Mustard Seed Stewardship Life Campaign

As our congregation undertakes a stewardship life campaign, questions are bound to arise.  Here are some questions that we've been thinking about and that may be on your mind as well. 

1.  What is the Mustard Seed Stewardship Life Campaign?

The Mustard Seed Stewardship Life Campaign is a congregational effort to raise $500,000 for a building expansion that will equip our church for vital ministry over the next decade and more. 

2.  Why is the success of the Stewardship Life Campaign so urgent and important?

St. Paul United Church of Christ is not just one of the oldest congregations in the Downriver and Dearborn communities.  It is also one of our area's leading congregations when it comes to ministry.  Our church is known for everything from great fish suppers and a wonderful Christian education ministry for kids to our congregation's founding role in the ChristNet Emergency Shelter and the Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry, both providing emergency help to men, women, and children.  At a time when so many religious groups are acquiring a reputation for extremism, our church continues to preach a gospel of love, hope, and joy. Emphasizing serious conversation and dialogue on faith matters, rather than rigid rules and dogmatic belief, our shared ministry respects the spiritual gifts of men and women equally. Everyone is encouraged to bring head and heart to the worship of Jesus Christ and the daily practice of faith.  This is all part of our special faith witness.  We need to update and enlarge our present fifty year-old building so that we can offer a wider range of programs and ministries for people of all ages and better share the positive word of Christ in troubled times. 

3.  Why is it called a "Stewardship Life" Campaign?

Although the goal of our campaign is to fund a church expansion, this campaign is not just about raising money.  Instead, it is more broadly and deeply about encouraging faithful stewardship within our congregation as a way of life in which we both affirm that all blessings come from God and make God's purposes a personal priority in terms of our own time, talent, and treasure. Our stewardship life campaign has a basic premise:  If the members of our congregation truly recognize God as Lord of our lives and are committed to serving God with gladness as faithful stewards, then we will find in our midst all the financial resources we need to move our church and its ministry forward with an expansion of our facilities. 

4.  What kind of building expansion will the Stewardship Life Campaign help fund?

Current "first phase" plans call for a major addition to our existing church building, which would include a room adjoining our narthex and sanctuary for families with young children with an accessible lavatory for all; sanctuary air conditioning; an expanded pantry for kitchen storage that will assist us in hosting major church suppers; and, possibly, the creation of an upstairs floor above our present Fellowship Hall that could be developed for additional classroom space-much needed for Christian education for children, youth, and adults. The planned additions would minimize disruption in the use of our present building.  It will also poise our congregation to further redevelop existing building space in subsequent phases.  With additional space, our congregation will be able to develop special ministries for people of all ages that we cannot currently offer.