Plum Creek Generosity Campaign
Vision Case Statement
Dear Plum Creek members and friends,
Let me start by saying, I love our church. Since coming to Plum Creek over twelve years ago, this church has become family. I know that’s true for many of you, as well.
I also love the fact that Plum Creek has a clear mission. I believe most everyone at our church can tell you that our mission is leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. We don’t exist for ourselves. We know that Jesus commanded the church to “go into the world and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19).
Over the years, God has done and continues to do amazing things in and through Plum Creek, but He’s not done yet. Several months ago, we chose a theme for 2024: “We Are the Church.” This theme is a reminder, a declaration, and a call to action. Here in 2024, Jesus calls Plum Creek to be the church he established—a dynamic, world-changing body of believers who bring God glory by making disciples and expanding His kingdom, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the book of Acts, the early Christians were devoted to the mission Jesus gave us. As we follow their example, we understand that pursuing our mission requires sacrifice. With that in mind, and with much prayer, the leaders of Plum Creek are considering a church-wide generosity campaign that will help us further God’s kingdom. This is an important moment in the life of our church. On the one hand, there are challenges ahead. At the same time, God is blessing Plum Creek in a powerful way.
God’s blessings
At Plum Creek, we talk a lot about our “one’s.” Just like the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to go find the “one” lost sheep, we pray that God will help us lead our “one’s” to Jesus.
Over the past year, and especially over the past few months, it’s been so encouraging to see many “one’s” find a life-changing relationship with Jesus. God has brought many new people to Plum Creek. In 2024, we’re averaging 516 people coming to worship services on Sunday morning. That’s up 63 from a year ago. That’s also the highest average since I’ve been here. Among these new people, many are making decisions to follow Christ. 32 people were baptized at Plum Creek in 2023. So far in 2024, we’ve already seen 40 baptisms in just eight months! We’re also having discussions with others who are ready to take that step. God is changing lives, and I am so excited to see Him working.
With new people coming to Plum Creek and coming to faith in Jesus, we have a responsibility. We need to help new disciples become disciple-makers. We need strong community, where followers of Jesus develop strong relationships with other believers who will encourage them and support them and challenge them. We have a record number of Life Groups this Fall. Our goal is to have a group for everyone, and everyone in a group. We’re not there yet, but we’re moving in that direction. We also need strong ministries, where people can serve and be part of God’s mission. At our Ministry Fair in May, over 100 people signed up to serve in some capacity. Our goal is for everyone at Plum Creek to serve in a ministry that lines up with their God-given “shape.” Again, we’re not there yet, but we’re moving in that direction! We need to be ready for our current and our future “one’s.”
Our challenge
Because of these needs, it’s important to address the challenges in front of us. Our debt is one of those challenges. Plum Creek moved into our current facility in September of 2006. Many faithful brothers and sisters sacrificed to help make this vision a reality, and we will always be grateful for their generosity.
Since that time, our church has made a lot of progress toward paying off our mortgage. When I first arrived at Plum Creek in October of 2011, the church had a debt of 2.9 million dollars. As of July of 2024, our current mortgage balance was just over $1.45 million. We praise God for that progress! At the same time, our debt still hinders the work we could do for God’s kingdom. Our attendance has recovered after Covid, but through the end of 2023, our giving still hadn’t caught up to where we were. Because of that, we made budget cuts in many of our ministries. We’ve been limited to four full-time ministers, while in 2019 we had five. Thankfully, giving has increased in 2024, and that’s been a great help. However, debt is still an obstacle. Reducing our debt would help us convert our mortgage into ministry, and 2024 is a strategic time to do that. Several weeks ago, we refinanced our mortgage. Our current interest rate is 6.95%. We’re paying just over $11,000 toward debt every month. Under the current terms and at the current pace, with many unpredictable variables, it could potentially take 20 years to pay off the mortgage. We have no intention of spending that much time and that much money on interest. Right now, our church has an amazing opportunity to step out on faith and see what God can do through our sacrificial generosity. We’ve set a goal to pay off this mortgage in four years.
What if…
What could happen if we paid off our mortgage? If we had an additional $11,000 per month, think of the possibilities. We could increase our ministry budgets to meet current and future needs. We could potentially hire a much-needed minister. We could also prepare for one of the greatest opportunities I’ve seen in my time at Plum Creek. Right next door, construction has already begun for the new Grant’s Lick Elementary School. Many families will be driving past and learning for the first time that we are here! We want to be ready to reach out and share the love of Christ with those families. Plum Creek has a history of partnering with our local schools. In fact, in May of this year, Plum Creek was selected as the “Partner of the Year” from Campbell County Schools. Many organizations were nominated for this award, so this was a great honor. With the new school coming soon, we’re currently having conversations about how we can be good neighbors and be a blessing to the children, parents, teachers, and staff of Grant’s Lick.
In addition to this opportunity, we’re also looking at other ways to expand our ministry and further our mission. Several years ago, we saw a need to expand our Kids Town space. That need will only increase as the school comes in and more and more families discover our church. Before Covid, we started working on plans for an addition to the building, but those plans were put on hold. Reducing our debt would allow us to move forward with this project sooner rather than later, which is especially important as construction costs continue to increase. Without the barrier of debt, we could also hire additional staff to keep up with our growth. We could expand our local outreach ministries. We could make a greater impact with our global mission partners. As we move Forward to Freedom, we’ll be able to do so much more for God’s kingdom.
Our goal
This is why we feel led to embark on a church-wide generosity campaign. Our goal is to pay off our mortgage by the Fall of 2028. 100% of the funds raised in this campaign will go toward debt reduction. But beyond this financial goal, this generosity campaign is about more than raising money. It’s about committing our God-given resources so they will continue to make an impact long after we’re gone. I believe we are in one of the most exciting and important seasons in the history of Plum Creek, and this campaign can play an important role in paving the way for what God will do here. Please pray that He will use our sacrifice for His glory, and that Plum Creek will spread the Gospel for years to come. Let’s be the church.
In Christ,
Doug