UPDATE 25 - Pledge Sunday
Hey everyone!
During our worship service this coming Sunday, we will be receiving pledges for Project Sanctuary Renewed.
We will receive the pledges during our usual offering time, which comes after communion during our final song. During that part of the service, you will be invited to come forward to drop your pledge card in an offering basket that is at the front of the sanctuary. We will have extra pledge cards, envelopes, and pens available. After we have finished the song and the pledge cards have been placed in the basket, I will lead us in prayer and offer our pledges to the Lord.
If you will not be able to worship with us on Sunday, know that we will be receiving pledge cards through the end of the year. You could drop them in the offering basket on a future Sunday, mail them to us (PO Box 29495, Philadelphia, PA 19125), or you can email me (swood@liberti.org) directly.
Whether you pledge this coming Sunday or later, expect an email from me to confirm your pledge.
And by way of reminder, here are the options for pledging on the card:
Make a first time pledge. If you were not able to make a pledge when we launched Project Sanctuary in the Spring of 2024, you could pledge for the first time now. I would suggest using the pledge guidance chart on the right side of the page as you think about how much to pledge. Note that the chart assumes that your pledged giving will go from January 2026 through March 2028. You will want to indicate how much you will give monthly on the second line under “I/We commit to pledging.”
Give a one-time end-of-year gift. This one is more straightforward! If God is leading you to make a gift before the end of the year, check this box. And note how much your gift will be on the first line under “I/We commit to pledging.” If you pledged in March of 2024, any gift you give here can be counted toward your original pledge.
Extend my current pledge through March 2028. This option is especially for families who made a pledge in March 2024 and have been giving monthly. Check this box if you want to extend your original pledge from three years to four years. I will assume you are going to give at the same rate. For example, if you originally pledged to give $7,200 (which works out to $200/mo over 3 yrs) and select this option, then you would be upping your pledge to $9,600 (continuing the $200/mo over the fourth year). I will confirm this amount with you via email.
Recommit to my original giving. If you are not going to be able to give or pledge anything more than your original pledge, then I would encourage you to select this option. By checking this box, you are saying that you are standing firm with your commitment. As I have said at our Sunday services, this is not the “I’m lame” option. We need folks to give all that they pledged, and your family spiritually recommitting to your original pledge will help get us into that building!
Commit to pray daily in 2026. If you check this box, then you are committing to pray for at least one minute every day in 2026 for Liberti’s future ministry on Lehigh Ave. You should treat this commitment as seriously as you would a financial commitment. Do not check this box if you expect you will skip days or weeks in prayer.
You can select multiple options if God so leads. I know this is a tangle of options, but it’s for good reason: I want there to be multiple avenues for people to join us in this initiative. Know that I will confirm with you what your commitment is via email so we can all be on the same page.
I encourage you to pray.
Pray for God to guide your own spirit on how he would have you participate. When contributions are being made for the tabernacle in Exodus 35, we see men and women come forward to make freewill offerings for the future sanctuary, each as their “heart moved them.” How is God moving your heart? Ask him. (And click here if you want to listen to my sermon on Exodus 35 from last year).
Pray that God would help us hit our goals for this initiative. He has brought us far already! We have received $135k towards our $175k for our end-of-year gifts; we have received $160k in pledges out of our $320k goal; and we have 10 out of the 26 people we want to pray daily in 2026. Pray God gets us there!
We hope to announce the final results of Project Sanctuary Renewed by mid-January.
In other news, things keep humming at the new building. Our GC’s team has started building footers for the new foundation in the holes on the first floor. And they have started removing portions of the second floor.
Thank you all for reading this update! God bless you.
-Stephen Wood