Stewardship Message May 7, 2023

By Nicole Dahmes

Today is a special day! Today we celebrate sandwiches, stewardship, and sundaes (the icecream kind). My name is Nicole Dahmes, and on behalf of the stewardship team, we want to thank you for your generosity. There is powerful and inspirational work being done here at Our Saviours because of you. As a small gesture of our appreciation, we are hosting hospitality after this service with Sundaes on Sunday! And there’s going to be sprinkles 🙂

And, as a member of Our Saviours, I also want to personally thank you for your generosity. My husband Ben & I have two children, Jackson is 7 and Addy is 2 1/2. As Christian parents, we believe teaching our children about God and raising them in a strong faith is very important. I see good things happen to my children all the time at Our Saviours, which ensures me that this is the perfect place for us.

About a month ago before church service, we happened to be driving into the parking lot the same time my son’s good buddy, also named Jackson, pulled into the parking lot with his family. We each had parked on opposite sides of the parking lot, with the bell tower & median between us. This particular morning, we had just gotten a fresh layer of snow. Well, Jackson M jumped out of his mom’s car, yelled out to my son “Jackson”, took off running towards us through the snow in his nice sunday shoes to give my Jackson a big hug. Both boys squeezed each other tight for a moment and then ran off into church together. I of course yelled out “Jackson, watch out for cars! Don’t get your shoes wet!” But as I stood there watching them bounce into church together, I recognized the excitement these two young boys had to see each other, to be here, and to worship together. I realized this is what a church home is all about.

I have also witnessed this excitement in our Kindergarten & 1st graders while helping teach Godly Play this year. The kids are happy to see their friends, love dropping coins into the offering can, and are excited to learn about Bible stories and faith lessons. We are teaching our youth about Jesus, about how to be generous, and about how to live a life in a way God teaches us to do. This is possible because of your gifts and generosity.

I even see the excitement for church & learning in my 2 ½ year old daughter. For our Christmas program in December, the youth learned the song Away in a Manger. We practiced the song and the actions at home a few times, and it quickly became Addy’s favorite song! Well, 5 months later, it is STILL her favorite song. She insists we sing Away in the Manger and do the actions every night before bed. She is also the one in our family that will shout “PRAY, PRAY” before each meal at home and folds her hands to remind us to pray before we eat. Everything we do and experience at Our Saviours impacts my children and I have you all to thank for that. Because of your giving, we are able to instill a solid foundation of faith in our children that will continue into their adult life.

When Ben & I first attended our saviors 12 years ago, we were drawn in with the uplifting music and impactful sermons. Over the years, we’ve also been given a place to continue to grow and learn in our own faith. We’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with other Christians and were offered a place to lean & get support during the hard moments in life. Because of your generosity, you have given us a Church home.

Today after the 2nd service, our youth (and anyone else who wants to join) will be participating in the sandwich project. 200 sandwiches will be assembled and delivered to people of need in Minneapolis. Not only will people be filled with delicious food, we are expressing our values as a family and teaching our kids that the things we have are meant to be shared. Because of your generosity, you have helped make our community a better place and continue to provide so many ministry opportunities in our church.

Your gifts matter. They matter to me, to my family, to the stewardship team, and to so many more. So let’s keep this going! In order to care for our staff and pay for the work that God is calling us to do, we need to grow our financial giving. As a congregation, we have committed to a greater mission this year and need to raise an additional $100,000 to meet our goals. Please consider increasing your weekly giving by 5-25 dollars per week or making a special gift of $500 or $5000. Thank you so much for helping us fund our ministry and bringing God’s kingdom into a reality.