Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

PROVERBS 3:5–6

LETTER FROM THE PASTOR

Dear Friends,


For almost 40 years, Maple Grove Covenant has served Maple Grove and surrounding communities. Over those years, much has changed, but our commitment to Go, Love, Live remains as timely as it ever was.


As we approach 40 and look beyond it, the opportunities to be a community of hope and help for neighbors, friends, and community will only grow. The most basic need people have—to know Jesus—doesn’t change, but the more mundane needs people have seem to grow almost exponentially. Whether it’s the anxiety young children and teens live with every day, the challenges parents face in a culture that works against strong families and strong faith, the pain of loneliness and isolation people of all ages and social standings experience, financial insecurities, or any number of other things, people not only need the hope of Jesus but the help of local churches more than ever.


“Extending Our Reach” is intended to help Maple Grove Covenant move beyond 40, stronger and better prepared to meet the opportunities ahead, and to help us become the best church we can be for our community. It will do that in three ways:

  • By significantly reducing or eliminating our existing mortgage to reduce/eliminate any future operating deficits and free up future money to invest more directly in mission and ministry.
  • By enabling us to replace and upgrade aging sanctuary technology to support the best possible experience both in-person and online.
  • By making an immediate investment in our community through CROSS, Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge, and Covenant Pines.

Maple Grove Covenant has had a great impact on at least three generations. I hope and pray that you’ll join Cheryl and me in helping to ensure that our legacy of Go, Love, Live—of providing hope and help to neighbors, friends, and community—will continue for many more generations to come.


Sincerely,

Pastor Rich

THE GOAL

In Philippians 4, God promises to provide all our needs according to his wealth, and when the Israelites collected their offering for the building of the tabernacle in Exodus 36, there was an overwhelming response from the resources God had already provided them. We are trusting God for a similar outpouring of generosity for this campaign.


The Number

$750,000 is a lot of money. We sought to discern the goal based on the experience of other churches and ministries, as well as the advice of National Covenant Properties which has extensive expertise in many areas of church ministry and finance. It’s not uncommon for churches to see campaigns like ours raise as much as two times their normal annual giving, which for us would be more than $1 million. We believe that $750,000 is most appropriate at this time.


The Invitation

Our desire is that everyone who is part of the Maple Grove Covenant community—whether member or attender—would participate at some level in not only celebrating what God has done over our first 40 years, but also to enable us to Go Further, Love Deeper, and Live Stronger for the years beyond forty.


We realize that some have greater capacity to support this effort than others, and our invitation is not to equal giving, but equal sacrifice. We also realize that giving over and above our regular giving will feel like a stretch, but we also affirm what God tells us in Proverbs—that God honors generosity and those who are generous—not according to someone else’s ability to give, but according to their own.

NEEDS

  • Debt Reduction ($525,000)

    For almost the entire life of Maple Grove Covenant, we have owed money on our property and building. While we have paid down most of that debt, our current mortgage balance still stands at $600,000, and our annual budget includes more than $60,000 in mortgage and interest payments, which represents almost our entire operating deficit in recent years. This campaign should help us substantially reduce or even eliminate our mortgage. Success in this campaign will allow us to pay off the existing mortgage 12 years ahead of schedule and save approximately $250,000 in interest, allowing for increased investment in future ministry programming and other areas.

  • WORSHIP TECH UPGRADES ($150,000)

    As we all know, technology has played an increasingly important role in worship. The systems we currently have for sound and video have served us well in the past, but most parts are aging while others do not provide the quality or ease of use we’d like for our volunteers. What’s more, our ability to provide high-quality online recording and streaming experiences does not exist. Our desire is to address as many of these needs as possible with this campaign.

  • Local Ministries ($75,000)

    We have several long-standing ministry partnerships both in the local area as well as other parts of the world. Furthermore, we have a long-established practice of tithing our income to ministry beyond ourselves. We believe that part of God’s call on us in this campaign is to continue living into both those commitments by giving 10% of what we receive to three specific partners:

    • CROSS Services
    • Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge
    • Covenant Pines Ministries

COMMITMENTS

We’re blessed to kick-start this campaign with significant momentum. To date, we’ve already received $293,000 in commitments from church leadership and other generous individuals. We’re excited to see what God has in store for us next.

Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Giving: Our Desire for 100% Participation

In II Corinthians 8:12, Paul writes that, “if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have (v. 12).” Since everyone who considers Maple Grove Covenant their church community has a stake in this effort, our desire is 100% participation by families and households. For those who can give substantial gifts, we ask you to do so. And for those who can give a little, we ask that you give cheerfully, knowing that you’re participating in what God is doing through MGCC. Everyone’s participation is greatly appreciated!

Giving Math

Giving over the life of this campaign

For many, the most effective way to give will be in smaller amounts over time. This table will help you see how your commitment would break down if given in annual, quarterly, or monthly installments. And remember: this would be over and above your normal giving.


Click the button below to view the complete giving breakdown table.


giving_math_breakdown.pDF

ONE-TIME GIVING

Options and Important Details

You may want to complete your commitment with a one-time gift for the total amount. If so, we ask that you do it at or near the beginning of the campaign. If that’s your desire, you can do it through a variety of means:


Standard Options

  • Paper check.
  • ACH (electronic payment) from your bank or other financial institution.
  • Credit card is NOT an option because of the high transaction fees.

Alternative Options*

  • Donor Advised Fund (DAF).
  • Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD from a retirement account). Must be 70½ years old for this option.
  • The gift of appreciated stocks or other financial instruments (and possibly land).

*For the alternative options, we encourage you to consult your tax or financial advisor before actually making your gift.


Important Details to Consider

  • Giving early can help generate positive momentum and encourage others to give.
  • Giving early will accelerate the success of the campaign, allowing us to benefit sooner from the worship tech upgrades and pay down the mortgage faster.
  • A one-time gift will reduce the processing fees for the church and could have significant tax advantages. Be sure to consult with your advisor on this, though.


Frequently Asked Questions

Extending_Our_Reach_FAQ.pdf


Click the button to access a PDF file with answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the Extending Our Reach capital campaign.