Advent Offering 2015

The Holiday season is in full swing. Many of us are still recovering from turkey comas. Others rejoice because it’s now “ok” to play Christmas music whenever they want. Ultimately it is a season where all of us experience two competing stories or ideals.One story tells of a culture that is obsessed with consumption. Economists predict that we will spend over 650 billion dollars on Christmas in the United States alone. The other story is marked by the coming of a savior that through His life, death and resurrection creation could be saved. Advent is a season where we see generosity at its peak and it is this story that should shape the way we live.It is this story that moves us to take up our annual Advent Offering. Every dollar given will go directly local and global partners. Last year we gave $7,000 to three organizations: Mountaintop AoG Church, AZ1.27, a statewide foster care and adoption initiative (a portion of the offering also went to the McCrackens adoption journey, see their story HERE) and Pioneers church planters in East Asia.This year I think we can give even more. $10,000 is our goal. Every Sunday in December we will take this offering, seeking to be generous in light of the generosity of our God, giving to three different partners: one close, one near and one far.CLOSE - The Peak SchoolThe Peak school is located in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Flagstaff.  It was created to help kids without a ride to school, have the ability to walk to a school close by.  Over 80% of the students that go the Peak School qualify for free and reduced lunch, which means they can’t necessarily afford lunch on their own.  We are using the advent offering to bless the Peak school in a number of ways:  Helping fund their Soccer Club, which we organize and lead, Bless the faculty, and Support the Extended School Program through additional resources and activities.  We read a letter from the school principal three weeks ago, that you can see HERE.  NEAR - Redemption Foster Care & Adoption / Foster Care InitiativesThe Arizona foster care and adoption crisis is real and Redemption Church is heavily involved. More and more of our work is moving up North into Coconino county as we partner and establish a movement of local churches and community members that are invested in being part of the solution to the problem through trainings, support and identifying local, potential foster and adopting families. I encourage you to watch this short video we showed this previous Sunday: HERE.FAR - Champions in Action - GuatemalaCiA is an amazing non-profit organization that reaches at-risk youth throughout the urban centers of Guatemala through mentorship and soccer camps. We are going to help fund months of mentorship, resources for their camps, and send a team from Redemption Flagstaff to help serve alongside them next summer.Not able to join us in December or prefer to give online? Give HERE: Go to “Give Online”, and select “Advent Offering” in the drop-down menu when prompted.