Yesterday I remembered I had not brought peanut butter for our Food 4 Kids Peanut Butter Drive in partnership with Plano Mayor LaRosiliere the North Texas Food Bank. I also remembered I had not signed up to help park cars at the Plano Balloon Festival this weekend, even though I had requested last week that all our staff sign up to park cars. When it’s an opportunity to raise more then $20,000 for mission, it is worthy of all my staff to go shoulder to shoulder with our laity in a joint effort.
So this morning I came to the office with my peanut butter in hand and signed up for the Friday night shift to welcome neighbors, pass out information about our ministries, and help them park their cars. It was time for me to step up. Sometimes I just have to be reminded to do what I already want to do. I suspect you may be the same.
People stepping up is one of those “ministry indices” that I talked about last week in this column. As we move into the fall, I want to challenge you with several ways to step up to improve your spiritual health while empowering your church to improve the lives of others:
Step up: Go online at fumcplano.org/balloon, bring a family member or friend and be part of the fun for one shift welcoming hundreds to our campus this weekend.
Step up: Go online at fumcplano.org/give and catch up on your giving for the ministries that drive our church. Giving took a vacation over summer; it is time to get caught up.
Step up: Go online at fumcplano.org/adults and enroll in a class that is beckoning you.
Step up: North Texas Giving Day is tomorrow, September 20. Make FUMC Plano a worthy recipient of your grace. All you do is text the keyword FUMCPLANO and your giving amount to 73256 and follow the link to securely enter your credit card information. Once completed, your information is securely saved for future giving! Be sure to save this number on your phone under “FUMC Plano Giving” so the next time you want to make a donation, just open a text message and send your gift to that contact. .
Step up: Make worship and prayer a priority for your family. They learn by your leadership. Everyone will be more grounded, balanced, and blessed.
As of tomorrow, summer is past; it is time for us to refocus on the mission of Christ through our church.
The refocusing starts with you.
See you Sunday at the stepping up place,
Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor