Leaving a Legacy
Here, Near & Far
(December 3rd - 31st)

Christmas is on its way and what better gift can we give than to show God’s love to others. That’s why each December we come together as a church to bring a special offering that honors Him and enables us to take a giant leap forward in fulfilling the opportunities He’s placed before us. We have 3 areas of focus this year and invite you to take a moment to review them. Then take some time to prayerfully consider how He will use you to make a difference as you leave a legacy of love HERE, NEAR and FAR.

​1) HERE - Finish Strong! ​

It has been an incredible year of impact at Epic as we’ve seen God do some great things in and through our church!  

Increase in Kids attendance: 36%
Increase in Student attendance: 45%
Number of community volunteer hours: 500+
Number of people who explored faith for the first time at Epic: 114
Number of people who made first-time decisions to follow Jesus: 26
 
God’s favor has been on us as momentum has grown and more people are being impacted by the hope and love of Jesus. But with that, more resources are needed to facilitate the growth which our offerings have not been able to sustain and inflation has made a big impact as well. Thankfully, we had cash reserves set aside which has allowed us to continue moving forward with our mission unhindered. Now, as we finish out the year, it’s time to replenish those reserves so that nothing can slow us down as we continue to fulfill our vision to transform the next generation and change the world!   
 

2) NEAR - Refugee Care 

Each year hundreds of refugee families (mostly from Afghanistan & Ukraine) flee war and violence and arrive in the Portland Metro area to start a new life. Many arrive with few possessions – some with a suitcase of personal items or only the clothes they were wearing.  The Refugee Care Collective coordinates with local churches and community partners to provide “restart kits” stocked with basic household necessities, coats for the winter, school supplies for children and donated furniture for homes, among other things.  We have the opportunity to partner with this organization to support these families and help to resource them with what they need to restart their lives here successfully.

Refugee families served last year: 470
Restart kits distributed last year: 3,011
New mentorships last year: 121
New youth mentors for refugee students: 31

Find out more about this organization @ https://refugeecarecollective.org and in addition, learn about how RCC pairs local volunteers with refugee families as part of their family mentorship program to help these folks learn our culture, get familiar with the area, learn English and many other very valuable life skills!  
 

3) FAR - Maua Kids 

We have partnered with Maua Kids ministry in Kenya for 2 years now sending them monthly support as they minister to more than 1,600 kids through their weekly church services.  Maua Kids has seen much growth and tremendous results in the last several years and has a dream of making an even greater impact!  As their ministry rapidly grows, they’ve found resourceful ways of meeting their needs along the way.  One such way has been to borrow a sound system to amplify their church services and choir concerts which take several hours each week to pick up and drop off.  With the purchase of their own sound system ($5,000), they will be able to reallocate the time saved in travel to more significant areas of ministry and position them for future effectiveness, growth and impact.

Average attendance at weekly Maua Kids Church Services: 1,600
Number of kids involved in Maua Kids singing group: 120
Number of snack served at Maua Kids services this year: 104,000

Find out more about this organization @ https://www.mauakids.org.

Christmas Offering Goal: $15,000

(NOTE: Epic Life Church is a nonprofit organization and your gift may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes. You will receive an end-of-year giving statement next January that you can use as a part of your conversation with your tax advisor.   We take your privacy very seriously. Any information you provide is held securely and will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions. You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be canceled.  If you have any problems or questions related to this, please contact us at info@epiclifechurch.com.