What a year 2025 has been! We just completed our expanded Feed My Starving Children packing event where we assembled 469,000 meals and raised the full $148,000 needed to accomplish this major undertaking. We expanded to two sites and had over 2,000 participants. The best number is that over 1,400 children will be fed for a year! Thank you for your generosity in giving and willingness to serve for such a tremendous ministry.
You may remember we began 2025 with a church-wide small group launch, entitled Rooted. It was a powerful 10-week experience where we connected Sunday morning messages with curriculum for our small groups. It focused our attention on growing a deeper connection with Christ, the church, and our purpose for life. We had several new groups formed with several continuing to meet throughout the year. It was a spiritually enriching experience for all who participated.
We announced at the beginning of the year that we would need to re-mortgage our Main Campus loan. We invited the congregation to reduce the principal to help mitigate increased interest rates. By the grace of God and the generosity of many who gave faithfully and sacrificially, we were able to fully retire the $885,000 principal by the July deadline. We held a note-burning celebration and catered meal on Sunday, September 7 with nearly 300 people in attendance. The decision was made to appropriate the amount that we would have applied to a monthly mortgage payment, ($10,000), and pay ourselves to grow the Future Expansion Fund until we have contributed at least $300,000.
We participated this year in a Succession Planning Cohort through the Welborn Foundation’s invitation. Through this 6-month process we have developed an Emergency Succession Plan and a Pastoral and Staff Succession Plan. There are still many details to be completed for each, but it is good to have a direction for developing a positive succession culture here at Blue Grass.
As you recently heard, we will be launching a new discipleship opportunity in 2026 called The Fellowship. It will occur on 8 Sunday evenings from January to April from 5-6:30 pm. It will target those who are not currently in a small group but who desire to be more connected with Christ and others. We see this as a great opportunity to increase our disciple-making efforts with a simple meal, video teaching, and discussion. If you are not currently in a small group or Bible Study (or even if you are and want to participate,) we encourage you to sign up on our 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response.
There are many areas of ministry at Blue Grass where you can plug in to serve. Please take a moment to prayerfully consider how God has equipped you and wants to use you for the church’s mission to be fulfilled. Please see the list on the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response.
After this extraordinary year of raising over a million dollars in above and beyond general budget giving, we know you are a congregation of tremendous generosity! As we consider our ministry needs for 2026, we ask you would prayerfully make a commitment of your offerings to the Lord through the General Ministry Budget. This provides the necessary resources for us to accomplish all that we do as a congregation on a day to day, week to week basis.
So, please consider how you can generously and regularly support the ongoing work of Blue Grass in the coming year. Please mark your commitment on the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response and sign-up or make your changes for electronic giving HERE.
We ask that you would complete the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response by Sunday, December 21.
We are so grateful to God for a tremendous year of generosity and look forward to a rich year of spiritual growth ahead at Blue Grass.
Blessings and Love,
Pastor Doug
You may remember we began 2025 with a church-wide small group launch, entitled Rooted. It was a powerful 10-week experience where we connected Sunday morning messages with curriculum for our small groups. It focused our attention on growing a deeper connection with Christ, the church, and our purpose for life. We had several new groups formed with several continuing to meet throughout the year. It was a spiritually enriching experience for all who participated.
We announced at the beginning of the year that we would need to re-mortgage our Main Campus loan. We invited the congregation to reduce the principal to help mitigate increased interest rates. By the grace of God and the generosity of many who gave faithfully and sacrificially, we were able to fully retire the $885,000 principal by the July deadline. We held a note-burning celebration and catered meal on Sunday, September 7 with nearly 300 people in attendance. The decision was made to appropriate the amount that we would have applied to a monthly mortgage payment, ($10,000), and pay ourselves to grow the Future Expansion Fund until we have contributed at least $300,000.
We participated this year in a Succession Planning Cohort through the Welborn Foundation’s invitation. Through this 6-month process we have developed an Emergency Succession Plan and a Pastoral and Staff Succession Plan. There are still many details to be completed for each, but it is good to have a direction for developing a positive succession culture here at Blue Grass.
As you recently heard, we will be launching a new discipleship opportunity in 2026 called The Fellowship. It will occur on 8 Sunday evenings from January to April from 5-6:30 pm. It will target those who are not currently in a small group but who desire to be more connected with Christ and others. We see this as a great opportunity to increase our disciple-making efforts with a simple meal, video teaching, and discussion. If you are not currently in a small group or Bible Study (or even if you are and want to participate,) we encourage you to sign up on our 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response.
There are many areas of ministry at Blue Grass where you can plug in to serve. Please take a moment to prayerfully consider how God has equipped you and wants to use you for the church’s mission to be fulfilled. Please see the list on the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response.
After this extraordinary year of raising over a million dollars in above and beyond general budget giving, we know you are a congregation of tremendous generosity! As we consider our ministry needs for 2026, we ask you would prayerfully make a commitment of your offerings to the Lord through the General Ministry Budget. This provides the necessary resources for us to accomplish all that we do as a congregation on a day to day, week to week basis.
So, please consider how you can generously and regularly support the ongoing work of Blue Grass in the coming year. Please mark your commitment on the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response and sign-up or make your changes for electronic giving HERE.
We ask that you would complete the 2026 Devotion to Christ Commitment Response by Sunday, December 21.
We are so grateful to God for a tremendous year of generosity and look forward to a rich year of spiritual growth ahead at Blue Grass.
Blessings and Love,
Pastor Doug
Posted in News And Events