Above and Beyond: answering FAQ's for our year-end giving campaign

The past few weeks we've been speaking about our year-end Above and Beyond giving campaign which is aimed to position us well for the next decade of gospel fruitfulness. We recorded a video to celebrate God's goodness and thank you for how your financial partnership in the gospel has enabled us to bear remarkable gospel fruit over the past decade.  I also explain the three different categories for the campaign at the end of the video. You can watch it here. Thank you so much to those of you who have already given generously towards Above and Beyond. So far you've given $35,000, which means we are almost 20% of the way to reaching our goal of $200,000. Every dollar counts and we are grateful but we are trusting God for every member of Southlands to take part in this act of generosity.

There have been some good questions asked which are not answered in the video, and to save time with tedious explanations on a Sunday, I thought I would try and answer some FAQ's here.

Question 1: Are we doing this campaign because we have not met budget for the year?
Answer 1: No. We are fairly close to meeting our budget this year and expect that our members' normal year-end tithing will take us to meeting budget. However, we are tighter than we have been in the past few years, all of which have ended with a significant budget surplus. Part of the tighter budget is the result of sending Southlands Fullerton as Mercy Commons with a generous starting gift. We are glad to have done this, but it does mean that there is less money to spend on new and necessary initiatives. In light of this, if you are going to choose how to start giving, please simply begin with regular tithing rather than a one-off gift which is how we are able to continue our mission.

Question 2: How is the money going to be split up between the three different categories?
Answer 2: In some way it depends on how much comes in. If we meet our target the split is likely to be 60% to hosting the city, 20% to Reaching the Next Generation, and 20% to Replenishing the Jubilee Fund. But our priority is to get our building access-friendly for the elderly and for our growing special-needs community. An elevator alone could cost more than $150,000 unless we are able to qualify for a grant. While we are willing to dip into savings to complete this as a priority, we are asking you to partner with us to make our facility accessible to everyone.

Question 3: What if I want money to go specifically towards something like a playground for children which is under the hosting the city category?
Answer 3: It will be difficult to administrate everybody's specific requests for each item under the each category, but we are happy to accommodate your desires by designating your giving towards your preferred category.

 There is a specific Above and Beyond specification in the giving menu at www.southlands.net or text to give at 30131.Once again, Southlands Brea, thank you for giving yourself first to the Lord and then to us in this grace of giving.