Sound Footings – Winter 2021

As I write this message, we are preparing for year-end, which signals a surge of giving activity. Now is a great time to review your year-end contributions, and to make sure you have your information in order so they can be processed in this tax year. The Foundation can facilitate the transfer of a stock gift to your church or into a donor-advised fund with no fees. Please let us know if we can help!

Christmas is a time of hope for children and adults alike, although perhaps for different reasons. Often parents encourage their children to ask for things they want, and we take pleasure in making their wishes come true. No one wants to disappoint his children! For centuries the Jews had been promised a Messiah. Even though much about the Savior had been foretold, many people of the time expected a King to be anointed or to suddenly appear and rid them of their enemies. How often our own expectations are thwarted! A baby born in the most unlikely of places didn’t quite fit their image. Christmas is indeed a time for hope, but also an opportunity to recognize that our prayers are sometimes answered in ways other than we might expect them to be.

This Fall our staff launched two new initiatives, one called Prosper that offered mission acceleration training over several weeks. The other was the Foundation Golf Classic which helps support our grants ministry. During the planning phases of both events, we had to make adjustments to schedule and to accommodate our participants in various ways. Both were successful, but as first-year events, they evolved from what we originally envisioned. And having held them, we now have ideas on how they can be made better next year.

Soon we will complete our current grants cycle, and we want to thank the many worthy ministries that applied. We will notify the awardees in January. We always look forward to the grants application process, because it gives us a greater understanding of the needs the churches of the Virginia Conference are fulfilling, and enables us to participate in their good work in a small way.

As we move into 2022, let me express our gratitude for your confidence in our Board of Directors and staff. We will continue to look for ways to serve you better, and are always open to your feedback. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a successful New Year!

Sincerely,

Bo Bowden, President