This year’s stewardship season will be a unique and powerful time for Shady Grove UMC. Our Stewardship Season, which we are calling Beyond, will include two opportunities to give. First, to support the growth of our 2027 mission and ministry budget AND second, towards our Capital Campaign-Blessed to Be a Blessing.

Over the past month, we have heard in worship about the exciting growth taking place in our Children’s, Youth, Adult, and Senior Adult Ministries. We are inviting you to give BEYOND so that we may fully fund the 2027 budget and support mission and ministry growth. We are calling this year’s stewardship season Beyond because we understand that we are asking you to give BEYOND your usual amount to support this exciting growth at Shady Grove through the budget and Capital Campaign support. In John 6:1–14, we read about a boy who gave up his lunch, and Jesus used that humble gift to feed 5,000 people. In Exodus 25:1–8, we see God’s people giving sacrificially to establish the God’s Tabernacle. Repeatedly, scripture reminds us that God can take what we offer, no matter how great or small, and use it for something far beyond what we could accomplish on
our own. In the coming weeks, we will consider how God is asking each of us to reach beyond to support the 2027 budget and the Capital Campaign.

Speaking of the Capital Campaign, God has blessed us at SGUMC for over 180 years with people who love Jesus and are willing to give, serve, and sacrifice for gospel impact now and into the future. Shady Grove has a current need to make prayerful improvements
throughout our church building so that our facilities support Christ’s mission and ministry. We plan to make our church building even more Welcoming, Relevant, and Safe through the Capital Campaign-Blessed to be a Blessing. A small group from the Capital Campaign Planning Team has been visiting Sunday School classes to explain more about our Capital Campaign and answer any questions you may have. Our goal is to raise $2.5 million so that Shady Grove can continue to be Blessed to be a Blessing—strengthening our church, serving our community, and creating a place where future generations can encounter the love of Christ.

Given the current growth and need to update the building, there will be two ways to give this stewardship season. The Stewardship Season will begin on October 25th, and that week you will receive TWO Estimate of Giving cards: one that is blue for Stewardship that supports the 2027 budget, and one that is green for the Capital Campaign- Blessed to be a Blessing. November 15th is Commitment Sunday where, as an act of worship, we invite you to bring your two Estimate of Giving cards. Of course, you may bring them to the church office at any time, or you can submit them online.

This is an exciting and singular stewardship season at Shady Grove UMC. We are grateful for the ways God is growing our ministries, expanding our reach, and calling us to faithful service. We invite you to prayerfully consider how God is asking you to support the kingdom work and ministry growth God is providing. May we trust God, give generously, and together reach Beyond what we could imagine, so that Shady Grove may continue to be Blessed to be a Blessing for generations to come.

With gratitude and hope in Christ,

Mark Snider, Stewardship Chair and Buz Edwards, Capital Campaign Chair