Dean/in /by

Dear Redeemer friends and family,

Last Sunday 14 May 2023, I had the privilege of being able to share with you some of the vision that we have for the next season of our life as a church together.  Ultimately, we believe that God has planted and established our church in Delft to advance Jesus’ socio-political economic vision for human flourishing in Delft and beyond, what we usually call The Kingdom of God.  This is no geographical location, but any place where God’s rules and reigns and where things are done in God’s way.  It is a place of healing and restoration, it is a place of rest and peace, it is a place where people have enough, where everyone is known and valued, where people are free and released from the lies that hold them back.

It is a place that is here in part and which we await its fullness when Jesus returns.  Until then, Jesus is still building his chuch and his Kingdom and calls those who follow him to build with him.  He promises that this will not be easy work, we have an enemy that opposes us and him at every turn.  However, whilst this is hard work, a genuine struggle and requires much investment and the overcoming of many difficulties, the reward of seeing the Kingdom grow in people’s lives is wonderful and inspiring.

Specifically, at this moment in time we believe God is asking us to expand and invest in several key areas in our life together:

  • Building Up the Next Generation – we believe that God is particularly working among under 30s right now (that’s from babies to young adults).  It is really exciting to see and very encouraging to experience this move of God among us.  It is really important that we do not miss this opportunity to invest into this generation and build them up to be strong and faithful followers of Jesus.  To do this well we need to invest in and restructure the way in which we serve our children, youth, students and young adults.
  • Breaking Ground in the City – we believe the Lord is going to provide us a home in the city of Delft as a place to grow as a community and also to expand the ways in which we can serve the city of Delft throughout the week.  We believe that this season is just around the corner and it is something that will likely require a significant amount of financial resources (e.g. fees, equipment, furniture, etc.) and we want to take the steps to start building up these reserves now.
  • Bringing People Together – we believe that the church is built on relationships and it is important that these bonds remain strong as we continue in God’s mission together.  We are thankful for the value and the work that God has done through our former Life Groups and current Community Groups, but believe that this area of our common life throughout the week needs greater investment that is beyond our current operational capacity.

HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED

I am not just writing to inform you, but also to ask you what is your part in this?  There are several ways we need to respond if we are going to see this vision become a reality before our eyes:

  • Give Ourselves to Pray for the Church – Do you pray for the church?  Do you pray that God would provide what its needs – money, volunteers, spiritual gifts?  Do you pray that it would advance God’s Kingdom in Delft?  The truth is we pray for those things that we are invested in, for the things that we love and cherish.  Is God asking you to invest more of your heart into the church?
  • Give Our Time – How much time do you spend on your smartphone compared with how much time do you spend serving the church?  Does God want you to make an investment of your time to serve the church in a volunteer capacity?  Do you have a heart for some of things that we have talked about and what to volunteer yourself for it?
  • Give an Extra Financial Gift – We will need extra financial resources to make this vision a reality.  We will need to pay for extra rent, salaries, equipment, training and resources to move into this picture of the future we have.  Do you feel the Holy Spirit inviting you to give towards the church at this time?

We also want this to be freely given and without any pressure.  As it said in the passage we read Exodus 35:29: All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. If you are being moved to give willing then give joyfully and sacrificially towards our work together.

WHAT DO WE NEED?

God knows!  Our faith goal, however, is to raise an extra €40.000 this calendar year:

  • 10% will be given away externally according to our desire to model giving and generosity as a whole community.
  • Around 45% will be used to supplement our building fund that will be used for the necessary investments when moving to a new location in Delft.
  • Around 45% will be used to strengthen our operations (staff & volunteers, equipment, resources, etc.)

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

If the Lord has put it on your heart to give towards this next step, you can give in any of the regular ways (redeemerdelft.nl/give/) just be sure to give this payment the reference “Gift Day”.  Please do this before the end of June.

If you want to discuss volunteering some of your work time, please contact me directly (dean@redeemerdelft.nl).

Information about our annual Church Family Meeting where we explore things such as finances, vision and where you can ask any questions about these topics will be send out to you all in the coming weeks.  If you have any urgent questions then please email the Finance Team at finance@redeemerdelft.nl.

May God bless you!

Dean

On behalf of the Eldership Team