Dear Ascent Church Family,

We are experiencing an incredible time of spiritual growth and impact in the life of our church family – and we can see all around us the growth that our community is experiencing as well. Thousands of people are moving to our area as we speak. We have an unprecedented opportunity to make room in our hearts and on our campus to share the good news of Jesus to lost people in our own backyard right now – and for years to come.

God has been so good to The Ascent Church. I believe we can all collectively sense that it’s time to take the next step.

What if God’s faithfulness in this past season at Ascent has prepared us to experience God’s future faithfulness in a brand new way?

I am convinced our dark world needs the bright light of Jesus like never before. There is no greater cause on the planet than sharing the hope, healing and freedom that Jesus offers each of us. For that very reason, Heidi and I are excited to invite you to join us as we follow the Spirit, make room for what God is already doing and move forward in this new season together.

Alongside,

We’re praying for all of us to:

• MAKE ROOM in our hearts for the people Jesus loves.

• MAKE ROOM on our campus for the people Jesus brings.

• MAKE ROOM for our community to experience the hope, healing and freedom that Jesus offers everyone.

People of Ascent Church, the opportunity before us is rooted in God’s faithfulness and His love for us. We love Jesus more than we love anyone else because He has loved us like no one else ever has. We love each other because that’s how Jesus told us the world will know we are His disciples. We love lost people because that’s who Jesus came for. In an ever-changing world, the local church has always been and is now the carrier of the greatest message the world has ever known: the Gospel. Everything we do is a response to what God has first done in our own lives – starting in our hearts, and flowing outward. So, we want to make room in our hearts for the people Jesus loves.

Because of the thousands of lives that have been changed by Jesus at The Ascent Church in the last 30+ years, we are confident we are just at the beginning of the new work God wants to do now. But, before God can do a work through us, He must first do a work in us. We are surrounded by good causes. And we are convinced that the church is the greatest cause that has an immediate cure for the hope, healing and freedom people are seeking: Jesus. The question we are asking in this season is, “What does it look like for a group of Jesus followers to see the church as the single greatest cause to which you could ever give yourself?”

We are praying for all-in engagement from those who call Ascent Church home. This is not a season of spectating, but a call for everyone to participate. We are inviting everyone to join this journey of the heart – to make room for the people Jesus loves and the people Jesus brings. Do we live our lives in response to the love of God? What has He held back from us? Nothing. Because our lives have been changed by the all-in love of Jesus, do we live with a generous posture toward God and toward others? Are we living and giving in a way that changes us, or has it become comfortable and routine?

Together we will continue to invest in our ongoing ministries and trust God to accelerate the life change that is happening week in and week out. Our current two-year operating budget is $3 million, which provides for every ministry and every Gospel initiative—all to serve kids, students, adults, both in our own community, and through our global partners around the world.

Because every community needs a champion, we will invest in our local community and in the communities of our global partners by committing $300,000 in this next season. The local church is the greatest source of hope in the community where God has placed it. Our community will be better because the people of God, changed by Jesus, are an active part in the life of the community. We will continue to lock arms with non-profit organizations, other local churches and our global partnerships doing the hard work of holistic change in the lives of people in the hardest of situations.

We are already maximizing the use of every square inch of our current 32-year old facility and haven’t come close to reaching all the lives that Jesus wants to change. Making room on our campus means taking care of necessary maintenance needs as well as expanding our atrium to provide more opportunities for community and connection. We also want to invest in outreach and impact for our students by further expanding our student facilities.

STORIES OF GENEROSITY AND HOPE

March 16