About
The purpose of Wooddale Church is to honor God by making more disciples for Jesus Christ.
Generosity! is a twofold initiative at Wooddale Church.
First, Generosity! is about encouraging people to be generous in their lifestyles. We will explore the biblical basis of generosity, ways Wooddalers are currently generous, and practical ways we can learn to be generous with our lifestyles. Generosity! is about learning to live and give generously – from the way we treat people, to how we tip servers, how we use our abilities, what we do with our time and what we do with the finances God has given us. Throughout the next three years we will explore together various ideas for Wooddalers to engage in generosity as a lifestyle.
Second, the ministry campaign portion of Generosity! is an invitation to Wooddalers to give to Wooddale’s Ministry Fund in such a way as to fulfill our current ministry commitments and also to seize new opportunities that God has and will bring our way. Wooddalers generously provided more than $5 million to the prior ministry campaign, Expanding the Vision. We will be encouraged to be generous in our giving through Generosity! to make it possible to underwrite all God is calling Wooddale to do in the coming years.
How have you observed Wooddalers being generous? How do you and your family engage in generosity? What would our lives, Wooddale Church and our community look like if we gave of ourselves and our possessions selflessly? Are you ready and willing to begin the journey of discovering a lifestyle of generosity? There will be many opportunities in the coming months to hear about Generosity! and to practically engage in some form of generosity.
What is Generosity!?
Generosity! is an initiative to encourage Wooddalers to live and give generously. We will be encouraged to learn how to be generous with our lifestyles. We will be invited to share our time, talents and finances through Generosity! The challenge: Learn to live and give generously to propel Wooddale Church into strong and effective ministry for the future.
Why is Generosity! taking place now?
We have new challenges and new opportunities from God. Expanding the Vision (ETV) was a church-wide adventure to enhance and expand the vision and ministry of Wooddale Church during 2007-2010. Approximately 50 projects were initiated! ETV has now come to a conclusion.
What is the difference between Generosity! and Expanding the Vision?
ETV enabled us to both begin and expand some ministry areas. Generosity! will allow us to implement new ideas through volunteerism, meet our current financial needs, continue special new ministries that began through ETV (for example, apprentice program to develop future ministry leaders) and expand our finances to help people in need.
Who does Generosity! impact?
All Wooddalers and those to whom we minister. As we are challenged to examine our lifestyles, we will be inspired to live out our daily lives generously with our families, friends, coworkers and neighbors. Imagine a community where all needs are met because we responded generously.
What has happened so far with Generosity!?
A group of Wooddalers representing Wooddale’s different ministry areas has been brainstorming throughout the summer on ways to help people learn to make generosity part of their lifestyles. Six other groups of Wooddalers have been exploring innovative ideas to enhance and expand ministry in the areas of campus welcome and impact, missions, developing future ministry leaders, Edina campus, young adults and technology. The Generosity! Fair on September 26, 2010 highlighted opportunities to engage in generosity.
What is still to come with Generosity!?
In the upcoming months Wooddalers will participate in Generosity! in the worship services, Big Groups, Small Groups, student ministries, men’s and women’s ministries, and elsewhere throughout Wooddale.
Is Generosity! about money?
Yes and no. We can be generous in various ways. Generous in serving others. Generous in ministry participation. Generous in funding ongoing ministry. Generous in prayer. Generous in outreach. Generous in lifestyle.
We will also be invited to share financially in Generosity! The plan is to combine the exciting success of our 2007-2010 Expanding the Vision ministry campaign with our Wooddale Church Ministry Fund to underwrite God’s call for our church family for 2010-2013.
Our prayer is that you will join with other Wooddalers in a commitment to generous giving over the coming 36 months so that we can avoid further cuts, meet financial needs, continue special new ministries and expand our finances to help people in need.
What will your involvement be in Generosity!?
E-mail us at generosity@wooddale.org with additional questions.