Evaluation Process to Enrich Ministries in Chicago Classis An in-depth assessment of church health has given Chicago Classis the facts it needs to effectively support local churches. "We heard stories about church struggles, challenges, and celebrations but didn't have a clear picture of what was happening in the life of each church," says Rich Schuler, Chicago Classis coordinator and chair of the classis church care committee. "Our committee has a purpose statement that reads, 'To support each church in its mission to proclaim Jesus Christ faithfully in its community and around the world.' This is an awesome task because each church is unique in its ministry." To learn more about classis churches so it could better support them, the committee formulated a questionnaire to evaluate the health of each church. The questionnaire included questions about the congregations' spiritual journeys, outreach, attendance, finances, and demographics. Across: Fanning the Flames of Hope in Sudan"If we don't build the nation of Sudan on a spiritual foundation, we will fail," says RCA missionary Greg De Haan. He is hopeful that such a foundation can yet be built. De Haan has served in ministry in Southern Sudan since 2003. He spoke recently with a group of RCA pastors who are in Kenya to experience mission firsthand. They met for several hours with De Haan to learn more about Across, the RCA mission partner organization he serves. They learned that although De Haan is concerned by signs that the fragile peace in Sudan may collapse, he is determined to focus on ways to restore hope for the future for the people who live in Southern Sudan. RCACGF Empowers Churches through Loans The RCA Church Growth Fund (RCACGF) has been loaning money to churches since 1861 to help them remodel or construct new buildings. Here, some recent loan recipients comment on how a CGF loan made a difference for their church: "[Our new building] has enabled us to focus on the various ministries we have for the children on up, and have room to place them and feel good about where the people are doing ministry." --Harry de Bruyn, Christ Community Church, Lemont, Illinois "[The loan] gave us the opportunity to really arrange the floor plan to meet our needs and have that as a ministry tool in the community." --Russ Siders, Sunrise Community Church, Tulare, California "[Our church] is a real meeting place for the community. Most everything happens here. In lots of ways we're that community church." --William Morris, Clarksville Community Church, Clarksville, New York
Over the last 147 years, many other churches have been supported in ministry by a loan secured through the RCACGF for constructing or improving church facilities. Churches and individuals can support the work of the Church Growth Fund by giving monetary gifts or investing in investment notes. The RCACGF investment note program offers eligible investors (such as RCA members, contributors, or participants) the opportunity to participate in this work. The notes are securities and are not offered in certain states or in Canada. For more information on how you can partner with the RCACGF please contact Dick Welscott at (616) 698-7071.
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