Here and Beyond Campaign Update

Dear Grace Church members and attendees,

It’s time to update you on our progress regarding the Here and Beyond Campaign which was launched in January 2012. If you remember, Pastor Clark cast the vision of reaching out well beyond Central Florida. We want to reach all 50 states and even to countries abroad with the message of Grace by means of social media and our website. Well, significant progress has been made in a short period of time. Here are some interesting statistics relating to our Grace Church website alone:

• 34,809 unique hits since April 3, 2011
• 26,705 unique hits since January 1, 2012 (this is when our newly designed website went live
• Our busiest month was April 2012
• Lately we have been averaging between 225 and 300 unique hits a day (during the work week) with some spikes well above three hundred
• 79 Blog Email Subscribers, 140 Team Grace Members and 426 Facebook “Likes”

Additionally, we are working toward “live streaming” our messages by the end of the summer. Doing so will serve to increase our ability to spread the life-changing message of grace both visually and audibly.

Team Grace, in its infancy, is having significant impact as people on the list “forward” the short, pithy statements designed as “grace nuggets” from Pastor Whitten’s book, Pure Grace. Conversations are being stimulated, and comments are coming in daily.

High definition cameras were purchased, along with a professional light kit, to create high quality video testimonies in-house as well as on the web, and will of course be a key component to the live-streaming.

We also shared with you at that time that we had begun implementing needed sound treatment for our worship center by means of acoustic tiles, upgrading our sound board to digital, fully replacing our sound system, microphones, and projectors. These have all been completed, and the difference is significant.

Committees are working on other phases of the Here and Beyond Campaign. Namely, stage design and enhancement, as well as a foyer and exterior face lift.

Commitments have been made by our Grace Kids Academy (daycare) to purchase a storage unit (shed) to install on-site, and construct a commercial shade structure to cover/shade the playground behind the church. This will enable the children to use the playground equipment during the searing heat of the summer months without burning little hands, feet, and bottoms.

If approved, we plan to complete a “build-out” immediately behind the church to create needed storage.

Lastly, a committee has been put together to address the front exterior of the church to find ways to enhance our appearance from the parking lot.

So, as you can see, we continue to make major strides in the campaign, and more is coming. Thank you for committing personal funds to this program. We are making every effort to get the ‘biggest bang for the buck’. To date, we have received approximately 55% of committed funds.

If you have begun attending Grace Church since January 2012, then all of this may be new to you. Please pray about how you too can be part of this effort. Here and Beyond information cards are available every Sunday at the Information Booth in the Lobby.

As you give, please remember to designate funds intended for the Here and Beyond Campaign, this can be done by check or online.

We are delighted with our progress and the financial commitments made. It is going to be exciting to report our progress again in two or three months.

Way to go Grace Church!

Bill Snell
Executive Pastor
Grace Church