Dear Christ Church Community and Friends, 

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Matthew 6:21 CEB 

I hope the fall season finds you and yours doing well. 

Across Christ Church United Methodist we are in the middle of our Stewardship Worship Series and Campaign, Grow Together and Lift. In worship, we have been using the book The Gift of Lift, by David R. York, as a jumping off point for our conversation and work. 

York defines stewards as those who are fully invested in something bigger than themselves. My hope throughout this series and beyond isn’t that we simply practice stewardship, but that we grow into the stewards God asks us to be, and that we do this together, as we lift up ourselves and others. 

As Christians and part of the Christ Church community, we are invited to be fully invested in the work that God is doing through our church, its ministries, and people. Indeed, the investment isn’t simply in Christ Church. It is in the work God is doing through us all, the work God is doing through you. It is also the way our work as a church, combined with that of others around the world, is helping to usher in the Kingdom of God.

In my short time as your Lead Pastor, it has been a joy to see how your commitment to be stewards investing in something bigger than yourselves is having a huge impact in the lives of so many. Each week hundreds of people learn about Jesus’ love for all. More than a hundred people a week receive hot meals and groceries at our Parkway Campus. Hundreds of students and their families are touched by our great Christ Church School as students learn and play into adolescence. We are building relationships across the life of our church and into our community through worship, times of fellowship such as Holy Grounds, the Grow Hour between services, and our dynamic partnership with i9 Sports.

All of these great ministries and so many more require the work of stewards. Because you are investing your time, talents, and financial resources into the life of our church, it is changing the lives of countless people. Thank you to all of you who are already the stewards God asks us to be. Keep up the great work. 

Our stewardship campaign each year is an intentional time when we are invited to examine and pray about how God wants us to live our lives as stewards. During this time, we consider how we are fully investing our time, talents, and financial resources into the work of God at and through Christ Church. I also hope it is a time when we dream and ponder the question, “What might happen if more of us were invested in this work?” and “What would happen if I were even more invested than I am?” 

Those are the questions I invite you to ponder and answer this season. 

I believe wholeheartedly that living out lives as stewards isn’t simply something God invites or asks us to do, but it is the life that God created us for. We are created to fully invest in the work of God around us. When we do this, not only are we growing into the people God created us to be, we are also helping others do the same. We may also save lives, their lives; we are growing together and lifting. This is where Jesus is asking us to place our hearts and our treasures as mentioned in the scripture above. 

If you feel the same, I invite you to fill out the enclosed Commitment Card where you can indicate your financial pledge for 2023 to the work that God is doing at and through Christ Church. My wife, Alicia, and I are proud to join you in this work. You can also indicate on the card if you’d like to give of your time and talents in 2023. Cards can be brought to worship on Commitment Sunday, November 20, or on any Sunday after that. You may also return it to the church office at our Fort Lauderdale Campus at your convenience or fill it out online at christchurchfl.org/pledge.

A big thank-you to all of you who already give so much to make Christ Church the great and growing church that it is today. Thank you to those of you who already pledge or regularly give financially. For those of you who give regularly but haven’t previously pledged, thank you for your generosity. I encourage you to make a pledge for 2023 as you continue to give. Finally, for those who don’t currently give, I invite you to begin giving in 2023. We become stewards and experience the joy of growing together and lifting as we align our treasures with something bigger than ourselves. 

Let us work together through being stewards as we do our best at Christ Church United Methodist to experience and reflect the love, hope, and joy of Jesus to our community. 

Have a great day. 

Peace,

Nathan Adams

Lead Pastor