“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 

These are the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples; they contain a promise and a calling. The promise is that the Holy Spirit will give us power for the calling. The calling is to share the good news about Jesus at home, in our community, and with the world.

Every October we focus a lot of energy on the third part of the calling: the world. We bring in missionaries from around the world. We make Faith Promises—pledges of financial support for the coming year. Praise God that our faithful giving has enabled us to add new missionaries, and increase support to our existing missionaries almost every year. 2026 was no exception: we increased our support for five missionaries and added three more.

Together, we all pledged to give about $75,000 to missions in 2026. So far, we’ve given over $60,000! Now here’s something I love about our church. According to some, we should be happy to receive only few thousand more, because on average churches only give about 85% of what they pledge. But that’s not our church! We out give our pledges. I’m confident that together we’ll be able to give more than $75,000 to missions this year.

Normally, this would be the end of the letter (and you’d be happy). But God reminded me that our missions giving is only a third, or maybe half of our calling. We’re doing a good job supporting the work to reach the world, but what about our community? What about our home? How will we reach them?

So we’re adding something to our commitment cards this year, because we want to answer every part of God’s calling. This year’s commitment card will give you the opportunity to make two promises. One will be your promise, guided by faith in God’s provision, to support missions in 2027. The second promise, guided by trust in the support of the Holy Spirit, will be about sharing the good news about Jesus.

How will you share Jesus in your home and community in 2027? How will you be a living, breathing, speaking witness for Jesus at work and among your neighbors? What will you do to help your children know and follow Jesus? Whom will you invite to a church event or Sunday service—or into your home for coffee or a meal?

Jesus made us a promise and gave us a calling. He promised that the Holy Spirit will empower us as we answer His call to reach our homes, our community, and our world. Let’s rise up to the calling of our Lord and Savior, King Jesus.

Please take time to pray about the above commitment card. Let faith in God’s provision, and trust in the Holy Spirit’s power, guide you as you make these two promises for 2027. Then, bring your commitment to church with you on October 25th. At the end of service that day we’ll all turn in our commitments and pray over them together.

I can’t wait to see what God will do!

In Christ,

Pastor Anders