Ambleside Community,
You responded in a faithful way to our call in early March, and we are grateful. While the need is great, God is providing through gifts great and small.
In Exodus 25, God provides a place for His people to worship Him by calling the entire community to give. To set the scene, God's people have been wandering in the wilderness and they heard from God at Mt. Sinai, but God's desire is for His people to have a place to meet with Him, so He calls them to build the Tabernacle. It's a tall order — calling former slaves wandering in the desert to come together and make a place worthy of God's presence and worship.
God tells Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive the offering for Me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give." He goes on to list gifts great and small, from gold and silver to yarn to oil and spices to rams' skins. What is clear is that everyone - from those with plenty to those with little - has an opportunity to meaningfully contribute and that every gift matters.
During our video call in early March, we asked you to pray if God is calling you to give to the Campus Campaign. Since then:
- An elementary student who overheard the call went immediately to his piggy bank and gave $20 of savings
- A grandparent increased their gift by $500,000
- A widow gave $500
- An Ambleside dad connected us with a philanthropist acquaintance and set up a meeting for us to talk about the campaign
- And much, much more - we have raised an additional $1.9MM in the past 2.5 weeks and have $4MM more to go
This season is uncertain and difficult. We are being called to contribute to something bigger than any of us could accomplish ourselves. The anecdotes above should show you, like me, that God is at work in our midst and that every gift truly matters. Please keep reading for important progress updates and information as to what is next.
In Christ,
Andrew Hayes
