Jerusalem Growth - One by One

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. This passage points to a “treasure”, which is something of great value. If you “treasure” something or someone, you will “put your heart into it”, meaning you will put forth great effort, time, and even sacrifice toward that “treasure.” The Jerusalem Expansion Committee truly sees this expansion project as a “treasure.” The additional classrooms, elevator, and new handicap-accessible entrance will provide the church and school more space which will enable our congregation to reach more souls with the gospel message. The Expansion Committee has set a goal to achieve this expansion by raising $1M by May of 2026.  

The Jerusalem Expansion Committee met on Wednesday, August 13th, to discuss plans moving forward with raising the funds for this project. The big question loomed, where do we start? The answer can be simple: One by one! The committee agreed that while raising funds for this project is important, the true “treasure” of this project are the people, the people who will be reached with the gospel message. Since sharing the gospel message with the people is the ultimate goal of this project, it was recognized that meeting with and discussing Jerusalem’s mission with as many members, school families and Jerusalem contacts is important to our congregation as a whole and this project specifically.  This also complements a second goal for the expansion committee which is to reach out to as many of those who are connected to Jerusalem with the mission of our expansion project as well.

While these two goals can be carried out in tandem, the first goal is critical to our congregation’s spiritual growth and health.  Keeping in regular contact with our congregation’s members has been done throughout the history of Jerusalem in a more passive approach from the congregation – sending out information to those who were willing and able to receive it. Going out to communicate to individual members has been done in various ways and to varying degrees, most often done by just a couple individuals as needs arise. We want to make direct discussions and visits with all those who are associated with Jerusalem an ongoing and regular part of our congregation’s membership and spiritual growth.  The second goal will be carried out as part of the first round of visits/contacts or as a separate contact/discussion.  The overall purpose of these visits are to connect or reconnect with families/individuals, encourage regular church and Bible class attendance, and inform about the expansion project.

So what does this look like for you? Starting in the near future, you will be contacted (through email or phone call) by a member of the congregation. He/she will ask you to set up a day and time to meet. You can specify where you would like to meet: your house, apartment, park, church, coffee shop, McDonald’s, wherever you feel comfortable. If you have children, please plan a time that is most convenient for you and them. Once you agree on the day and time, you will be sent a reminder email the day before to confirm. Then you will go to the meeting (or they will come to you) where you will learn about our congregation’s ministry plans and learn about the expansion project with opportunities to support it in various ways.  You may also be invited to participate in the sharing of this information as you are interested. Times for going over material and the presentations will be developed as the project continues.  We expect that the individual meetings will take less than an hour, maybe as little as a half hour.

These visits and meetings are being planned so that we may grow together in the mission of our congregation (which is Jesus’ direction for each of us individual Christians). We pray that you will be refreshed and renewed by the connection made with your fellow believers in Christ.

As mentioned above, congregation members will be contacted to set up a time and day to meet. Everyone has busy schedules and many time commitments, but please take the 20-30 minutes to connect with your fellow Christians at Jerusalem. We look forward to meeting with all of you, the “treasures” of Jerusalem, one by one.