Dear Citychurch Supporters,
Something wonderful has happened in the last few years here at Citychurch. God has led us through a tremendous time of change and growth. Our focus has remained true to our calling to reach the children that are forgotten and helpless. We have also experienced success in reaching adults in the family as we have built that relationship of trust with the children. However, consistency and focus come at a great price and can be easily taken for granted.
As we thank you for your support, I want you to know just how precious and rare Citychurch is. Growing up in church I came to realize that the work of reaching those who were spiritually lost was a neglected priority. In a newsletter article from October of 2008 my father, Don Lane Sr., articulated the problem in this way, ”In churches I previously served, people knew that if you control the purse strings you control the ministry. People would meet in a finance committee and attempt to plan the church’s year by projecting into the future and producing a budget. Most budgets first included debt service, then we would list the salaries of the staff, next we would put down the cost of literature we would buy, and then going from the music department, youth department and children’s department we would budget for camps, socials, ski trips and other fun things we wanted to provide for the church’s children. The grass had to be mowed and the flower beds had to be kept, so money had to be set aside. When all the wants and needs of the congregation were met, we then moved into miscellaneous needs which pays for all things forgotten so far. The very last to be considered would always be the giving to mission work. When my grandmother made homemade biscuits each morning, she would continue to roll the mix out and cut biscuits until she got down to the last bit of scraps, which she gathered together and squeezed to make the final biscuit. It had no shape and lacked the taste of the rest of the biscuits. Most churches just gather up the scraps and call it ‘mission giving’.”
Citychurch was founded to effect this neglect of the poor and segregated. Etched into our DNA is very real determination to bring our best gifts and resources to bear in this effort. Everyone who has a part in this work must truly realize the power of Jesus Christ to bring about real change in someone’s life. Every lunch sack that is delivered, every outreach that brings a child into the safety and love of the church is useful in bringing about deep, lasting improvements in their lives. Every morning when I look out the second story window toward the San Jacinto neighborhood of Amarillo, I ask God to give my eyes an eternal gaze; to help me appreciate the eternal fate of those we serve. When we consider the destiny of those we are able to reach, our calling becomes far more important than the temporary comfort we are able to bring. A lunch sack becomes the hope of a better life. A week at a children’s camp becomes the knowledge of what loving care feels like. A kindergarten camp out redefines fatherhood. A Bible lesson becomes a pathway home.
These are the blessings that are worth our best efforts. During the next two months, Citychurch will be receiving the Good Shepherd Offering. Your gifts of support to this special offering will be used twelve months out of the year to accomplish the work that God has called us to. The regular monthly support that Citychurch receives is a wonderful blessing and everything is put to work in the ministry. However, the Good Shepherd Offering allows us to plan for and accommodate larger ministry projects such as children and youth camps, development and repair of our physical properties, as well as the further development of our after-school and Summer feeding programs. We have a very flexible budget here at Citychurch. We are able to operate very efficiently with whatever resources God blesses us with. We operate daily by faith. Would you join us in this effort? You have been so faithful to support the work in the past. God has honored your gifts and we are grateful for your encouragement and support. During this season of Christmas, would you consider what you and your family might give to this effort? Whatever you give, we will put it to work, God will bless and our city will be changed. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Jim Elliot, a missionary who lost his life in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador said "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose". May God stamp eternity upon our eyes.
Until they all know Him,
Donnie Lane Jr.
Pastor of Citychurch
