I spent a good part of my "Labor Day Weekend" at Epworth Forest - a place near and dear to my heart - because it was the place where I made some very personal and very significant discoveries about the grace of God and my own call to give my life to leadership in ministry.
Part of my time at Epworth Forest this weekend was spent with some of the dear saints who have gone before me and made it possible for me to come to this place as a young boy, a young camper and then as a young leader.
Epworth Forest started 85 years ago as a dream of some young leaders. So much has happened in this place of eternal significance. In 15 more years, the year I'm "expected" to retire, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Epworth Forest. Between now and then, we've got some work to do!
Specifically, we are now in the process of building the first new buildings at Epworth Forest in over 40 years. Having raised enough money to build completely with CASH, the first new lodge is under construction - and the opportunity for the second new lodge awaits the additional influx of $700,000. We have outstanding "pledges" for more than that amount, but the wise leadership of our conference and camping ministries has made the commitment to build without any new debt - in fact, we are even adding endowed maintenance funds to the cost of each building to be sure they can be properly maintained for years to come.
We have a great plan in place ... all we lack now are the additional funds to take the next step! (This should be easy ... it's only money!)
To be sure, we need more pledges to fulfill the dream, but we need more cash contributions right now to realize a potential savings of $200,000 on the cost of the second cabin. There are some "economies of scale" that will allow us to save a lot if we can come up with an additional $700,000 in cash in the next 60 days (early November, 2010). Of course if we exceed that amount, we can then begin planning for the third cabin!
After sharing my heart with folks this weekend - I was reminded that LEADERS GO FIRST!
I've written two checks already for this great project, but TODAY I'm writing another one! I'm convinced this is the RIGHT THING TO DO ... for THE RIGHT FUTURE!
I got to thinking ...
- What if there were 100 Pastors like me, whose lives were CHANGED at Epworth Forest would join me? Together we could give $100,000 in the next 60 days!
- What if there were 100 Lay Leaders, whose lives were CHANGED at Epworth Forest and they decided to "invest" in the next generation of young people who are like they were? We could come up with at least another $100,000 (for a total of $200,000) in the next 60 days!
- What if there were 50 Churches, whose ministries have been strengthened in partnership with Epworth Forest and they decided to give on average $10,000 more to this effort? We would have raised another $500,000 in cash in the next 60 days!
Some can give more ... some might give less ... but together we can make this dream a reality!
"There was a dream that was Epworth Forest!"
Some courageous people took some big steps of faith to make this place a reality - and now it is my turn. It is time for a new generation of leaders to step up and lead the way to the new future of this place.
Will you join me?
(For more information on this project - incluidng a live webcam to monitor construction progress - and even an option to "give online" to this project - go to: http://www.rightfuture.org/)
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