The Results of our 2023 Legacy Offering
The vision of Soul Sanctuary is to be a community of spiritual refuge for all people; a community based in the grace of God to facilitate repair for those who are hurting; and a community that rejuvenates, equips and empowers people to fulfil their God-given destiny. Each year as we consider our Legacy Offering it is important to remember the ways the Legacy offering worked towards filling the vision of Soul Sanctuary.
As we look ahead to our 2024 Legacy Offering, it’s important to take a moment to step back and look at the fruit of Soul Sanctuary’s generosity in our 2023 Legacy Offering. Over 240 people gave generously and sacrificially, over and above their tithes, contributing over $95,000 towards the Legacy Offering last year. We’re excited to share how the funds we gave have made a difference in our community.
1. LOCAL AND GLOBAL INITIATIVES
At Soul we desire to be a Kingdom-minded church that loves our city, and want to live out our family value that “we believe we can make a difference”. In January 2024, we sent support funds to both a local and global initiative in order to impact the amazing work these organizations are doing for God’s kingdom.
Rose Church, a young church plant in Winnipeg, is a vibrant community with a deep passion for seeing God’s Kingdom continue to grow in Winnipeg. Having recently moved into a facility of their own in Transcona, we were able to provide $10,000 towards furnishing the hildren’s classrooms in their new location, allowing Rose Church to provide a safe and Christ-centered space for the youngest members of their community.
Little Hands Kenya, a ministry of Helping Hands Kenya, offers an inclusive education program for preschool and primary school children with intellectual and physical disabilities. Little Hands School gives these children the opportunity to go to school alongside other kids and provides support and encouragement as they learn and take part in the various aspects of school life. As long-term missions partners of Soul Sanctuary, we were thrilled to provide the founders, Bernie and Celia Mascher, with $10,000 to support the purchase of playground equipment and new technology for their computer lab.
2. UPGRADES TO OUR CHILDREN’S AND STUDENT MINISTRY SPACES
Recognizing the need to refresh the very dated audio and vidual equipment in our Children’s and Student ministry rooms, we invested $50,000 and have spent the past several months executing plans that serve to bring much needed upgrades to these ministry spaces. The upgrades included:
Purchase of a new soundboard and speaker system for the Student Centre,
Purchase of new stage lighting and software for the Student Centre,
Mounting a projector in the Soul Kids room,
Purchase of a large scale projector screen for the Soul Kids room,
Purchase and installation of an enclosed AV rack for the Soul Kids room,
Installation of sound dampering material in the ceiling of both spaces,
Installation of a custom built production desk with storage in the Student Centre (this item is still in progress).
These upgrades highlight the significant value we place on children, students and their families, as well as the Servant Leaders and staff who minister to them.
3. CHURCH VITALITY INITIATIVES
We continue to see growth in our community and set aside to a portion of the Legacy Offering to go towards expenses and projects that supported the upkeep of our facility at 2050 Chevrier Blvd. As we celebrated the tenth birthday of this facility, we also recognized the work needed to maintain the facility well and ensure that this facility can continue to meet the needs of our Church and community.
As we celebrate the way our community’s generosity has made a difference we also look ahead to a series of new initiatives that we intend to complete with our 2024 Legacy Offering, including language translation during Sunday morning Gatherings, the continuation of a strong Newcomer’s ministry, and partnership with a school in Poland preparing young leaders to plant churches. Thank you to all those who contributed to the 2023 Offering. We look forward to our how community’s generosity will continue to make a difference in 2024.