A Message from Eric and Jennifer Austin
Dear St. Andrew’s family,
We’ve been part of the St. Andrew’s family since 2016. Like you, we feel so blessed to be part of this community and feel called to do our part to bring others to know Jesus and to be the hands and feet of Christ. Fr. Andrew asked us to lead the stewardship committee this year. Honestly, when we tell folks that is our ministry, we often receive a “glad its you and not me” kind of response! For us, this is a great blessing to share our faith with others. We are excited to invite you to join us as we reflect as a church on how we can collectively pray, listen, and step out in faith as God calls us in our giving of time, treasure, and talent.
Fr. Andrew will share more about our focus over the next few weeks, “Treasure in Heaven.” You’ll see how it is in the small kindnesses and steps in faith that build treasures we can experience now and in eternity.
To kick this season off, we want to share with you more about our faith journey as it relates to giving.
First, why do we give? This is simple: It is a faith builder. We are continually amazed at what God can do with our faithfulness in giving. We give not because we have to, but because God first gave to us, and it brings us a lot of joy.
Why do we give to St. Andrew’s? Giving to St. Andrew’s and other important community groups is a way we can connect with our faith on a deeper level when we are intentional about how we answer God’s call to give. Practically speaking, the clergy and staff here are not only good stewards in how the church is efficiently managed, but our mission at St. Andrew’s is outwardly focused serving in our community and bringing others to know Jesus. Even when we can’t directly serve through the Hands & Feet ministry, we know that we are still part of the amazing work God is doing in our community through our giving.
How do we give? We feel called to give for the needs of today through our annual pledge and while we invite you to do the same we want to make an impact in the future as well. That is why we have decided to include St. Andrew’s in our estate plans to ensure that we can be part of what God is doing here for years to come. For us, it was as simple as stating in our will that we will give a percentage of our estate to the church. Planning for the future and creating the legacy we wish to leave is important to us. This simple future gift is a great way to for us to share the blessings we have in this life to help others grow their faith even after we are gone.
We invite you to pray with us over the coming weeks as you ask yourself these questions and ask God to give in a way that will grow your faith and cultivate Treasure in Heaven.
Sincerely,
Eric and Jennifer Austin
