Ride the Wave

Everybody knows that we’re in the midst of a global financial meltdown. The Dow Jones has plummeted. Stocks worldwide have tumbled. Credit markets are frozen. Central banks from London to Brussels to New York are working together to stave off even more dread economic news. It’s enough to make even the most sage investor wonder. Are we watching the birth of another “1929”—a depression so grave that future generations will think we lived Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath?

From the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank, from President Bush to Presidential wannabes Barack Obama and John McCain, from Congress to the Bank of England, from the talking heads on CNBC to the Wall Street Journal, nobody seems to know what to do or how things will turn out. Events of the last few weeks are grim reminders of just how fragile our security blankets really are, of just how limited governments can be.

Still, God is on the throne. He works for the good always. His is a fortune that cannot be diminished, a portfolio of inexhaustible supply. Somehow, someway, He provides for His own. Be encouraged, even in the tempest.

Our congregation’s financial prospects ride the wave, just like yours. Our ability to pay the bills, live up to God’s call and purposes, and reach for the future are all hinged on the individual journeys of our members. Thanks for your faithfulness. Thanks for holding steady, for your generosity, and for acting on your faith: seek first the Kingdom of God and everything you need will be provided to you (remember, that’s Jesus talking in the Sermon on the Mount).

Here are some things for which to pray, as we watch the financial headlines unfold:

(1) Three congregations are “circling” around our Scatterfield property; two of these have actually conducted Sunday services there this fall. There is real interest in all three in buying the building from us. Pray that one will make an offer and that a deal can be closed soon. It is sacred ground on Scatterfield, as all of us know—and we are convinced the Lord has plans for it. I have come to believe one of these three may, before too many more weeks pass, make our last church home its own. We will save $7,600 each month for every one million dollars we reduce our debt—a Scatterfield sale should net us about two million.

(2) We are close to closing a deal on the sale of four acres at Madison Park to a developer from Chicago (who plans to build a three-story residential building there). This project will be a wonderful complement to our existing facilities and would be situated at the intersection of Providence Drive and South 67th Street. Pray that all of the details will be shortly ironed out. Construction is forecast to begin early next spring. This sale should net us about $600,000.

(3) Over the last few months, Madison Park has been the catalyst for a new initiative to enhance the visibility and viability of Exit 26 off Interstate 69. Dubbed GoTo26.com, the idea is to form a new business and community association to promote Exit 26 as a destination along I-69 and in neighboring counties. There are over 130 businesses between Starbuck’s and Menard’s in the Scatterfield corridor, including 38 restaurants, 37 retailers, 33 service providers (like banks, hair salons, and so on), and more. Of course, pulling traffic off I-69 gives the church new opportunities, too. GoTo26.com is not online, yet, but it is alive and growing. There has been enthusiastic support from the city, business owners big and small, and encouragement from the Chamber of Commerce, as well. Pray that Exit 26, which is already the convergence zone of Madison County, will grow and prosper—and that Madison Park will be salt and light here, always. Remember, 65,000 people drive by Madison Park every day on I-69.

(4) November will mark the first anniversary of our Dreams Work campaign—the emphasis last fall which invited all of us to dream and help underwrite the dream of ministry at Madison Park. Stay tuned for testimonies of God’s provision and goodness. He has opened hearts and minds to Heaven in ways we could not have imagined. Thanks, once more, to all who have sacrificed for the dream; thanks for all those who have shared in the dream. And, if you’d like to know more about how you can be a part of the Madison Park Dream, please give us a call: (765) 642-2000 and ask for Rob Spaulding. Dreams work. They really do. Keep dreaming.

The Lord is faithful. Invest in Heaven’s store and in God’s purposes. He will take care of the rest. Yes, it’s a risk, yes, you will be tempted to hoard in hard times instead of to give. But, when you think about it, are your investments otherwise any more secure? Hmmm. Thanks for your generosity and faithfulness, always, Madison Park. God will honor you.