Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do GREATER things than these, because I am going to the Father.” – John 14:12 (NRSV)
The primary goal of the Greater Initiative is to help all of us in our growth as disciples by taking a step in financial generosity so that we might experience the Greater things God has for us. Our hope is that everyone will take their next faith step in financial giving by placing trust in God through extravagant generosity. Sharing God’s gifts enables our church to expand ministry impact to accomplish Greater things than we could ever imagine. Check out the video from Pastor Michael to learn more about Greater and how you can take a step in discipleship.
FAQ’s
Your financial gifts allow Advent to share the good news of Jesus Christ as we set out to accomplish our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Your financial gift will fortify plans for fostering personal spiritual growth and expanding our ability as a congregation to make a kingdom impact in our community, region and all the world. The Greater Initiative is asking all of us to pledge our giving to our missional and ministry initiatives, multi-campus expansion, capital improvements as well as the general operating budget of Advent. This new Greater Initiative combines the needs of the annual ministry operating budget and the over-and-above giving opportunity of our congregation into one simple, straightforward twenty-four month financial commitment.
Our church family’s generosity is the reason Advent is able to carry out our mission and all that accompanies every discipleship effort. The founders of Advent made a commitment to dedicate at least 10% of our annual operating budget to missions. To provide a few examples, your generosity provides housing for the transitioning homeless (IHN), meals for children who would otherwise not eat over the weekends (Backpack Blessings), provisions for our partners at Harvest Hope Food Bank, home repairs through Salkehatchie and SantaHatchie, international ministry funding with partners in Guatemala and Tanzania and so much more!
Your generosity also helps transformation in the lives of those in our congregation. Throughout each week, discipleship happens as the Lord ministers to the hearts and minds of our children, students and adults in community with each other. You also support events like Advent Community Christmas, Vacation Bible School, Christmas Under The Stars, Student Messy Night, EggVenture, etc., all of which bring guests onto our campus and provide an entry point for them to make Advent their church home.
This is a two-year ministry plan for 2022 and 2023 that will assist with budgeting and allocating financial resources in a manner that advances our mission. Our hope is that the initiative will also become part of a life-long commitment to discipleship and growth, particularly in relation to financial generosity. In order to allocate generosity and budget appropriately, we are asking that our congregation completes and submits commitment cards indicating their intended financial generosity over this twenty-four month period. We also believe that prayerfully making a commitment to the Greater Initiative represents a step in faith that the Lord will use in mighty ways.
Advent’s goal is that everyone takes the next step in their financial generosity. If you don’t currently give, we hope you will begin giving intentionally, whatever the amount or percentage of your income you choose to give. If you already give an amount under 10%, we hope you will take a step closer to 10% of your income. Once you have made your decision, you can see all the ways to commit to Greater in the Ways to Pledge section of this page.
Ways to Pledge
- If you are currently attending Advent or are a member of Advent, you can make your online commitment to the Greater Initiative through your Realm account. You can make your pledge in Realm here. If you have not joined Realm yet and would like to request an invite, please click here.
- If you are new to Advent or do not have a Realm account, you can make your commitment online by clicking here.
- If you have a printed commitment card, you can turn in your commitment card on Commitment Sunday, November 21, 2021 at both worship services (9 am and 10:30 am), you can mail it to Advent United Methodist Church, 2258 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681, or you can bring it by the church office.
- If you do not have a printed commitment card but would like to make your commitment in person, please join us on Sunday, November 21st at either worship service (9 am or 10:30 am) for Commitment Sunday. Printed Commitment Cards will be available.
Questions?
For questions about the Greater Initiative, you can contact the church office at (864) 288-8217, email us at [email protected], or use our online contact form!