This Week’s Word
God’s faithfulness continues to amaze me. We truly have so much to be thankful for!

In our SOAP reading plan – a 3 year journey through the Bible – we have been reading in Deuteronomy this week. This verse stuck out to me as I have continually been reminded this year of the faithfulness of God: 
In our current series through the Gospel of John, we are focusing on God has our Provider. It is truly God’s faithfulness that propels His provision for us. Take a few minutes today to thank God for His faithful provision for you.

Prayer for Conflict with Iran
Another global conflict has erupted. With each situation, we are tempted to turn to fear and doubt. I encourage you to seek God’s peace for the world through prayer. Cast your anxieties and frustrations upon Him. Our hope is not found in government or military force, but in the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to pray this prayer:
Highlights from February

• Ash Wednesday was well received – and well attended given the snowstorm!
• FULLNESS Worship Night. This was the most powerful time of worship I have ever experienced at Freshwater. Pastor Ari did a wonderful job preparing the team and leading by the Spirit. God showed up in a powerful way.
• Blue Freshwater Bibles – Since launching these in late July, we have given out 414 bibles! Clearly there is a thirst for God’s Word.
• Kenya Mission Trip
  • In late February, I left with our mission team to visit our partner church in Kenya, Deliverance Church. We financially support the school by funding the teachers salaries and feeding program. We have funded several building projects since 2019, including the new boys dormitory this year. There are 100 kids in the school and 43 that live there full time.
  • It was humbling to witness the amazing work God is doing there through Pastor Isaac and Lucy’s dedication. We did a free medical clinic, several revival nights, baptisms, children’s day, and food distribution. God was on the move through it all, and our team was deeply impacted by the time there.

Upcoming Events I want you to attend:

• Prayer and Praise Night with other local churches on March 26, 7pm at Trinity Church. What a beautiful picture of unity and love in the body of Christ! Come with a humble attitude to praise God together with other believers and pray for our community as Easter Sunday approaches.
• Good Friday Experience – This is a family-friendly walk through experience. Pastor Anna is working with a great volunteer team to transform our campus during Holy Week into a powerful experience of the gospel message. This is a great event to invite your family and friends to. It takes about 15 minutes to walk through. Sign up for a time slot here: https://freshwaterchurch.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3493981
• Easter Sunday – This is a celebration of the single greatest event in history! Suffice to say, we go all out on the celebration! Come have fun with llamas, a baby animal petting zoo, photobooth, and an inspiring worship service focused on the good news of Jesus.
  • Service Times: 8a, 9a, 10a, 11a, 12p, 1p
  • *If you are able, please come to the 8a or 1p service to make room for others in the middle services.

Financial Update
This fiscal year we budgeted on 7% giving growth (consistent with past 3 year trend) with much of that growth going into early interest payments for the new building construction loan. Giving has been lower than projected, but thankfully the interest payments have not be consequential thus far. Giving was steady the first half of our fiscal year (July-Dec) and much has been given to the new building finishing initiative (3 Ways to Make It Home). Giving to our main ministry fund has been low the past two months.

• February Giving: $88,446 (projected: $110,538)
• FYTD Giving: $835,320 (projected: $968,011)
• FYTD Expenses: $862,391 (compared to a budget of $1,0366,77.95). Expenses are $174k under budget.

New Building Funding Update

• 3 Ways to Make it Home - Funding for New Building Finishes
  • All 12 rooms are sponsored. $76,412 received of $90,000 total committed in sponsorships.
  • $33,000 given for chairs, which means 331 chairs have been paid for! 720 total are needed.
  • $333,026 given to the Sanctuary goal of $600,000
• Sanctuary Goal
  • Because of delivery and install timelines, we had to move forward in ordering everything for the Sanctuary. We are rolling the remainder of the needed funds into our loan.
• Playground Goal = $70k
  • We are now moving to the next space to unlock and that is the playground! We need completed for our daycare to be there – and it will be a tremendous blessing for all the children of Freshwater to enjoy!
  • All donations to “Unlock the Space” fund will now go towards the playground goal.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions on the New Building

• How are we doing overall with the funding for the new building?
  • Great! The construction of the new facility is fully funded. We have had several unexpected additional costs, mostly from the county requiring we add the turn lanes and a fire suppression system. This required us to continue to raise funds for the finishes of the building (paint, décor, furniture, technology).
• What is the total cost of the new building? How are we funding this?
  • This is a $12m project, broken out in these areas:
    • Land: $700k
    • Design/Engineering/Land Prep: $500k
    • Building Construction: $9.5m
    • Finishes/Technology: $1.3m
  • How we are funding that:
    • $2.3m net profit from property sales
    • $3.7m in cash has been raised so far
    • $5-6m loan depending on continued fundraising
• When will it be completed?
  • Construction is scheduled to be done in early June.
  • First Sunday – early July or perhaps even late June.
• What parts are we helping with?
  • Landscaping, final cleaning, décor, moving in, and components of the technology build out.
• What will our service times be?
  • Great question. It depends on what our attendance is later this spring. We want to be at or below 80% capacity in our services, so we have room for growth. We will most likely have two Sunday services in the new building.
• Will all of the building be finished when we move in?
  • Most of it. That largely depends on what we are able to fund before we move in.
  • We will have additional landscaping to complete and small projects to finish around the building.
  • For our daycare to use the space, we need the kitchen to be useable as a prep kitchen. We have it designed as a full commercial kitchen and all the plumbing/electrical is installed for this. It will take an additional $150k to finish.