Mr. John Kimber, missionary chairman, and Rev. Verl Lindley, pastor
by Verl Lindley it to me very personally, “ I f you are going to preach living by faith, it is time more o f it be seen in your own life.” A paperback book, Tr iumphan t Missionary Ministry in the Local Church, by Norman Lewis (Back to the Bible P u b l i s h e r s o f Lincoln, N eb r.), was used o f God to give direction to my life. I began to pray fo r missions as never be fore which led to my making a commitment o f a definite amount to missions above my regular giv ing. This became an exciting ex perience o f praying fo r a specific sum and seeing God provide it. Having seen God’s faithfulness in my own life in new perspective, the Faith Promise Plan was pre sented to our Missionary Commit tee. To prepare our congregation fo r such a step, the Missionary Committee presented every fam
“ To God be the glory, great things He has done” has become the t h em e s o n g o f Granada Heights Friends Church. In ten years, our church has grown from a handful o f people to an average attendance o f over six hundred. New buildings and en larged attendance have been the cause fo r rejoicing, but the great motivation fo r our praise to God is a grow ing missionary interest. F or years we held an annual missionary conference and wel comed missionaries to our ser vices, but we never really saw anything happen. I was confident that with our building debts and a new building program before us, that 25% o f our income fo r missions was all that could be ex pected from a membership o f two hundred and fifteen. Some three years ago, God put
ily in the church with a copy o f Triumphant M i s s i o na r y Minis try. The book was discussed in special sessions with the Finance Committee, elders and Missionary Committee b e f o r e t h e Faith Promise Plan was presented to the people. The Plan was ac cepted by the congregation with great anticipation o f blessing. For us the Plan involved mak ing some radical changes. Mis sions would no longer be in the general budget, but we would have a separate budget fo r mis sions administered by the Mis sionary Committee o f the church. Now, funds are received into the missionary treasury by designat ing a g ift “ missions” o r by plac ing it in the Sunday School offer ing on m i s s i o n s Sunday each month. Special appeals are kept to a minimum as folks are encour-
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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