VOLUME NO. 2 | ISSUE 4 | FALL 2020
G LO R I F Y
G O D.
PU R S U E
PEO PL E .
One simple sentence can make a
Kingdom difference.
Would you please consider a planned gift by including Lake Church in your will? One sentence in your will can make a generous legacy gift to Lake Church. “After all my bills are paid, I want 20 percent of my estate to go to Lake Church.�
LETTER FROM PASTOR ERIC HERRSTROM
Luke 6.38, “Give, and it will be given to you. Pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Scripture clearly teaches when we
has, gives to him who has not, with-
express generosity, Jesus sends more
out boasting. And when they see a
generosity back our way. I’m grate-
stranger, they take him into their
ful to be a part of a church where
homes and rejoice over him as a very
generosity
is
brother. And if there is among them
taken seriously.
any that are poor and needy, and if
Over the past
they have no spare food, they fast for
6-7 months, I’ve
2 or 3 days in order to supply to the
seen more self-
needy their lack of food. Such O King,
ishness in our
is their manner of life and verily, this
world than ever
is a new people and there is some-
before. In peo-
thing divine in the midst of them.”
ple’s fear, they shut down generosity in order to look out for one’s self. Yet,
I know what was true then can be
Scripture reminds us that selfless-
true now. May we be part of the most
ness and giving actually produces
generous year yet, so people can see
more joy and less fear.
God’s power in the midst of a pandemic.
As I write this, I am praying God would use our church to continue
Glorify God, Pursue People,
modeling self-sacrificing love amidst the changing times. As Christians in uncertain times, our first response must be to love selflessly. I’ve recently been encouraged by these words from the historian Aristides in a report to Caesar Hadrian (117-138 AD) about the growing Christian church: “They love one another, and he, who
Pastor Eric
leap of faith If you want to win a bet with friends, ask them the strangest thing they’ve ever done. See if they can top, “I donated a kidney." That is exactly what Maureen Maidlow can say. Here is her story. It is about the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but it was not my idea at all. It was the Lord’s. I knew Liz Massey from church. We were often together in ladies Bible studies and women’s ministries. During an IF:Arlington event we both attended, guests were asked to write down a leap-of-faith word.
I
felt led to write the word “If”.
Liz felt led
to write “Believe”. She
was believing God was going to provide her a much-needed
kidney.
During lunch, Liz shared
Being a donor is a family affair so to speak.
this news with me, and I heard myself saying, “If I’m a match, you can have my kidney. Send me the paperwork and I’ll talk to Brad." The idea of donor transplants was not totally foreign to me because being a donor is a family affair so to speak. Our son had two bone marrow transplants and our daughter was his donor. Miraculously, she was a match for him. I saw my brave daughter undergo two surgeries for her brother, believing I could do the same for another person, was simple. Statistically matching Liz was a long shot, but I went into Baylor Hospital expecting to be her match. After the lab work was collected, I prayed "If" and went on my way. It surprised the medical staff I was even a possible candidate when I met the early criteria. Several weeks later, after extensive testing, with Liz believing, we got the news I was, indeed, a match. The Lord coordinated a one-month delay in June that resulted in Liz being in the hands of the best doctor in July. The transplant took place 7/21/2015. Since then, both of us recovered without complications and Liz is doing great! The Lord provided for my son and for Liz. I know in both cases, a willingness to be obedient, made the leaps of faith possible. - Maureen Maidlow
Excel Learning is a response to the rising need for educational assistance through individual and group tutoring. For more information visit us at,
www.excellearning.academy
2020 YEAR TO DATE OF LAKE CHURCH
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION ASSETS Cash & Bank Accounts
LIABILITIES $1,099,380
Investment Account
$566,475
Accounts Receivable
$23
Prepaid Expenses
Current Payables Facilities Loan:
$445,502 $2,210,392
Bank of the West
$19,669
Fixed & Long - Term Assets $8,399,455
TOTAL
$10,085,002
TOTAL
$2,655,894
FUND BALANCES Donor Restricted Funds Gas Well Fund
$277,596 $50,719
Investment & Cash Reserve Funds $766,475 Church Designated Funds
$98,564
Unrestricted Net Assets
$6,235,754
TOTAL
$7,429,108
TOTAL LIABILITIES & $10,085,002 FUND BALANCES
The data on this page was collected f rom Lake Church's internal financial statements ending September 30, 2020
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES SOURCE OF FUNDS
AMOUNT
%
Tithes - #notyetfinished $1,979,497 Missions Donations & Revenue $72,390 Excel Learning Academy Donations & Revenue $24,269 Impact Counseling Donations & Revenue $254,331 Recreation Ministry Revenue $80,662 Loan Retirement Donations $26,365 Gas Well Revenue $103,881 Event Revenue $40,984 Fundraising Revenue $19,524 Church Facility Use Revenue $28,094 Other Ministry Donations $19,856 Investment Gain/(Loss) & Other Revenue $5,507
66%
$338,800
11%
Paycheck Protection Program Loan TOTAL
FUNDS USED
2% 1% 8% 3% 1% 3% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0%
$2,994,160
AMOUNT
%
Cost of Program Services Provided
$613,497
22%
Administration & Facilities Expenses
$524,983
19%
Missions Expenses & Support Given Out
$243,718
9%
$18,146
1%
Impact Counseling Operating Expenses
$317,931
11%
Recreation Ministry Operating Expenses
$140,161
5%
Loan Retirement Payments (P&I)
$167,081
6%
Gas Well: Legal & Property Tax Expenses
$31,802
1%
Gas Well: Missions & Ministry Expenses
$10,388
0%
Gas Well: Capital Expenditures
$31,429
1%
Event Funds Expended
$29,710
1%
$8,362
0%
$51,073
2%
$287,680
10%
$2,764
0%
$338,800
12%
Excel Learning Academy Operating Expenses
Fundraising Funds Expended Church Facility Funds Expended Other Ministry Donations Expended Other Revenue Expended
Paycheck Protection Program Expenses TOTAL
$2,817,525
SERVING IS NOT SITTING! “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served
Mark 10:43-45
but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In Mark 10:35-45, we read
Roman empire or at least
two of Jesus’ twelve Apos-
to restore the throne of Da-
tles, James and John, came
vid and declare himself the
to Him and asked for a fa-
new King of Israel.
vor. They wanted Jesus to have them sit, one on his right hand and the other on the left hand when Jesus sits on His ‘glorious throne.’ They were surely expecting Jesus to seize the Roman political ‘throne’ and declare himself king over the
O
r perhaps, they were expecting Jesus to start a political
rebellion
and
break away from both the Romans and Israelites and start a new earthly kingdom (see Acts 1:6). They were convinced Jesus would become a strong political figure and wanted to make sure they were as close to him as possible. Realizing their carnal and selfish motives, Jesus told them that “whoever would be great among you must be your servant”, implying the greatest in the Kingdom of God are those who serve, not those who ‘sit’ in high places of authority. Jesus also added that those who seek to be ahead (leaders) must learn to serve, just as He came NOT to be served but to
"I challenge you to not sit but to get up and serve."
serve and give his life as a ransom for many. God has not called us to sit close to the strong but to serve the weak. Throughout the pandemic, while church doors were closed, Lake Church stepped up to serve its community in many ways. One of those has been through Fresh Produce Distribution. In partnership with Engage Arlington and DiMare Fresh, we have distributed thousands of boxes of fresh produce to families in need in Arlington and beyond.
All this would not have been possi-
to serve our neighbors and get to
ble without the participation of our
know them as we gave boxes to
Lake Church members, so lakers,
our neighbors each week. If you are
thank you.
a member at Lake Chuch but are not currently serving in some way,
Every Thursday at 4:00 PM, cars
I challenge you to not sit but to get
drove away with as few as one box,
up and serve with us.
and with as many as twenty-two boxes. Members showed up and took boxes for their friends, family, and neighbors. For us, the distribution gave us a great opportunity
- Genesis Tinshu
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
our 2021 ministry plan Much has been said about the year 2020, with its very real challenges, and yet, unique opportunities.
and quarantining, 2020 reminded us of two truths...1)
We desperately need human interaction as God intended, and 2) there are ways to do church outside the traditional church building. A third truth, clearly evident through the pandemic, an election year, and the divisions in society, is that our world desperately needs the hope of Jesus Christ. Our hope is in the eternal, not the temporal. 2021 will be an amazing year as we emerge f rom the introduction of COVID-19 with a resolve to interact with one another to meet the needs of our church community as well as our broader, local community. People, both churched and unchurched have realized how much they need other people and a community to walk through life. Glorify God & Pursue People.
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
B
etween physical distancing
A
WORSHIP:
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
To provide a life-changing worship experience every week of the year. Quarantining in 2020 reinforced that we should never take for granted the privilege we have to gather for corporate worship. Our in-person services were limited in 2020, and while online service has its place, it is good to be in the house of the Lord. The first step in hospitality is to offer an open door. Our 2021 budget includes funding to open the doors wide to our local community, the families we know and those we don’t. We are inviting our students, both domestic and international to worship with us. We welcome new parents and empty nesters. We welcome single language families as well as those who speak multiple languages. All who want to worship are welcome and we will radiate hospitality as we provide life-changing worship experiences every week of the year. We aspire to a Heavenly worship experience, the diversity and beauty of every tongue, tribe and nation worshipping our Creator and one true King...In His presence for all eternity.
Hill 3 Radiate hospitality, resulting in the church being known as the community’s home. (Acts 4.31-37) Until Heaven, we seek to share Christ and His kingdom with all peoples. When people enter into that eternal relationship with Christ, they take the first step towards becoming whole, toward human flourishing. A broken society looks like a soup kitchen...a flourishing society looks like a potluck. A flourishing church com-
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
Related Hills:
munity is one where all people recognize their ability to worship & serve the Kingdom as they serve one another through their labor, influence, finances and expertise.
Budget Total • $655,963 (This total includes a percentage of Personnel, Plant & Facilities, Administration, Building Loan, Worship, Children, Youth & Communication.)
A
b
Discipleship:
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
To invest in and nurture people in their faith journey towards discipleship. Flourishing only happens as people
and family ministries, we seek to
recognize who they are in Christ and
disciple those in our church. But we
that doesn’t fully happen outside of
also seek to train families to disciple
discipleship. Our world, and often
their own children. While tradition-
many inside the church, needs to un-
ally that training may have come
derstand and follow the Word of God.
solely through the church, we seek to press into the discipleship rela-
Through our connection groups,
tionships between those older and
our adult, college, youth, children
those younger.
Related Hills: Hill 1 Pray over every member, every ministry, every nation and our city at every hour of every day. (Acts 4.23-31; 9.40; 16.25; 20.34) Hill 2 Own the responsibility of discipleship for the 976 weeks of a child’s life. (Acts 16.13-15) Hill 4 Transform communities through Kingdom business development, job creation and educational resourcing. (Acts 18.1-3) Discipleship starts with prayer and the additional action of investing in others through relationship. It’s not easy and it’s not clean. It can be painful but it can also bring some of the greatest joy this side of Heaven. God designed us for relationships and our investment in others is honoring to our Creator.
invest in others and help them to
parent to a child, as well as empty
follow Christ. Society is broken and
nesters to first time parents...we
desperate for the hope of Jesus
must all be about investing in the
found in the eternal Word of God. If
next generations. Your coworkers,
you have that hope, you are quali-
neighbors, brother and sisters all
fied to disciple. Covid-19. may have
need someone to help them work
changed the way we do relation-
out their faith.
ships but we utilize our God-given creativity to advance others in their
There is nothing better than  to
faith journey.
Discipleship is more than coffee once a month and it can be more radical than we have previously thought. Recently, Lake Church launched Excel Learning Academy in an effort to tutor area school children. There is a unique opportunity to invest in the lives of Excel families. The UTA house was purchased and
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
From a parent to a child, a grand-
now the renovation work must begin so we again, can leverage innovative opportunities to reach others with the Gospel. While discipleship can take many forms, the single common thread is that it always begins with a one-to-one relationship.
Budget Total • $1,080,219 (This total includes a percentage of Personnel, Plant & Facilities, Administration, Building Loan, Worship, Children, Youth & Communication.)
b
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
c
Missions: To reach & engage the lost and disenfranchised beyond the walls of Lake Church. 1) To invest in and reach the local community where they are through the use of Lake Church facilities & programs. 2)Â To invest in & reach beyond Arlington to share Christ with a lost &Â dying world. Our world is scared, lost and hopeless, and is seeking something of significance. People are looking to their work, their families, themselves and countless other wrong places for fulfillment. We have the hope they need. We will continue our work in 2021 of investing in ministry partners around the globe, as well as seeking creative ways to build relationships with our local community for the sake of human flourishing. We want more potluck and less soup kitchen.
Related Hills: Hill 4 Transform communities through Kingdom business development, job creation and educational resourcing. (Acts 18.1-3) Hill 5 Facilitate the planting of 500 churches. (Acts 1.8; 4.8-22) Considering the recent purchase of the UTA house, the opening of Excel Learning Academy and the continued partnerships with our partners further away in Washington, Bosnia, Matamoros, Syria & Spain while also looking towards Florida and Cameroon, Africa, we are a church that is only content when we are advancing the Gospel. Finding innovative ways to access countries and build relationships, with an effort to fulfill our Gospel commandment to plant churches, your financial investment will ensure the Gospel is indeed, taken to the nations.
Budget Total • $950,702 (This total includes a percentage of Personnel, Missions, Plant & Facilities, Administration, Building Loan, Communications & Recreation.) Plant & Facilities, Administration, Building Loan, Communications, Adult, Impact Counseling, Children, Youth, Young Adult, College & Recreation.)
Total budget= $2,686,884 A: Worship $655,963
24.4% 35.4%
B: Discipleship $1,080,219 C: Missions $950,702
40.2%
O U R M I N I S T RY P L A N - 2 0 2 1 B U D G E T
Colorado, Cuba, Israel, SE Asia, Turkey, UAE, Argentina,
There’s no time like now to use a charitable IRA rollover to give generously to Lake Church. Donors age 70½ or older can make a rollover gift of up to $100,000 from their IRA each year to qualified charitable organizations. Your gift can be used toward meeting your annual required minimum distribution (RMD), helping to reduce your taxable income.
An IRA rollover gift may also help you if you no longer itemize your income tax but wish to continue making charitable gifts. A distribution made directly from an IRA to Lake Church is not considered taxable income. Your tax advisor can help you determine if a charitable IRA rollover is right for you.
Contact us and we can help you direct funds toward Lake Church Call: (817) 451-4110
| Email: dchase@lakechurchdfw.org
Year in Review As we celebrate BIG service, I am thankful as we celebrate all the ways people served in really big ways during Covid-19 and throughout 2020.
We have a church faithful to give
you cared about. You may have visited
financially to meet the needs both
with someone who had been isolated,
inside and outside our church. Even
either on the phone or on their lawn.
when many jobs have been unsta-
Sometimes, what seems like a small
ble, our church has given sacrificially!
act was a actually a really big deal.
Those gifts have gone on to purchase
All we can do is be faithful to serve,
the UTA house, and in conjunction with
God will choose the size of the impact.
several faithful church members, re-
Thank you church, for serving others
cently launched Excel Learning Acad-
through your labor, influence, finances
emy. At the beginning of the pandem-
and expertise.Â
ic, we saw medical workers stand in the gap and we also saw our very own
I am excited for our church as we
faithful church members make big do-
prepare for 2021. We don’t know what
nations of food, snacks, and drinks for
is on the horizon but we know that God
hospital staff. Simply handing out box-
is in control and our instructions are
es of produce was meaningful to those
simple...Glorify God and Pursue People.
who were in need. Big service comes out of big hearts and a big love for God and his church. Big service may actually not have to be all that big in terms of effort, but the results can be huge. Many of you reached out to friends during the pandemic, perhaps you took a meal to a neighbor or wrote a note to someone
David Chase Executive Pastor
Make sure to check out these resources at lakechurchdfw.org/lake-resources
you in any season you may be wrestling through.
These reads cover everything from health, to family, to
church body, have put together some great articles.
2912 LIT TLE RD. ARLINGTON, TX 76016