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The Lords hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
Acts 11:21

Before I was hired to be the lead pastor of Richwoods, I received a copy of the churchs newsletter in the mail. At the top center was Acts 11:21, which says, The Lords hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. At that time the church had been without a pastor for over a year and was a struggling congregation of 65 people. Yet, they still believed that God was with them and that He had something great in store for Richwoods Christian Church. Over the past fifteen years, we have had the privilege of seeing that dream become a reality. With hundreds of baptisms, countless stories of life change, and an ever-increasing attendance in our worship services, there is no doubt that Gods hand is upon us and that He is using our congregation as a light to the Peoria area and beyond. But the work is not done. The vision is not completed. Its time for Richwoods to take the next step in fulfilling our mission of helping a greater number of people find and follow Christ. That is why we are launching a two-year initiative called GO. This initiative will focus on empowering you to Move In, Move Out, and Move Forward in your personal walk with Jesus. It will also focus on raising the necessary resources that will allow us as a church body to corporately step into several initiatives we feel are necessary in order to see more people turn to the Lord. I am genuinely excited to take this step of faith and see what God will do through the GO initiative. I hope that you will be a part of this and that one day well all be able to look back in amazement at what God has done as a result of our faith, obedience, and sacrifice for His glory. Gratefully and Expectantly yours, Jim
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Where Weve Come From

Richwoods was founded in the summer of 1967 by a small group of people seeking to start a nondenominational Christian Church in Peoria. The first meetings were held in the basement of Mel and Rose Shoups home.

1967

1976 1975
The church met in several temporary locations over the next eight years, including the Seventh Day Adventist building and a restaurant. In July 1976, we moved into our first building at 7116 N. Terra Vista.

2001 1997
In July 1997, Jim Powell was hired as the sixth senior pastor. In February 2001, we went to dual services for the first time.

ATTendAnCe AverAge
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75

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2011 2008 2006

In October 2006, we started a third service. In July 2008, we relocated to our Knoxville building. In January 2011, we launched our East Campus.

2010
In April 2010, we started our Saturday night service.

2013
In February/March 2013, we begin our GO Initiative.

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543

953

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move In

We have been incredibly blessed to see God working in and through our congregation over the past several years. In order to continue moving toward our redemptive potential while influencing a growing number of lives, we must expand our churchs budget so that we can provide the necessary resources, facilities, staffing, and programs. On top of our general budget, this includes addressing some specific big-ticket needs, such as the parking lot and roof at Knoxville Campus, and the transition of East Campus to a facility that will provide a better environment for ministry as well as the apportionment of money for their long-term home.

goAL: $5,200,000

PersonAL APPLICATIon:
To prayerfully identify and make a specific commitment toward finding and following Christ in a tangible way.

move oUT

Beyond the ministry taking place at Knoxville and East Campus, we are committed to being Gods envoy to the world. This means reflecting Jesus to our community, our nation, and our world in increasing measures. Over the next two years, we hope to give over $500,000 to missional activities, causes, and events. Specifically, we want to expand our impact by launching a third campus in the Peoria area and by increasing our commitment to our other missional activities locally, nationally, and globally.

goAL: $500,000

PersonAL APPLICATIon:
To personally engage in some form of missional service outside the walls of our church.

move ForWArd

In order to move toward financial health and to position ourselves for future ministry, we want to significantly pay down our church mortgage. By doing so, we will be able to refinance our loan, accelerate our payment schedule, and free up over $10,000 per month in cash flow, which can be used to help people find and follow Christ. This not only helps put us in a better position to impact more lives, but it also helps prepare us in the event of an economic downturn.

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goAL: $1,000,000

PersonAL APPLICATIon:
To find a resource or participate in a class, seminar, or meeting that will help lead to personal financial freedom.

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The ChALLenge
The GO initiative represents a significant time in the life of our church. As a result, we strongly encourage everyone to attend weekend worship services, participate in a group, and go through the daily devotions. We are on one mission as a church, and we hope that, with everyone participating in the GO series, we will grow both individually and as a collective church body. We also ask that you pray about what God would have you do as a result of GO. We then hope that you will follow His leadingnothing more, nothing less. As you go through this process and consider what God would have you do, please know that you are not alonewe are in this together. We will be doing all we can to help encourage and empower one another to consider four specific commitments

mAke A PersonAL CommITmenT To FInAnCIALLy sUPPorT go

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FInAnCIAL CommITmenT

If you are a regular attendee but are not currently supporting the church financially, we want to challenge you to start doing so in some measure. If you are already giving, we want to ask you to consider making sacrifices that would allow you to give over and above your normal amount. Whether your commitment means starting to give, continuing to give, or increasing your giving, well be asking you to make a comprehensive two-year pledge of your total giving, which will include both your normal giving and your expanded generosity for GO. This will enable our church to carry out its mission and to achieve the initiatives we feel led to pursue.

mAke A PersonAL CommITmenT To move In so ThAT yoU CAn FInd And FoLLoW ChrIsT In A deePer WAy

move In

Moving In may mean receiving Christ for the first time or re-dedicating your life to Him. It may mean getting baptized by immersion. Or it may mean committing to daily devotions, addressing an area of sin, reading the Bible in one year, or getting connected into group life. The point of moving in is to make a personal commitment to find and follow Christ in a deeper, richer, and more personal way.

mAke A PersonAL CommITmenT To move oUT And engAge In some Form oF mIssIonAL servICe

move oUT

We want to challenge everyone to do at least one thing to serve and represent Jesus outside the walls of our church. This may be volunteering with the Adopt-a-Block ministry, volunteering as a mentor in the public schools, or serving at a soup kitchen. It may be taking a short-term mission trip with the youth group or traveling to Brazil or Haiti. Regardless, we will be asking you to participate in at least one project which models and proclaims the love of God to our world.

mAke A PersonAL CommITmenT To move ForWArd ToWArds FInAnCIAL Freedom

move ForWArd

Moving Forward could be attending a half-day workshop or a class like Financial Peace University, to learn how to better manage your money, set up a budget, and reduce debt. It could be meeting with a financial planner or financial counselor. The point of moving forward is to do something to increase your financial knowledge or discipline in order to be a better manager of your resources and to find the freedom God wants you to have.

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FAQs
WhAT Is A one-FUnd InITIATIve? It is different than a traditional giving campaign. We will not create a building fund or similar allocation to which we give separately. Instead, both our current giving and any additional giving will go in to a single fund from which all expenses will be paid. Therefore, GO is simply an expansion of our regular budget to tackle extra initiatives. GO is not an above and beyond focus, but rather a combination of everything we are already doing and all that we need to be doing for the next two years. Why Are We doIng ThIs noW? The leadership has been looking at this and planning it for over a year. After much discussion, work, and prayer, we feel that now is the right time for our congregation to take the next step of faith in order to expand our footprint for Gods glory. Why do We hAve so mUCh debT? The move from the church at Terra Vista to the location on Knoxville Avenue was a big step for Richwoods. The Crazy Campaign provided the funds for the down payment, soft costs for the facility, and help with the mortgage payments in the transition, as the church continued to grow rapidly. But the total overall cost of the move and renovation exceeded the amount raised by the Crazy Campaign.

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FAQs
Is ThIs reALLy AChIevAbLe? Yes! First of all, we are trusting God, and with Him all things are possible. Practically, if people who are supporting the church continue to give as they are currently, if those who attend but are not giving start doing so, and if those who are already giving evaluate and pray about how they can give more consistently or more sacrificially than they presently are, we KNOW that this is achievable. hoW dId We ArrIve AT The end goAL oF 6.7 mILLIon? We arrived at this figure through a process of prayer and discussion among the executive staff, elders, and other key leaders, striving to discern where we believe God is calling Richwoods in the next two years. Please refer back to the summary sheet to see where the money is being allocated. WhAT IF We mIss oUr goAL oF 6.7 mILLIon? We expect to reach the goal, despite the challenge it represents! However, if we fall short, we will adjust expenditures based on priorities determined by the leadership at that time. Unless we fall well short of the goal, we are optimistic that none of the initiatives will be totally eliminated, even though some may have to be scaled back.
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FAQs
CAn I desIgnATe my gIFT To The sPeCIFIC eLemenTs ThAT Im PAssIonATe AboUT? All giving to GO will be used for every need and project, just like your current giving to Richwoods. WhAT IF I donT hAve mUCh To gIve? Whether you feel you have little or much to give is not important. What is important is that you pray about it and then follow through on what you believe God would have you to do. Consider the story of Jesus and His encounter with a widow woman who didnt have much to give (Mark 12:41-44): Jesus sat near the Temple Offering Box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. Then a poor widow came and put in two copper pennies. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people together! They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on. From this moving example of sacrifice, Jesus taught three important truths: Your attitude is more important than the amount in giving, it is always possible to give something; and a little can be considered a lot in Gods eyes.

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FAQs
Whom shoULd I ConTACT To dIsCUss A gIFT oF sToCks, InvesTmenTs, or ProPerTy? You can contact our executive pastor, Tim Barnes, and he will assist you. tbarnes@richwoods.org 309-691-5252. hoW WILL The CongregATIon be UPdATed on The Progress oF The go InITIATIve ProjeCTs? Frequent updates will be given during the worship services; a bi-annual report will be mailed, and we will have a special service at the end of each year to celebrate progress and look ahead. WhAT Are yoU AskIng me To do? First and foremost, we are asking that you pray and seek Gods leading on what he is asking you to do. If youre married, talk about this with your spouse. Ultimately, we are asking you to support this by making a financial commitment to GO which goes beyond what you are already giving to Richwoods. Secondly, we are asking you to make a personal commitment to Move In, Move Out, and Move Forward so that you are participating in what God is doing. We believe that by financially supporting this, we are enabling the church to have greater impact and that by participating, you are allowing God to work through you personally.
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my TWo-yeAr CommITmenT To The go InITIATIve

$ _________________ What I normally give to

+ =

Richwoods in a year

I ALso mAke The FoLLoWIng CommITmenT(s) To do The FoLLoWIng over The nexT TWo yeArs: move In To prayerfully identify and make a specific commitment toward finding and following Christ in a tangible way. move oUT To personally engage in some form of missional service outside of the walls of our church. move ForWArd To find a resource or participate in a class, seminar, or meeting that will help lead to personal financial freedom.

$ _________________ My expanded annual giving

for GO

$ _________________ x 2 years
Total from above $ _________________

+
Gift from current resources $ _________________
Total the above two lines, and write the amount below

$ _____________________________________
my TWo-yeAr CommITmenT To go

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