Greetings Glen Mar,

As many of you know from the meetings we’ve had over the last couple of months, we are entering into our rise – TOGETHER AS ONE campaign. This new one fund campaign officially begins on July 1, and over the coming weeks, we’re going to talk about the vision behind it all because, as Scripture reminds us, “where there is no vision, the people perish.”

So, what exactly is rise?

In the past, Glen Mar has operated through two different giving campaigns: an annual operations campaign and, every few years, a capital campaign. That meant trying to figure out which season we were in, how much went to operations, how much went to the capital campaign, and how all of that fit together.

rise changes that.

rise – TOGETHER AS ONE is a one fund approach to giving. Instead of separate giving buckets, everything now comes together into one unified ministry fund that supports the full mission and ministry of Glen Mar for two years. That means your giving helps support our operating budget, ongoing ministries, future vision, building stewardship, and continued mortgage reduction, all at the same time.

So now, instead of asking, “What do I give here and what do I give there?” you simply make your best gift to the mission and ministry of Glen Mar through rise.

This campaign is rooted in Isaiah 60:1: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Christ is our light, and we believe God is calling Glen Mar to rise together in that light and share that light with others.

That means continuing to build on the strong ministries already happening here while also being intentional about where we are headed next. We want to continue offering meaningful worship and strong musical ministry. We want to continue reaching out into the community, especially to young adults and young families. We want to create a clearer discipleship pathway so that people can move from simply attending worship to truly growing in Christ and living out their faith.

This is exciting stuff because God is already doing encouraging​ things at Glen Mar. We are seeing new people connect, new families get involved, people stepping into service, people returning to church, and lives being changed. The question in front of us now is simple: how will we respond? How will we rise together?

Over the coming weeks, you’ll continue hearing more about the vision and ministry plan for the next couple of years and what it’s going to take for us to lean into it together. I hope you will pray, participate, and eventually pledge as we discern together how God is calling us to rise.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris