An Update from the Leadership Council
Dear GracePointe Community,
We are so incredibly excited about the future of GracePointe. When we set out to move back to Sunday mornings at Clementine last October, we had envisioned a time when our community would grow to the point of needing more than one service. If you were not able to be with us yesterday, then you may have heard that we are planning to move to two services starting September 8th. The fact is that this Summer, our community has grown exponentially, both during our Sunday morning services and through Care Groups. Our mission of providing a safe place for people to question, deconstruct, and reconstruct is being fulfilled with your help. In 2017, as we were transitioning from the Franklin campus to the shared space of Unity, we continually asked ourselves, "Where would we go if GracePointe did not exist?" We kept coming back to the answer that there isn't a place around Nashville like GracePointe, and that it has a critically important mission to fulfill. We are able to fulfill that mission only through your participation and generosity!
As we expand, there are some opportunities for you to help as we prepare for this transition. Specifically, there are two immediate ways for you to have an impact:
1. Volunteers: We cannot pull this off without everyone stepping up and volunteering in some way. We have been so grateful to our group of volunteers over the past ten months, but we cannot rightfully continue to rely on the same group as we expand. This Sunday, we will be sharing with you very specific details about the various areas of need (GracePointe Kids and Youth, Production, Music, Hospitality, and Operations). We promise that there is something for everyone! Please consider being a part of this great community via volunteering. By expanding to two services, you will be able to Serve One, Attend One.
2. Finances: It goes without saying that GracePointe has expenses and needs that are only fulfilled by your generosity. We believe that each and every one of you values GracePointe's existence and mission. We are so appreciative of each and every one of our staff members who, currently, are only paid as part-time staffers. With an increase in rent forthcoming, as well as an increase in work by our staff and other weekly needs that will increase with the addition of a second service, we want to be faithful to the needs of the GracePointe community. Specifically:
our current weekly budget need is $6,000;
between April and July, we have averaged roughly $5,000 in weekly giving;
to cover our increase in monthly rent at Clementine and to permit us to eventually move our staff to full-time paid positions, we will need to increase our weekly giving to around $8,000 per week.
You can provide the necessary financial support here, and the easiest way is to set up a recurring donation. If you already have a recurring payment set up, please consider adjusting it as we enter our growth phase this Fall.
We firmly believe that this is achievable as we continue to grow and sincerely hope that each and every one of you will join us starting this week. No amount of giving is too small, and we know that if we band together as a community, we can pull this off and achieve great things for Nashville and beyond!
Thank you for being such an important part of our community. We are eager to continue to show our impact to the community and across the world as we spread a message of inclusion, love, and affirmation.
With excitement and gratitude,
Your GracePointe Leadership Council
Jason Turner, Jennifer Floyd, Kathi Gilleland, Jeff Clark, Jeff Barton, Sandy LaFave, and Joel Griese