Dear Southcity
To the ekklesia, the 'called-out' ones, my brothers and
sisters in Christ, today I write giving thanks and as one making two appeals.
Firstly, we thank God for his continued love for us which
is always at work, always pursuing us, always drawing us toward him. His
righteousness which he has given to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, now our
righteousness. How even the angels long to share in the intimacy we get to
share in with our Father in heaven. What a joy, what a privilege!
My first appeal is more to inform. As we are all aware, the
economic environment is a difficult one at present. But we thank God that his
Kingdom is not bound by earthly situations. One of Southcity's incredibly
generous givers, a business, has found itself in a position, where for its
future, it has to reduce its financial giving to the work of Southcity Church
by R37 000 a month. As you can imagine, that is a generous portion which we are
forever grateful for to get us to this point in our work. As a people who long
to see God's Kingdom come on earth, we will always cut our suit to fit the
cloth, however, my appeal is that as a community of faith, we again come before
our Father and provider and ask if there is any part we can play in order that
the breadth and depth of work into our city and the regions beyond can continue
to press forward rather than shrink back.
The second appeal is this: The church that gathers in
Mzamba have secured a piece of land, but have no means of paying for it. We
believe this is one of the faith steps God was preparing us for when he
highlighted Jeremiah's faith step to us a few weeks ago. In Jeremiah 32, God
speaks over Israel and promises that homes, fields, and vineyards will again be
bought in the land and despite the Babylonian invasion, Jeremiah was to
purchase a field, which he does in faith. Today, in spite of the economic
invasion which is our reality, we believe God is encouraging us to take a faith
step and purchase 'a field' in Mzamba in order for God's kingdom to continue to
advance and his relentless, pursuing love, to be made all the more visible and
known in the Mzamba community. Church, I am appealing to you to see beyond the
current Babylonian invasion, the current economic environment, and in faith to
sow into the Kingdom for God's glory and grace. On the 30th of September, we
will be taking up an offering, trusting that we will be able to raise upward of
R40 000 in order to buy that field. My appeal is for you to humbly approach our
Father in heaven and ask how you may give toward this.
Thank you for hearing my appeals and for giving me the
privilege of leading us all into that which God has for us to enjoy and do.
Much love
Rich
