents in faith formation in the home, we will see a life-long impact on our children and youth. To this end, OSL has shifted the focus of our ministry to children and youth to emphasize the role of parents and other adults in teaching and modeling the faith.
Examples of how we have begun to focus on faith formation in the home:
- Shift focus of Confirmation – not the end of a journey to assure parents their kids will be OK, but the beginning of a life-long journey of following Jesus
- Involve parents in Confirmation class and faith work at home
- Creating position of Dir. of Youth and Family Ministry
- Making Dir. of Children and Family Ministry a full time position
- Equipping parents with Faith Tools to disciple their kids
We have organized staff and programming, now we need to align the church campus. Currently our Family Ministry is nearly invisible to a visitor on Sunday morning. For a visitor to find the Children’s Ministry starting in the Atrium requires a map and compass to navigate narrow and twisting hallways, and a flight of stairs on the far side of campus to locate Preschool rooms converted for Sunday morning use. Currently the Children’s Ministry, the whole ministry, has one dedicated room. The ministry has grown from 25 to 75 kids and at the same time seen a reduction in dedicated rooms available. As we are talking about focusing on family ministry, our physical space is telling a different story.
Confirmation and High School Ministry have no dedicated space.
The Building Project aims to:
- Make Family Ministry (Children’s, Confirmation, and Youth) much more visible and accessible
- Provide adequate space for Family Ministry to expand (they are currently at capacity) and to have dedicated spaces that can be maximized for their ministry goals.
GREATLY IMPROVE THE VISIBILITY AND USABILITY OF THE CHURCH CAMPUS
In addition to what has already been mentioned in regard to Family Ministry, several other space issues will be addressed:
- Give the church campus an obvious and clearly marked main entrance that naturally draws people to the main gathering space and sanctuary.
- Open the Atrium up to create a warm and welcoming space
- Open the Atrium to supporting ministries such as Children’s, Youth, and Adult Education
- Renovate the old preschool hallway to bring the space up to date with the rest of the church campus
- Create an inviting curb appeal by renovating the front of the church to communicate welcome, warmth, and life to the thousands who drive past OSL everyday.
CREATE ROOM TO GROW FOR MINISTRIES CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY
Space is a primary hindrance to growth in Great 28 disciplemaking for the following ministries. These ministries fill their space every week:
- Preschool
- Adult Education
- Children’s
- Youth
- CrossFit
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Great28 is a Spirit-led effort to fulfill Jesus’ commission to His church to:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
We are called to baptize, disciple, and send (go) into the entire world with the Gospel message. Our chief focus in the Great28 is on discipling and equipping the baptized of all ages to take the Gospel of Christ into their lives and into their world leading to the baptism of new disciples to be discipled and equipped to go.
The campaign seeks to create additional space to disciple and equip Great28 disciples of all ages as they seek to mature in their faith, understanding, and ability to carry the Gospel into their many vocations (students, children, parents, spouses, friends, neighbors, employees, employers, church members, citizens, etc.)
Children’s Ministry (3 yrs. through 4th Grade) – Learning what it means to be a baptized child of God and a disciple and laying a Foundation for Confirmation.
- Attend Worship
- Learning the stories and structure of the Bible.
- Learning and celebrating the importance of Baptism
- Learning the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer
- Learning how to serve
- Disciples in Training – Learning the Order of Worship, how to worship, the church seasons, how to pray, church symbols, how to build Christian relationships, recognizing the Ten Commandments, the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper in worship
Confirmation Ministry – Introduction to the discipleship process.
- Attend Worship
- Pre-confirmation (5th and 6th grade) – Learning to read the Bible in light of the six chief parts of the Small Catechism
- Junior Confirmation (7th and 8th grade) – Learning to personally read the Bible and pray, learning the Small Catechism, and preparing for First Communion
- Senior Confirmation (9th grade) – Focus on public profession of faith and the Rite of Confirmation.
Youth Ministry – Maturing as a disciple and training to “go” with the Gospel message.
- Attend Worship
- Young HS Women’s Great28 (Small Group)
- Young HS Men’s Great28 (Small Group)
- Sunday Morning Bible Study
Adult Ministry – Learning how to be discipled and disciple others; learning to “go” with the Gospel.
- Attend Worship
- Great28 Discipleship Groups (small groups)
- Attending OSL Adult Bible studies (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays)
