2018 End-of-Year Giving Update

Dear Members and Friends,

The holiday season is now upon us. Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas only six short weeks away. That also means that we are rapidly closing in on the end of another fruitful year of ministry. In many ways, 2018 has been especially rewarding.

For example, this year Redeemer successfully launched Trinity Grace Church, the fifth church plant in the San Antonio area, under the leadership of former Trinity RUF campus minister, Michael Novak and his wife, Rachel. Making this transition particularly rich was the privilege of sending out so many of Redeemer’s members and our beloved friends to contribute to this pioneering work in northwest San Antonio.

In addition, in April Redeemer celebrated the success of the Building for the Future capital campaign. Through their pledges and gifts more than 100 families and individuals contributed almost $4.2 million aimed at paying off Redeemer’s existing mortgages and renovating unused building space downstairs for our growing children’s ministries. To God be the glory! Given the success of this campaign, the downstairs renovations are almost complete and will be ready on December 2^nd. That’s a Sunday you won’t want to miss!

Another significant step occurred this past August. Redeemer’s Session established Shepherding Groups throughout the congregation, through which we hope the congregation feels more connected to its leaders and more effectively discipled. After only a few months, I’ve heard lots of positive feedback regarding this initiative. It seems these groups are already enhancing the level of care, community and prayerful oversight members at Redeemer receive.

Indeed, it’s hard to summarize this year’s significant milestones in a few paragraphs. And that’s not even close to the whole story. This summer Redeemer welcomed our new assistant pastor, Brad Tubbesing and his wonderful family. Many of us have faced significant hardships too—job losses, moves, unexpected diagnoses, deaths of loved ones and more. In such times though, we discover just how important is the Christian community and the support we provide for one another.

Whatever the case, whether we’re making strides or enduring troubles, we can be assured that Christ empowers this body of believers we call Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Your presence and participation make this self-evident, and for this I give thanks to God. I also want to personally thank each of you for your consistent generosity, sacrificial participation and joyful engagement. Especially in this year of transition, your involvement has never been more important to Redeemer’s ministry in San Antonio!

Turning to Redeemer’s end-of-year financial picture, it is critical that we all assume responsibility for our remaining financial commitments to reach our ministry goals. The good news is that despite heavy transition in Redeemer’s membership, the church has still received in tithes and offerings $1,436,628, which is about 3% ahead of last year’s giving. This is truly encouraging!

Even so, a significant gap must be addressed if Redeemer is going to accomplish all its targeted objectives. At this time the Session anticipates needing an additional $600,000. To encourage you, this is only slightly larger than the $589,000 Redeemer received during the same period last year and is proportionally typical for our end-of-year giving patterns. So again, please sacrificially and prayerfully consider what your year-end giving will be to ensure Redeemer fulfills all its ministry goals.

Again, thank you for your faithful participation. Though it can be hard to believe that Redeemer is now in its 16^th year of ministry, we know that by God’s grace and all for his glory our ministry to San Antonio has only just begun!

For Christ our Redeemer,

The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Gibbs

Senior Pastor

• To find our more about Redeemer's 2018 budget and approach to giving, please click here.
• If you would like to make your gift online, click here.