By May this year, we would have been worshipping here in West Coast Recreation Centre for 3 years.  God is good.  He provided us this place where we could do gospel work: souls are saved, lives have changed and God’s people have a good physical environment to fellowship.  The weekly attendance has also gone up slightly from about 15 adults in the beginning to 30 adults and about 15 children today.  All these are possible because God is merciful to us and also because many of you have made sacrifices to serve God.  You have not lived your life in vain because you have helped build God’s church—His people.  You have done work which lasts for eternity.  God remembers for eternity your labour of love.

We need a bigger place that can sit about 100 persons and where we can craft out a cry room, rooms for small group activities, a library and hopefully a church office.  Instead of renting a place as we are now doing so, we will buy a property.  This property will be under the care of trustees or a trustee company.

This property will cost about $700,000 to $1 million dollars.  The church fund has about $180 thousand.  That means we need to raise about $800 thousand.  Where is this money going to come from?

First, I urge all of us who are worshipping in Tree of Life Christian Church to give.  I know many of us are not wealthy people and I am not asking you to give such that you put your family in debt.  The Bible exhorts us saying: “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” (2Cor 9:7).

Do your sums.  Discuss with your family as to how much you should give.  Pray for wisdom and ask the Lord to move your heart.  But bear this in mind: Every giving requires you to make some sacrifices.  Then give cheerfully.  If you are unable to give cheerfully out of love for God, do not give.  But if you can give joyfully despite having to make sacrifices, give and God will be pleased with your giving.

If you give, the Lord promises you: “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it’” (Mal 3:10).

Second, we will need to take loans.  These loans can come from private individuals at either no interest or a reasonable interest rate.  In the likely event that we still do not have enough money, we will need to borrow from banks for a period of perhaps 20 years.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.  On the one hand, giving requires you to make sacrifices.  You may have to give up some things just to give.  On the other hand, Jesus says that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  In other words, it is a privilege to give: The money you have has only temporal worth.  But when this money is used for God’s business, this money that perishes becomes imperishable.

Today we meet after worship service for an Extraordinary Congregational Meeting to decide on matters related to the purchase of a church property.  Every member of this church has a responsibility towards God and the government to stay back for the meeting.  At the same time, I urge everyone who worships in this church to join in the meeting that you may be a source of encouragement to the church.