CALLED TO BE A GIFT Jesus is God's gift to us so we may be a gift to others.
CALLED TO BE A GIFT is Incarnation’s five-year commitment to unleash Incarnation’s significant resources for mission and ministry in this world that God so loves.
CALLED TO BE A GIFT has five goals that are rooted in Incarnation’s mission to Connect - Grow - Serve - Invite.
Over the next five years we will work together to raise 6 million dollars to completely eliminate all mortgage debt. There will be five phases to CALLED TO BE A GIFT. Phase one began on January 25, 2009 and continued through May 5, 2009. Incarnation members and active participants were invited to Cottage Meetings” in April and early May to receive information and to respond to an invitation to participate generously in the financial goals of the appeal.
Over the next five years we will work together to grow spiritually as a congregation and as individual followers of Jesus. This vision of “Passionate Spirituality” seeks to change hearts and transform lives and will guide our ministry into the future. We will work with more determination and clarity to Connect people to Jesus and to each other so that we can Grow in a faith that is richly integrated into our daily lives. God is growing us because we believe God is also sending us into the world to Serve others in a world that God so loves; and, we want to Invite others into faith and to join us in doing God's work in the world.
Over the next five years we will work together to engage in a time of reflection and discernment about how our current ministries connect with our growing sense of mission, leading us to form a hopeful vision of our future and develop plans and strategies to turn that vision into reality. We will participate in a careful discernment process that reflects Incarnation’s Mission and Vision statements. We will focus on one aspect of our mission each year and develop that more fully and clearly for all members. Our mission is summarized briefly with the words - CONNECT - GROW - SERVE - INVITE.
Over the next five years we will work together to deepen our commitment for peace and justice in our world. We will grow our local and global impact as a source of hope and healing and offer life-changing opportunities for members and guests alike. Incarnation has mission partners in Tanzania, Guatemala and Los Angeles. We also have partners in the Twin Cities at LifeHaven, Families Moving Forward, Ralph Reeder food shelf, Holy Hammers, Lyngblomsten, Dorothy Day, and in many of the Hunger Action activities - to name a few. We intend to extend our outreach and engage more of the Incarnation faith community in ministry. This is at the heart of CALLED TO BE A GIFT.
Over the next five years we will work together to offer leadership and be a resource for other congregations in our region and the church-at-large in modeling and facilitating collaboration and learning. Incarnation is a teaching congregation as we work with Luther Seminary in training future leaders for the church. Incarnation is also doing innovative ministry that attracts counsel and conversation with sister congregations. We seek to expand helpful and creative conversation for the sake of the whole church.
CALLED TO BE A GIFT is an exciting initiative and these goals will move us into a future that will impact the lives of those within the Incarnation community and will be a gift to the people who we serve in Jesus’ name. There are many ways that Incarnation members and participants can participate in this appeal. Watch for invitations to serve as we are CALLED TO BE A GIFT.
Why 5 Years? Incarnation has experienced four consecutive three-year Capital Appeals since 1996 and they seemed to have worked out okay, so why are we doing a five-year Capital Appeal with CALLED TO BE A GIFT? Here are the reasons:
We have done four consecutive three-year Capital Appeals and each of the appeals raises approximately $2M and pays less than half that amount against the present mortgage because of demanding interest costs for a $5.3M debt. (We have reduced the mortgage debt by $700,000 since January 2006.) As Incarnation’s leadership looked at this it was clear that we could expect to continue with consecutive three-year Capital Appeals through 2022.
In the Spring of 2008, Incarnation’s consultants, Kairos & Assoc interviewed 70+ members who encouraged one “last” campaign to retire the building debt so we can move on as a congregation. We did not believe we could do this using the three-year model we had used previously but we could do something innovative to reach the goal of retiring all debt by the end of 2013.
A five-year Capital Appeal gives Incarnation opportunity to encourage larger commitments and to also bring more on board for support of the goal. The campaign will be continuous with phase one having ended on May 5, 2009 and four phases remaining over the next four years. The result is more flexibility for participation and that is helpful in what has become a very difficult economic environment.
Staff and Council want to use the CALLED TO BE A GIFT focus to develop a long-term strategic plan that flows from our Mission and Vision statements of CONNECT - GROW - SERVE - INVITE as we invite people into transforming opportunities to spread and live the Good News of Jesus Christ. CALLED TO BE A GIFT is a Capital Appeal that will implement a life-giving plan as more resources become available.
Incarnation has the resources and commitment to complete CALLED TO BE A GIFT successfully and then to move on strongly in witness and service to those within the Incarnation community and beyond.
What Can I Do to Help? Many within Incarnation have stepped up to offer their participation in phase one of CALLED TO BE A GIFT. We can use your help in the following ways:
PRAYER--please pray for Incarnation and for the successful completion of CALLED TO BE A GIFT in all of it's goals, both financial and in mission and ministry.
Support CALLED TO BE A GIFT generously and confidently.
Explore how to best use the gifts for service that God has given you. Join a LifeKeys Small Group, explore the Called to Serve opportunities here at Incarnation and in the community, take an online gift assessment, or contact the Incarnation Office at 651-484-7213 for questions about service opportunities.
For more information about CALLED TO BE A GIFT, contact Pastor Gary Medin at gmedin@incarnationmn.org or by calling the Incarnation Office at 651-484-7213.
