The All Is Bright Christmas Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of $85,000 for a few extraordinary ministry initiatives:
The 2022 Christmas Offering will be received through January 31, 2023.
Exciting News! A generous donor has offered matching funds up to $25,000. That means every dollar you give up to $25,000 is doubled!
When you give toward this Christmas Offering, please use the special giving envelope (or) mark your checks with “Christmas Offering.” You may also give online at southbaychurchli.org or use your mobile device to give through the Tithe.ly app. You may also give by texting GIVE to (315) 847-3097.
Over this next year, God is calling our church to bring people to Jesus by bringing Jesus to people.
Keeping in mind the power of God to change the world, remembering the awesome work of the Holy Spirit in reaching thousands at the start of the church, and knowing our calling to be fishers of men, we can, through Christ, accomplish this vision.
For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness,"
has made this light shine in our hearts so
we could know the glory of God that
is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
-- 2 Corinthians 4:6
All is Bright reminds us that Jesus shines his light on us, in us, and through us. Jesus is inviting and calling us to shine light in a dark world. This is for the church, but more than that, this is for YOU! This bold initiative requires the investment of your time, talent, and treasure. We want to see every dark space lit up with the life and light of Christ. Specifically, we want to see his love, joy, peace, and goodness throughout the greater Moriches community.
We have been designed and created with the capacity for impact. Go back and read that again. We are not consumers. We are contributors. We give. We participate. We share. We bring. We show up and show out with the love of Jesus. We shine and we shine bright.
Every year around Christmas time, we launch a special offering to fund specific ministries from within our church. There are some ministry initiatives that are consistently funded from this special offering. These are ministries that have been especially effective in our church and for our community, such as our local church event promotion (postcards, publicity, etc.), biblical counseling, and benevolence.
We want to see the families in our community filled with the love, joy, peace, and goodness of Jesus Christ. One of the ways we have done this in the past is through large community celebrations, such as our Easter Block Party or Fall Festival. After a lot of prayer and consideration, the Lord has made it clear how to make these events more effective in accomplishing our mission.
The All is Bright Christmas Offering will completely fund several evangelistic local neighborhood block parties all over the five-mile radius. That’s right! Instead of inviting them to come to us, we have decided to go to them. Imagine cotton candy, popcorn, games, and the love and ministry of Jesus from Shirley to Westhampton.
Each of these events provide an opportunity to closely and prayerfully connect with different families in our local community, in the actual neighborhoods where we live. These fun-packed events make way for our church to touch the lives of many and for them to remember South Bay Bible Church for its love and joy.
The high calling of the church is to go make disciples of Jesus in all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Many Christian believers, and many of you who attend South Bay, would love to join Christ in mission but aren’t sure how to do it. More than that, you aren’t confident in your ability to do it effectively.
We have started planning for two in-person and online conferences focused on equipping you to be an effective witness for Christ through evangelism and discipleship. With a very practical approach, we will address and discuss all things related to training you to make a direct impact on the people inside and outside of our local church for the name of Jesus. Simply put, these conferences will be significantly beneficial for you and for the people that God uses you to minister to.
A long time ago, Pastor Matt encountered Jesus in a local church that picked him up every weekend on a church van. As God would have it, now Pastor Matt regularly receives calls from people who long to attend a local church but have no transportation.
God has given us a unique vision to have a church van that makes a way for people in our local community to attend church. Aside from helping others get to church, there are so many other additional benefits to having church transportation which Pastor Matt will be sharing in detail over the coming weeks.
We want to continue offering the best opportunities possible for the people of the greater Moriches area and beyond in growing their relationships with Jesus Christ! To do this, we want to use the best resources, offer the greatest opportunities to grow spiritually, and continue to create unique, welcoming environments (online and in-person) to facilitate and maximize the most important relationship lost people will ever know – reconciliation with God through His Son, Jesus.
We must be prepared to respond to any new ministry opportunity God presents to us in the coming year, so please give and give generously to this year’s All is Bright Christmas Offering.
As part of God’s plan to grow the faith of the people in His church, God calls us to sacrificial giving from time to time. This special Christmas Offering is an opportunity for us to grow our faith and prepare us for what God wants to do through South Bay Bible Church in 2023. This offering is not because we are behind in our budget; instead, it is to position us to make an even greater impact in our community and church in the coming year.
The regular South Bay Bible Church offering is the proportional amount (the full tithe of 10%) we set apart on a systematic basis and give throughout the year. From time to time, there are opportunities to give sacrificially. This Christmas Offering is one of those sacrificial occasions that stretches us and grows our faith. This special offering should be over and above what you regularly give, or it really does not accomplish what God is doing in the church or your life.
Since the goal is $85,000, this Christmas Offering must involve everyone. Please prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift that will stretch your faith. The precise amount you give is between you and God. Many in our church can give substantial gifts. Others will be able to give small amounts. This issue is not equal giving but equal sacrifice. What amount can you give that will stretch your faith? Several people are praying about giving the largest gift they have ever given to South Bay. Will you join us in praying that prayer?
To whom much is given, much is expected. God has done many wonderful things through South Bay, and He has given us big dreams and plans for the coming year. The ministries supported by this offering are BIG – local missions and outreach, evangelism-focused neighborhood block parties, discipleship and evangelism training conferences, a church van, local benevolence, Biblical counseling, and other ministry initiatives. Big dreams require big faith and big funding. The accomplishment of this God-sized vision will be determined by your faith and gifts to this special All is Bright Christmas Offering.
The best time to give will be the first Sunday after you receive this packet. Please pray about making your best gift on that day. However, you can continue to give until January 31, 2023.
Please use the “Christmas Offering” area on the giving envelopes or include a note designating your gift for this special offering. Remember, consistent gifts over time add up – a person giving $100 per week over a ten-week period will give $1,000 to this special offering.
Yes. When you give at www.southbaychurchli.org/give via online giving, simply select “Christmas Offering” under the “Fund” drop-down menu. You may also use your mobile device to give through the Tithe.ly app.
Likewise, you can use your bank online payment option to send a check directly to the church office. Again, simply mark in the memo area “Christmas Offering” to designate the funds.
If you would like to make a special, one-time auto-debit over and above your regular giving, simply call (631) 909-8241. Ask to speak with Gerry or email admin@sbbcli.org – it’s that easy.
You may also give by texting GIVE to (315) 847-3097.
Of course! Since South Bay Bible Church is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization, there can be a tremendous tax benefit for you by giving in-kind gifts. For information on this type of giving, simply call (631) 909-8241. Ask to speak with Pastor Matt or email pastormatt@sbbcli.org.
All gifts to South Bay Bible Church are completely tax-deductible. Your gift will be deductible in the tax year given (i.e. gifts given in 2020 will be deductible on your 2020 taxes). Please be sure to include your name and address when you give, so a receipt can be sent to you for tax purposes. You are not required to utilize a tax-deduction for your gift, but it is available for all gifts.
The $85,000 goal was prayerfully set. It is a God-sized goal to accomplish big things in local missions, evangelism, and outreach; community outreach; and local benevolence, Biblical counseling, and other ministry initiatives. This goal can only be accomplished through 100% participation and sacrificial giving by South Bay Bible Church attendees and members. Since we are expecting God to bless this special Christmas Offering, it has been determined that any amount over and above our goal will be divided equally between missions and ministry advancement.
Please pray for God’s guidance as we all give sacrificially. You will be updated on our giving progress during the Sunday services. Reaching this goal will be a celebration of what we can do together as we stretch our faith under God’s leadership.
Please contact Pastor Matt at pastormatt@sbbcli.org or call (631) 909-8241.
If you have questions that we didn’t think of, we’d love to help. Please call (631) 909-8241 or email us at info@sbbcli.org. We will do our best to answer right away. You may also click the button below:
