Watch a video of the HFTC Project update by Broek Bosma, Chair of the HFTC Project Oversight Committee here:
Good morning! Ben and I are here to give you an update of the Heart for the City Fundraising Campaign. At the beginning of October, we asked you to commit, by asking God to help you imagine what you would give towards our goal of $2.5 million dollars! As you recall these gifts will provide our new home with new furniture, new fixtures and new equipment. Do you realize this new development will be one of the most significant faith-based developments in British Columbia? Imagine it will provide approximately 45,000 square feet of additional purpose-built space for ministry, as well as a new affordable rental building of approximately 50,000 square feet. All of this and much more are gifts. Gifts to be used to demonstrate the heart of Jesus Christ and to bless the city in new and fresh ways.
Now some of you have begun to give to this campaign, so we want to thank you very much for your generosity! If you still have questions about this capital campaign, please refer to our HFTC Campaign Brochure that explains the vision, mission and overview of the project.
If you are still asking God to imagine how much you should give, please look at this pledge card. This will give you an idea of what your pledge commitment would look like! Imagine if you give $4.16 per month, which is one less cup of coffee and muffin, then you would be giving $50 per year for 5 years which is $250. Imagine if you give $2,000 a year for 5 years it’s $10,000 and so on. Now, look at the right column of this pledge card. Imagine this: we would need at least 465 pledges to reach our goal and beyond.
So how is God speaking to you? If you have questions and want someone to contact you, please email or call the church office at 604.683.8441.
Now, if you are saying: "Yes I can do it!" Then please fill out this Pledge/Donation Form and return the completed form to the church office.
So again let’s remember Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:20-21! “Now to him who is able to DO immeasurably more than all we ASK or IMAGINE, according to
Ben & Almira Chow
HFTC Campaign Cabinet Chairs
Imagine with us how God gave this land to our forefathers of First Baptist Church and how they were able to fundraise and build this church in 1911. And then imagine in 1931 during the great depression a fire raged through the sanctuary saving only the bell tower. Imagine how members prayed and fundraised when God provided enough funds to rebuild the church. Fast forward to late 1980's and imagine how church members prayed and fundraised to build an extension of the church, the Nehemiah project where more than $350,000 was raised within 52 days and in today's dollars it's $650,000. And now imagine how our Lord has gifted us with properties to expand our vision: to be a missional and community focused church with the building of our Heart for the City project. This project will usher us into a new era in spiritual care and compassion in the city of Vancouver.
So imagine what this will look like! Imagine an era of worship, ministry and mission that connects to our local communities. And imagine how you will create together with others, the new and expanded church facilities of First Baptist Church in Vancouver so that we may reach more people with the good news of Jesus Christ. How are you and I going to do this? By coming together as a congregation following Jesus and focusing on the completion of our building project. We have set a goal of 2.5 million dollars to be raised through the Heart for the City Capital Campaign. So with a team of cabinet members we will do this very important work for the Lord.
How will the funds be used? It will be used to provide our new home with new furniture, new fixtures and new equipment, for everything inside of the buildings. Imagine how these funds will support our three pillars: our Mission like the shelter program; our Ministry; like Christian education; our Worship like our choir. These are just a few things that we can imagine will be needed for the new and expanded church facilities. Therefore, this capital Fundraising Campaign will be used primarily to support the Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment portion of the HFTC project!
How will it work? Raising these funds will be primarily one-on-one conversations with you and with our cabinet members. We are hoping to encourage each one to make multi-year commitment of five years. How much do you think you could commit over a five-year period? Some of you are probably thinking to yourself I can't afford anything right now. First would you please commit to praying? Would you ask God, the Creative One, to give you creative ways to give? Would you actively listen to God's prompting on how much you will give? Remember, most importantly this is above what you are already tithing for the daily operations of the church.
How much would you be able to commit? Yes, the reality is some of us are living off a senior's pension, may have a mortgage to pay down, or may have childcare expenses and probably many other reasons. We know that! But imagine if you could give $50 a month over 5 years that would be $3,000. Now imagine if you could only give $1,000 a year for five years it would be $5,000; OR maybe $5,000 a year for five years and that would be $25,000. Is this possible? And maybe it's not yearly or monthly but you want to commit to giving a one-time gift, or gift of shares or gift in your will. All of these will be accepted and greatly appreciated as well. These are just examples of what is possible. Our cabinet campaign members would love to have a conversation with you about it. Feel free to reach out to the church office if you would like to discuss about a personal contribution of any kind.
So would you commit to praying and asking God to help you imagine what you are able to give. Imagine how His inexhaustible and glorious riches would strengthen us through the power of His Holy Spirit for the next 100 years and beyond. Here's what Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus and it is the same today for First Baptist Church. In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 to 21 Paul confidently prays:
In Christ,
Ben & Almira Chow
HFTC Capital Fundraiser Campaign Coordinators
Watch the HFTC Capital Fundraiser Campaign launch presentation video here.