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The Norwegians are Coming
Make it Automatic
Several years ago, Kelli and I started paying all of our bills online. Since things like our mortgage and insurance payments are the same every month, we decided to put them on autopilot. We do the same thing when it comes to saving – we set up an automatic deposit so we don’t have to think about it.For the last few weeks, we’ve been encouraging everyone in our church to automate the important by creating an online giving profile and setting up automatic contributions. Whether it’s weekly, bi-monthly or monthly, giving automatically is a great way to be intentional with generosity. If you’ve already taken this step, THANK YOU!
If you support the mission of New Vintage Church financially, would you please consider making it automatic? Just visit our website (http://newvintage.org/give) and follow the instructions on the site. You can change it at any time, and it’s safe and secure.
If you’ve got any questions, feel free to call 707-545-7344 or comment on this post.
Thanks,
Andy
PS – Here’s the link to the giving page on our website. http://newvintage.org/give
Financial Freedom Pt. 2
Rick Warren, the Pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, has released a series of video trainings to help people with personal finances. I’m going to release them 1 by 1 over the next few weeks. Today I’m releasing the second post in this series.
Here’s today’s webinar.
Live Your Life for Half the Price Pt. 1 [Life Your Life for Half The Price PDF]
Coming up:
Live Your Life for Half the Price Pt. 2
Creating a Spending Plan Pt. 1
Creating a Spending Plan Pt. 2
Becoming Debt Free
Previously Released:
5 Foundations of Financial Freedom [download pdf guide]
Let me know if you find any of this information helpful.
Financial Freedom Pt 1
Rick Warren, the Pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, has released a series of video trainings to help people with personal finances. I’m going to release them 1 by 1 over the next few weeks. I want something FOR you and that thing is financial freedom. Why? Because financial freedom means you’re not a slave to the lender, but you’re in control of your finances. Dave Ramsey, a financial freedom guru, says it like this, “You need to live like nobody else now, so that you can live like nobody else later.” Meaning, be disciplined and don’t fall into the same traps most Americans fall into with debt, and that way you’ll have all the money you need to live and enjoy life later.
Here’s the first of the 6 webinars.
5 Foundations of Financial Freedom [5 Foundations PDF]
Coming up:
Live Your Life for Half the Price Pt. 1
Live Your Life for Half the Price Pt. 2
Creating a Spending Plan Pt. 1
Creating a Spending Plan Pt. 2
Becoming Debt Free
Let me know if you find any of this information helpful.
Why I Give Online to New Vintage Church
No only am I the pastor of New Vintage Church, I’m also a financially contributing member. I give at least 10% of my pre-tax income to NVC, and I wanted to share some of the reasons why.
First, I believe in the mission of this church. I’m proud to be a part of a church that cares about reaching people far from God. I’m proud to be a part of a place where the mission is to reach people for Christ and help them follow one day at a time. Every time I hear a story about a family put back together or a teenager who decides to follow Christ or a man who finally gets back in church, I know that my contributions played a small part in that. People’s lives are being changed and this church is a part of that. Jesus said that our treasure would follow our heart, so because my heart is with this church, I want to financially support it.
Secondly, I want to be an example to my children. I’m so tired of hearing people complain about the younger generation…they are just following our example! I don’t want selfish children, caring only about their iPods, clothes, cars, and friends. I want my kids to care about other people. That’s not gonna happen by accident…I have to be intentional about modeling that. I cannot tell them to care about others and then spend 100% of my paycheck on our own needs and wants. Parents, we’ve got to be responsible for teaching our kids to be generous, and we can’t do that if we are not generous ourselves.
Thirdly, I give because God commands me to give. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to tithe, and obedience wasn’t an option. In the New Testament, Jesus talks a lot about giving and money. Paul writes about money. He tells Christians this: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Every month, we automatically give to our church because that honors God. We want to honor God, even when it’s difficult, even when things are tight. There have been times that we’ve gone without something, but we never cancel the contribution to the church. I’d rob the mortgage company before I robbed God.
I do all of this online. I set up a profile on our website and chose to make my monthly contribution automatic. It’s convenient, and it keeps me from forgetting to do what’s really important to me.
I want to encourage you to automate the important by setting up your online giving profile. Go to newvintage.org/give and start today.
#likeNVC Campaign
Last week we rolled out the start of our #likeNVC campaign. Our goal is to get to 1,250 “likes” on Facebook. We’re getting ready to do a big push to get people to “like” us on Facebook. We’re currently at 1,019 people. Let’s try to get to 1,050 this week. Please tweet and Facebook these things again!
We blew past the 1,000 mark last week!
1,000 Facebook Users – $10 iTunes Giftcard - WINNER Andrea Lemus
1,050 Facebook Users – $10 iTunes Giftcard
1,100 Facebook Users – $10 iTunes Giftcard
1,200 Facebook Users – $25 iTunes Giftcard
1,250 Facebok Users – AppleTV
So, here’s how you help us. Tweet and Facebook about our competition over the next couple of weeks. Use hashtag #likeNVC
Here’s a sample tweet:
Help us reach 1250 “likes” on Facebook and be entered into several drawings for iTunes gift cards or an AppleTV! #likeNVC http://ow.ly/awnzO
Easter Week at New Vintage
HEY New Vintage, THREE things I would love to share with you today…
#1 – This past Sunday we wrapped up our “Text” series. We sold (and gave away) 73 peoples over the course of the three weeks of this series. People have really taken the challenge to read the Bible. We gave two reading plans and the third week we pointed you towards some reading plans found in the Starting Point Bibles. If you don’t have a bible and need one, we still have some and they’re only $8. You can buy one at the kiosk this Sunday!
#2 – EASTER SERVICES are this Friday (Good Friday: Night of Worship) and Sunday (8:30, 10, and 11:30am). I’m asking everyone in our church to help us IMPACT Sonoma County (and the world) by doing four things…
- PRAY – I don’t say that because it’s the churchy/Christian thing to say…but rather because without the power and presence of God in our weekend services we are simply screwed when it comes to accomplishing anything of eternal significance (see John 15:5-8!) Let’s BEG GOD all week long to give people ears to HEAR the Gospel…and the willingness to respond!!! (Also…check out Luke 18:1-8!)
- INVITE – Let’s go ALL OUT, doing EVERYTHING possible to get people to church this week! Don’t just ask them to come…BRING THEM!!! (I’m asking EVERYONE in our church to take about a minute to read Luke 14:15-23 & ask God who you need to bring!!!) ALL OF US have friends and family members that are FAR FROM GOD…let’s not give up on them because God didn’t give up on us!!!
- FACEBOOK – In case you haven’t had a chance to do it yet…go to our Facebook Easter event page (right here) and RSVP, comment and share the “Easter” event…we have the potential to impact thousands of people through this process!
#3 – The week after Easter (April 15) we are beginning a brand new series entitled, “The New Rules for Love, Sex & Dating.” It’s no accident that we’re doing something that is invite friendly right after Easter. Here’s the information about this upcoming series:
Are you who the person you are looking for is looking for?
Single?
Looking for the “right person”?
Thinking that if you met the “right person” everything would turn out “right”?
Think again.In The New Rules For Love, Sex & Dating, we explore the challenges, assumptions, and land mines associated with dating in the twenty-first century. Best of all, we will tackle the most practical and uncensored advice you will ever hear on this topic.
Not for the faint of heart, The New Rules for Love, Sex & Dating challenges single Christ followers to step up and set a new standard for this generation!
If you don’t want a marriage like the majority of marriages, then stop dating like the majority of daters!
This series has an R rating and may not be suitable for all-ages.
Children’s Ministry will be open to take your kids and if you are concerned about your teenager hearing this content, they can serve with our children’s ministry environments.
That’s it for today…I LOVE MY CHURCH!!! I can’t wait to see what happens his week in our Easter services!!! – Andy
Leadership Talk from Catalyst by Andy Stanley
These are the notes taken by Tony Morgan from a session by Andy Stanley.
What if we stepped into all God created us to be?
- “Often times a single act of courage, is the tipping point for something extraordinary.”
- “You’re not a king and you never will be.” (sarcasm…one of the reasons Andy Stanley is a hero.)
- “Have the courage to stay, when it would be easier to go.”
- paraphrase: Circumstances may tell you to go. God may be saying to stay.
- Andy told the story of how his dad overcame a horrible ministry situation and decided to stay.
- “It would just be easier to go.”
- “Have the courage to leave, when it would be easier to stay.”
- Andy shared how he left his dad’s church. At the first baptism of North Point Church, Andy’s wife asked, “What if we had not left?”
- “Have the courage to ask for help, when it would be easier to pretend that everything’s okay.”
- “Secrets are dangerous.”
- “Whatever it is you fear, you are compensating for it in your leadership.”
- “What we ought to fear every day, is waking up somewhere and realizing we our outside of God’s will for our lives.”
- “God, am I where you want me to be?”
- “When this is behind you, what story do you want to tell?”
Work Day
The Campus Work Day is cancelled that was scheduled for this Saturday. It’s going to be pouring… so instead, pour into your friends and family and prep them for an Easter invite.
If you are interested in helping around the campus next week, please emailmichele@newvintage.org
