Dear Gloria Dei,
Way back in 2009 Gloria Dei made the decision to hire an architect, a builder, and engage in a Capital Campaign, all with the intent of relocating the campus of this ever-growing congregation. Why relocate? Relocation was done in order to better proclaim and live out the good news of God’s love, centered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
This southeast corner of Sioux Falls was growing back then. After much planning and work by many, many people, we entered our current campus with a celebration worship in the summer of 2011. And the growth continues today. The relocation to our current church site has allowed Gloria Dei to grow along with this part of town.
With over fifty new members being received into our church family this weekend*, we are well over 4000 strong. We are growing in numbers, yes, but more importantly, we continue to grow in faith and ministry. As I look back on all these years, I see the opportunities for Outreach have grown. So have the Bible Study offerings. So has the Children, Youth and Family ministry. So has the Caring ministry. In addition, the welcome and fellowship found at Gloria Dei is exceptional.
Back in 2009 the congregation voted to make this move and boldly stepped into a project that would cost $16 Million. That came with a few sleepless nights, but also with the excitement and confidence that God was leading the way. This indeed has been the case. The Holy Spirit has worked to create and strengthen faith in thousands of people through the years. It was a bold decision. And it has turned out to be the right one.
With all of that in mind, I am happy to let you know that as of this month Gloria Dei is totally debt free. Earlier in March we made our final mortgage payment. Yay!
This is a strong testimony to the commitment this congregation has to the continuing ministry being done in Christ’s name. Through your generosity and vision, we have freed up more dollars for mission and ministry. As we laid out in our most recent capital campaign, the remaining Building Fund donations will allow us to set up a larger maintenance fund to be used in the years to come, and to prepare our site for possible expansion in the future. In addition, our General Fund is free from ongoing mortgage payments which, as I said, has freed up funds for mission and ministry opportunities within this growing congregation.
I want to say thank you to all of you for your commitment to Christ’s work in and through Gloria Dei. During worship services the week of April 11 & 12, we will have a “Burning of the Mortgage”, which will be a time to thank God for all that is happening in this place. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You can and ought to be proud of how God is working through you.
One more thing to mention. With Holy Week approaching, we have need for many volunteers to assist in the various Holy Week and Easter worship services.
Did you know there are 135 volunteers needed to make our 11 Holy Week worship services happen? And we want you to be part of it! There are many ways for you to help make these special services feel warm, inviting, and meaningful to all who walk through the Gloria Dei doors. We are currently in need of greeters and ushers at all services, communion assistants at the two Maundy Thursday worship services, and lectors on Palm Sunday and Easter. Right now, there are about 100 open volunteer spots, and every sign-up makes a real difference in helping welcome and receive our many members and guests. To help, sign up here. You can easily find and choose a service to volunteer at using the tabs or dropdown menus on the webpage. You can reach out to Dan Bergheim with any questions.
See you in worship,
Pastor Tim
*We welcome the following into membership: Brad and Michelle Barta; Austin, Heather and Lauren Beninga; Marie Bio; Bill and Marilyn Bradfeldt; Alissa, Neil, Braden and Luke Brummond; Karla and Reid Colwell; Eileen Henze; Becca Immonen-Sage, Eric, Beckham, Henley and Jameson Sage; Anna, Brad, Grace and James Jankord; Sherri and Tom Landmark; Patrick, Valerie and Morgan Lynch; Allison Mackay and Nora Messer; Gaye Mattke; Sabrina Schram and Spencer Ulrich; Kara Shroll Blue; Morgan, Peter, Sam, and Gus Sonstegard; Chelsea Steinborn, Evan, Elenora, Junie, and Calvin Gustafson; Diane and Jim Sturdevant; Becky and Bill Weber; Taya Weber; Jeff and Tracy Welbig; Melanie Wipf and Yusuf Alkurtar
