November will go down as one of the worst months of your life, or one of the best. It depends on your perspective. This is the month when we consider and adopt the 2012 church budget, and it is also the month we put the It’s Time capital fund raising campaign into high gear.

That word has the effect on some of challenging and motivating them; others it horrifies and sends them running for the exits. Some will step forward in commitment and let it be known they can be counted on for their support, while others will quietly slide under the pew and hope no one notices them until at least after Christmas. Like I said, for some it will be a terrific month; for others….well, not so much.

While we are discussing the budget (Nov. 6, 6pm) and adopting the budget (Nov. 13, both worship services), we will also kick off our most challenging fund-raising effort in recent memory: a campaign to raise $2.5 million for building renovation and modest expansion. Some are thinking, “Isn’t that great!” And some are thinking, “Great that isn’t!” I understand. It all depends on your perspective.

For those who think, “We don’t need to spend all that money to renovate,” my response is, “Well, yes, we do.” I won’t go into the details here (you’ll be getting lots of information from other sources), but buildings that are 25-45 years old simply have to be updated, reconfigured, and made more accessible. And we have run out of space to begin new Bible Study units.

To those who think, “This is a terrible economy to start a capital campaign,” I say, “Sure is!” We began our Road to Freedom debt elimination campaign immediately after 9/11, and succeeded. Let’s give God some credit for doing good things in bad times.

For those who worry, “But this will hurt our missions giving and efforts,” I respond, “No, it won’t.” We have increased our missions giving and efforts every year in recent years, even when paying off debt.
For those who lament, “I don’t have much of anything to give,” I can reassure you: It’s Time is about equal sacrifice, not equal gifts.

Now for those who say (to yourself, of course), “I’m cheap and I’m not giving that church another penny,” well, I don’t think I have any response to that. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I’m not God, and we can all be grateful that the one true God is a God of grace and forgiveness.

I hope November is a great month for you. Keep an open mind and an open heart, so God can speak to you about budgets, capital campaigns and other necessary components of doing Kingdom work and being on mission. Depending on your perspective, this could be one terrific month.

Bert Browning