Lead The Way Vision & Project Guide

CONTENTS LEAD THE WAY—VISION

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OUR MISSION IS . . .

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PROJECTS

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LEAD THE WAY— MOVES AT THE SPEED OF OUR GENEROSITY

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THE GIVING JOURNEY & INTRODUCING THE NEW GIVING AT CEDAR VALLEY

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JOIN THE CALL TO ACTION— MAKE A FAITH GOAL­

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EVERY GIFT MATTERS

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LEAD THE WAY—PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

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Lead The Way—Vision “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win.” But David persisted... The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

—1 Samuel 17:32–37 In March of 1953, Cedar Valley Church was planted in a growing new community known as Bloomington, five miles south of the heart of Minneapolis. The original intent of the founding pastor was to proclaim the name of Jesus to the people in the neighborhood and ultimately to the nations. This vision has not changed in over 70 years.

Today, in an entirely different society, in an entirely different cultural

setting, and with a church body that looks entirely different, this vision has not changed.

Just a few years ago, the entire world was turned upside down and set on fire as a result of racial tension and civil unrest that was ignited right in our backyard. It’s in the midst of this context that we, Cedar Valley Church, feel God calling us to action . . . to LEAD THE WAY.

We believe the Church should LEAD THE WAY in all matters of faith and culture.

We believe the Church should LEAD THE WAY in matters of home, family, marriage, racial justice, sexuality, finances, and education.

We believe that this will be the year that Cedar Valley Church will take a giant step forward and begin to LEAD THE WAY as we see our community radically impacted for Christ. As a result, we believe that God’s Kingdom will be expanded throughout the entire world.

Our church is growing, and our impact is increasing. We’re believing for one of our greatest years with even greater to follow.

We’re asking you to pray and ask God what role He would have you play in LEAD THE WAY. Our team and our staff are praying for you!

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OUR MISSION IS

LEADING PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE TO WHERE GOD WANTS THEM TO BE As God is calling our church to LEAD THE WAY, He’s showing us how and which way to go. He’s opening doors for us that haven’t been opened before—doors into our schools, communities, and city.

He’s expanding our reach and providing new opportunities to meet needs and lead people to Jesus.

He’s calling us to LEAD THE WAY—IN our church.

He’s calling us to LEAD THE WAY—OUTSIDE the church.

God’s call to action is more than just Cedar Valley’s call—it’s a call to action from each of us.

He’s calling each of us to step up and LEAD THE WAY not only here at church, but also in our homes, schools, workplaces, and spheres of influence.

Over the next year, you’ll experience God’s call to LEAD THE WAY in every area of ministry here at Cedar Valley. As part of the Cedar Valley family, LEAD THE WAY will become part of your faith journey as well.

He’s not only going to expand what He’s doing here, but in your personal life also.

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PROJECTS Beyond what God is doing within us individually and as a church body, there are specific projects that will help us gain momentum in the LEAD THE WAY direction.

Home Base Expanding and improving our home base CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: CARPET, LED WALL, OUTSIDE SECURITY DOORS, ETC.

New Venture VANGUARD ACADEMY

Neighbors

Extending hands to our neighbors

BLOOMINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT CAPTAIN’S CREW KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL CHARACTER COACHING AVID (ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION) BLOOMINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT CORE PLANNING TEAM & CHAPLAIN FOOD IN THE HOOD (FOOD SHELF) LUNCH AT THE PARK LIFE CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS RECHURCH, BROOKLYN CENTER (CHURCH PLANT)

Nations Mobilizing feet to the nations NORTH CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS BOYS & GIRLS MISSIONARY CHALLENGE MATCH SPEED THE LIGHT MATCH CV KIDS & YOUTH CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS LAKE GENEVA CAMP & CONFERENCE CENTER CV MISSIONARY SENDERS FUND AIRO THE TABLE, SEATTLE, WA (CHURCH PLANT) PIBDI CHURCH, BRAZIL PROJECT RESCUE VENTURE REFUGEE FEEDING PROGRAM 4

—Moves at the Speed of Our Generosity

LEAD THE WAY is a God-sized vision!

It will cost $6.1 million to accomplish everything that’s needed.

God has given us an opportunity to grow individually and as a church!

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

—2 Corinthians 9:6–7

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one year

$6.1 million This spiritual journey is our first step of discovery concerning God’s will for our lives and for the future of our church.

Spiritual Growth­— The Cheerful Giver Growth is a noun to describe the act or process of growing, developing, or gradually increasing.

Spiritual growth is the process we take to grow in our relationship with God. This relationship is developed by spending time in God’s presence, reading the Bible, praying, an serving and supporting others and our church.

Giving cheerfully is part of worship and is part of each believer’s journey in increasing faith and trust in God’s grace. Come hungry to see what God will do in your life. We want to help you experience growth as you learn to trust God even more.

EXPENSE

BUDGET $

Operating Budget

3,550,000

Vanguard Academy

900,000

Capital Improvements

650,000

Missions

550,000

Ministries

450,000

TOTAL

6,100,000

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The Giving Journey Before beginning any journey, you must identify two things: where you are and where you want to go. The Giving Journey is your guide to increasing your generosity.

Generosity happens one step at a time.

POTENTIAL GIVER

Everyone has the opportunity to impact the Kingdom through participating in God’s work and seeing the growth that comes through giving.

EMERGING GIVER Ready to take the exciting first step towards worshiping and growing through giving.

CONSISTENT GIVER Ready to be more intentional about their giving, has made an assessment, and is determined to start giving consistently.

Introducing the New Giving at Cedar Valley Our traditional giving is separated into categories such as tithes, benevolence, Kingdom Builders, Mortgage Reduction, Youth-KB, etc. Many of you

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prayerfully consider the amount to give to different funds separately or participate in some giving categories and not others.

Ask God to inspire and challenge you towards greater generosity to fulfill His LEAD THE WAY call to action.

EXTRAVAGANT GIVER TITHE GIVER Sees the blessing that comes with giving and is ready to commit to giving the 10% tithe that Scripture (Malachi 3:10) asks of believers.

Realizes that although the tithe is the minimum the Bible asks, God has prompted and enabled them to give more.

Moving forward, we’re excited to unify giving into a single fund which in turn will unify generosity and simplify giving.

When you give, your tithe and what you give above and beyond will all go into a single fund. We want to be a church that gives as a whole to Cedar

Valley. Doing this unifies our commitment to our call to LEAD THE WAY in all ministries, projects, and more.

We are on ONE mission—to lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be!

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Join the Call to Action— Make a Faith Goal Everyone is invited to join the LEAD THE WAY call to action. Part of that is making a Faith Goal for a 12-month period (see paragraph below). A Faith Goal is an amount for which you are trusting God. We believe He will reveal to you the amount that will represent your total, radical, sacrificial generosity to the Kingdom over the next year.

You can plan to give annually, monthly, or weekly beginning November 2023. If someone becomes part of Cedar Valley at any time after that, they can join LEAD THE WAY Giving in whatever month they feel led to start.

DECIDING HOW MUCH TO GIVE: PRAY— SEEK GOD Begin by prayerfully asking God what role He would have you play in LEAD THE WAY giving this year. Ask God to give you a burden for His Kingdom. Take time to listen to His response.

PLAN— START WITH A PLAN Make a plan to give. Decide what you could give if you simply used what you already have. For some this could be $50 a month, $200 a month, or even more.

DREAM—IMAGINE MORE Now that you have a plan number, think beyond it. Ask God to give you a dream for what He could do through you in a supernatural way. This is an amount that is beyond what you can give in your current reality and requires taking a step of faith.

Habakkuk 2:2 tells us to write that dream down and surrender it to the Lord.

MAKE YOUR FAITH GOAL To make a Faith Goal, simply fill out the form online at cvchurch.org or pick up a Faith Goal card at the Information Desk.

“As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.” —Exodus 23:19 NLT 9

Every Gift Matters While there’ll be hundreds of people giving, remember—every gift matters to God. It’s not the size of the gift, but the obedience to God’s voice that matters most.

GIVING CHART The chart below is an example of what giving could look like. It’s also a challenge for those who are able or willing to step into a dream number.

The chart shows 530 people giving the amount designated to reach the 6.1 million goal.

NUMBER OF GIFTS

AMOUNT OF EACH GIFT

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$100,000

25

$50,000

50

$25,000

75

$15,000

100

$10,000

150

$5,000

75

$2,500

50

$1,000

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO GIVE Be creative as you explore ways you and your family can give. You might have some stock, property, or other items of that nature. You may have some stored resources that God has blessed you with in the past that He may be calling you to give out of during this time. Please let us know if you need assistance with facilitating gifts of property or stock, and we can assist you with that.

GIVING DURING TIMES OF HARDSHIP We believe that God calls us to action in times of hardship just as much as He does in times of abundance, and that looks different for every person. We believe God will use LEAD THE WAY to bring about a heart change in many as they surrender their lives completely over to God in the area of giving. So that may mean to trust God in faith by making a Faith Goal that you don’t quite know how to fulfill right now, but that you believe God will provide for as you seek. We would like everyone to be part of what God is doing so that we can all be supporting, loving, encouraging, and praying for one another through this spiritually stretching season at Cedar Valley.

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Projects

Opening Fall 2024

VANGUARD ACADEMY

Cedar Valley desires to LEAD THE WAY by transforming and doubling the impact in our community. As part of that vision, we believe God is calling us to open a Christian school. As we LEAD THE WAY in education, we’re thrilled about the 2024-25 school year and look forward to the opportunities that we’ll get to impact the lives and homes of future students.

The word vanguard, in military

terminology, means the leading position in any advancement.

The vanguard “leads the way”.

The name alone follows suit of the mission of Cedar Valley of leading people from where they are to where God wants them to be.

Perhaps the biggest undertaking in the history of Cedar Valley, we believe it’s exactly what God has called us to do.

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Bloomington Public School District Captain’s Crew The Bloomington Captain’s Crew, formed by Cedar Valley in partnership with Bloomington Public Schools, focuses on character and leadership. Every fall, winter, and spring, team captains of all sports programs

from Jefferson and Kennedy High, are bussed into Cedar Valley to receive a catered meal and hear how a team captain can impact a team through developing leadership skills that inspire high level character.

Kennedy High School Character Coaching All-team leadership and character lessons, as well as individualized care for athletes, are offered weekly to coaches and athletes of boys football and basketball programs at Kennedy High School. We support these

programs by maintaining a presence at practice and games, providing team meals, snacks and Gatorade at practice, hosting homecoming dinners, and meeting practical needs of athletes—equipment, shoes, etc.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) In partnership with the AVID program at Kennedy High School, Cedar Valley offers 45-minute discussion-based learning for 9th and 11th grade students for the 13

duration of a semester. We teach soft skills and character development and provide support during the Christmas season to AVID students and their families.

Bloomington Police Department Core Planning Team & Chaplain In response to the death of George Floyd, Cedar Valley has come alongside Booker T. Hodges, the new Chief of Police of Bloomington, to help reestablish the core values and vision of the police department to

ensure a better path forward for police reform. Chaplaincy for police officers is available and supports officers in finding a healthy balance in professional and personal life.

Food in the Hood (Food Shelf) Cedar Valley, in partnership with Good in the Hood, provides free professional services, resources, and groceries to food insecure and

needy families. We offer guests fresh produce, dairy, meat, and shelf stable items. There is no income requirement. Everyone is welcome.

Lunch At the Park Cedar Valley with Bloomington Parks and Recreation hosts free lunch for the community on Thursdays during the summer.

Cedar Valley provides food, and volunteers help grill and serve.

As families enjoy the splash pad— the only one in all of Bloomington —Lunch at the Park gives us an opportunity to share a meal and build relationships with those in our community.

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ReChurch, Brooklyn Center (Church Plant) ReChurch exists to recall those who’ve left the church, find the lost, and to see each one have a genuine encounter with God, whether it be for the first time or the 100th time. Right now, ReChurch gathers informally to

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worship and build relationships with core launch families in the midst of planning the church launch. Their heart is to be able to grow into a multicultural, multiethnic, and multigenerational church.

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Home Base

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Home Base North Central University Scholarships North Central University, in downtown Minneapolis, deeply values its relationship with the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM). These scholarships will provide a near

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full-tuition discount to dependent children of AGWM missionaries. northcentral.edu

Boys & Girls Missionary Challenge Match Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge (BGMC) is a missions education program for kids.

BGMC equips kids to know, care, pray, give, and reach the lost.

Giving is an essential aspect of the work of missions and it is

critically important to encourage the next generation of givers. The BGMC Match is a commitment from the church to encourage CV Kids to live a lifestyle of radical generosity. bgmc.ag.org

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Speed the Light Match Speed The Light (STL) is a charitable program that provides equipment to missionaries and relief to those in crisis around the world. Each year, CV Youth use their creativity and energy to raise money for STL. Giving is an essential aspect of the work of missions and it is critically

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important to encourage the next generation of givers. The STL Match is a commitment from the church to encourage Cedar Valley youth students to live a lifestyle of radical generosity.

youth.ag.org/participate/speed-the-light

CV Kids & Youth Camp Scholarships One week of camp is worth 52 weeks of church in the eternal impact it has on a child. Camp is a special place where the days are filled with fun, laughter, excitement, friends, and worship in an environment that honors

God and encourages spiritual growth. Students have the opportunity to be transformed

by God’s love, filled with the Holy Spirit, called into ministry, healed, restored, and renewed.

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Lake Geneva Camp & Conference Center Lake Geneva Camp and Conference Center exists to provide a place set apart surrounded by God’s beautiful creation, filled with intense fun and opportunities for life-changing experiences with God and each other. They serve

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over 28,000 young people, families, and adults annually and are supported by a volunteer staff of over 400 dedicated individuals. lakegenevacamp.com

CV Missionary Senders Fund Cedar Valley supports 100 local and global full-time missionaries and sends short-term workers around the world on our Global Teams. Through the Missionary Senders Fund, we expedite the

fundraising process for our current and new missionaries through impact donations and offer scholarships to Cedar Valley youth on their first Cedar Valley Global Team experience.

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AIRO One of the greatest enemies of young missionaries called to the field is the reality of student debt. Since 1991, college tuition has gone up by 258%, leaving the average college graduate with a debt load of more than $28,000. This reality is what keeps many who are called to missions from ever entering the field. AIRO exists to step in and remove the barrier of student

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debt of qualified missionaries heading to areas of the world with little or no access to the Gospel. AIRO-sponsored missionaries are able to make it to the field faster and emerge after ten years of faithful missionary service with their student debt paid in full. airomissions.com

The Table, Seattle, WA (Church Plant) The Table is a multiethnic church that serves a community with over 135 nationalities represented in the most unchurched region of the U.S. The Table provides much needed resources to underserved families through several monthly outreaches.

Through the Street Church ministry, they take the hope of Jesus to the streets by providing meals, blankets, and prayer to the most desperate. Through an event called Easterfest, they serve over 500 people in their community while connecting

families with a church home.

They also service single moms (some living in cars or shelters with their children) providing pastoral counseling, gift cards, and basic supplies. The Table is soon to launch a youth ministry that will serve at-risk youth by opening a drop-in center and hosting weekly youth services that include food and a message about the life-changing power of Jesus. thetablechurch.live

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PIBDI Church, Brazil Primeriea Igreja Batista Da Ilha (PIBDI) is a local church in the city of São Francisco do Sul, Brazil, pastored by Cedar Valley Missionaries Andrew and Julie Vargas. With the help of Cedar Valley project dollars from 2023 and the added efforts of two Global Teams, PIBDI has already moved their services to the newly

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attained property. Many more renovations are needed to complete their worship center and to begin additional ministries including a Christian elementary school, special needs clinic, and coffee house. pibisfs.org

Project Rescue Project Rescue is an organization that rescues and restores victims of sexual exploitation through the love and power of God. Project Rescue has identified Melilla, Spain as a significant source location where women and children are being exploited.

Because of Melilla’s geolocation and poverty line, it has become a feeding pipeline of trafficking

from Africa to Spain. For the past three years, Project Rescue has been building a safe home where women and children can have a place of safety and security while they secure documentation necessary that will prevent them from being trafficked. projectrescue.com

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Venture Refugee Feeding Program Venture spends their greatest energies addressing the world’s greatest injustices, including human trafficking, refugee crises, and extreme poverty. Displaced people and refugees live each day in a desperate state with no idea how they’ll feed themselves or their families. Starvation is a very real threat claiming lives at

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unprecedented rates. But there is hope. Venture Refugee Feeding Program partners with local church and ministry leaders to respond to this urgent need by providing meals and a Gospel presentation. venture.org

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