2025 Stewardship Pledge Drive

Dear First Lutheran Congregation,

Together as One - Called by the Holy Spirit

This letter is intended to help you prepare for Stewardship Weekend, November 9th & 10th, when you can make known your intended offering for 2025.

Thank you for being part of First Lutheran Church and for your continued generous support of our congregation’s ministry. Congregations embracing a spirit of Church Becoming, learn to celebrate the gifts that are already present, realizing they are sufficient to be Christ’s Church here and now.  God’s abundance is trustworthy.  The spirit and faithfulness of such congregations reflect gratitude rather than anxiety and worry.

Asking for money is hard, but for the sake of our shared mission, we are emboldened to request you consider increasing your giving in 2025. The enclosed commitment card includes a table that shows average weekly giving by number of households.

Your offerings this year have significantly helped enhance the mission of First Lutheran. These are a few of the activities your generous giving has contributed to;

• weekly and festive worship services, 
• Christian education classes for all ages, 
• celebrating the volunteers who are so essential to our church,
• benevolence to the ELCA for Lutheran Disaster Response, World Hunger, Outdoor Ministries, Campus Ministries and more,
• outreach to our immediate neighbors and ministry partnerships, and
• the upkeep of our beautiful facilities.

We’re actively working to grow greater ministry opportunities for everyone’s interest and level of involvement and we’re developing lay and professional roles to serve our mission. These efforts will continue through 2025.

Next year our hope and intent is that total offerings will increase by $64,000 or more in response to interests expressed by our members during Congregational Conversations and Coffee with Council. As a result, we are planning to:

• offer new benevolence to local organization(s) that support our unhoused neighbors and continue our investigation about the future use of the Parish house, 
• increase our facilities reserves to be ready for expected (and unexpected) costs, 
• include a 3% increase to cover the cost of inflation.

Please pray about this request and ask the Holy Spirit how you’re being called to respond. Review the blessings God has given you. Imagine the strengthened ministry of our congregation, then give the offering you think best reflects your gratitude to God. Be assured that your offering - whatever amount you give - will be greatly appreciated.

Here are some simple steps for our 2025 Stewardship response. Please:

1. prayerfully consider increasing your offering,
2. locate your household on this table and consider whether you can move to another category,
3. complete your Estimate of Giving card,
4. present your Estimate of Giving during worship on Commitment Sunday, November 10th.

If you are unable to attend worship on Commitment Sunday you can also mail or bring your commitment card to the church office or submit it electronically via the new Church website at www.firstluth.org.

Our Congregation Council and Stewardship Committee are leading the effort and many have returned their 2025 Estimates of Giving to First Lutheran. Their leadership will help us reach our increased annual giving goal of $64,000.They all encourage you to join them in helping us reach our goal! 

The amount you give in your offering reflects your appreciation to God for all the blessings you have received. Thank you for being a good steward of the gifts God and the Holy Spirit have given you.

All giving records and your intention of giving remain confidential. Thank you for responding generously and joyfully to God’s love in Christ Jesus.

Sincerely in Christ,
Pastor Garrett Struessel, Council President Andrew Howell, and your Stewardship Committee - Mary Hall, Carla Henderson, John Oppenlander, and Milenda Powers