HitTheRiver.com RiverImpact.com

a note from Brad…

This is your opportunity ➡to do something significant that

will outlast your life ➡to make an eternal difference ➡to IMPACT our 5 mile radius ➡to make room for your 5

neighbors ➡to be part of a miracle!

This is our opportunity ➡to build a facility to accommodate

the people God continues to bring ➡to IMPACT our community for

Jesus ➡to provide well-designed spaces

for adults and kids ➡to leave a legacy of a fully

empowered church, equipped to meet future challenges and opportunities

Dear River Church Family, !God has been blessing us incredibly as a church. The purpose? So that the name of Jesus Christ will be made famous in our five mile radius and beyond! !In our church family the number of those who are returning to their relationship with Jesus—or just starting that journey—continues to grow. Jesus said that He “came to seek and to save what was lost.” He showed through the cross that He’ll stop at nothing to reach people; that is the amazing heart of God! !And His purpose is our purpose as well—to reach people needing Jesus. We are building friendships to share Jesus. As we do so, we need to be strategic and purposeful in how we invest the resources entrusted to us by God. !RIVER IMPACT is about making the biggest influence we can for Jesus in our five mile radius and beyond. God has strategically placed our church on a major thoroughfare, in the epicenter of current and future community growth for His specific purposes. It’s time to make room and change lives. !RIVER IMPACT is an unprecedented adventure for our church to declare to the community that God is doing a mighty work in our lives—and He desires the same for them! Join me in prayer and participation in RIVER IMPACT. What we are about to do together will last forever. !I praise God for the privilege of serving alongside you. I’m praying God’s blessings on you as He guides and directs us in this privilege to make an impact for Jesus and His Kingdom! !In Christ,

the need ➡ A recent demographic report for our church

said “The River Church sits at ground zero of a changing community.”

➡ Currently 32,000 people in our five miles are not involved in their faith at all!

➡ Our five mile radius is projected to grow 8.9% by 2017

➡ Approximately 2,587 NEW households will be added to our five miles by 2017

!You see a community in need of: ➡ direction ➡ purpose ➡ connection ➡ understanding of what they were created for !RIVER IMPACT is all about making room, so that we can change lives in our five mile radius.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Our average attendance since 2010 and projected attendance based on our current 25% average growth per year.

“You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden… So let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

We are growing…

"I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

Auditorium

The River (noun): a relational community that builds friendships to share Jesus with our five mile radius and beyond.

Our first need is to have a bigger auditorium so that we can have a greater IMPACT on our community. We are nearing 70-85% capacity during two of our three services. We have set up an overflow room, but that is a short-term solution. If guests come and cannot find space to sit, they won’t return. We have to make room to change lives. !The new auditorium will be double the size of our current facility which will increase our seating capacity to 800 for two services. We are making room to change lives. And when we change lives, we change marriages and families for eternity.

Kid’s Space

Partnering with parents to be a relational community that builds friendships to share Jesus with the kids at The River and with their friends.

We love children at The River! We strive to provide a safe, loving and over-the-top environment for the children that come to RiverBank Kids. The current auditorium would be re-purposed into a new pre-kindergarten area, adding much needed child-sized restrooms in the classrooms. With the young children closer to the auditorium, we will provide a greater sense of security for the parents of preschoolers.

If we are not financially able to convert the current auditorium into the new preschool area, then our elementary aged program (RAZ - River Action Zone) would be able to use it for their Sunday morning large group program.

New Entry

We will create a new patio and entrance on the south side of the building. A key to this entry will be a ramp for people with physical challenges as we currently have no wheelchair accessibility through that entrance. !The new patio gives us the opportunity to extend some of our connection space with the patio area and some outdoor seating for people to gather and make new friends. More connection space helps us to achieve our vision of being a relational community that builds friendships to share Jesus with our five mile radius and beyond.

PreparationPRAYER Prayer starts it all. Nothing prepares our heart to respond to God like seeking His heart through prayer. Don’t rush it. The longer you pray, “God show me how to give,” the more ways He can show you. !PROPORTIONAL Strive to respond in proportion to God’s blessing and provision. This will be different for each of us--and that’s okay! The Apostle Paul says that gifts are “acceptable according to what a person has not according to what he doesn’t have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12) God is interested in our heart’s response to Him, not just the amounts we give. !PLEASING Seek a commitment decision that is pleasing to God. For most of us, it is easy to find what is pleasing to us. But to find what is pleasing to God, our faith will likely need to be stretched through prayer and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. !Here are a few questions to determine if the amount is pleasing to God: !• Does the amount really require me to trust God? (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) • Does the amount show I value eternal reward more than material things on earth? (1 Timothy 6:19) • Does the amount represent a genuine sacrifice? (2 Samuel 24:24) • Does the amount express the level of thanksgiving I have for the ways Christ and His church have blessed my life

and my family? (Psalm 54:6) !PEACE Look for and anticipate peace from God that passes all understanding after making a prayerful and proportional commitment that is pleasing to Him. This will be experienced in different ways--a confirming word or situation, a general sense of calm, sensing God’s perfect will.

TO DETERMINE YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT 1. Calculate your current weekly giving to The River.

2. Go through the “4 P’s” and ask God to place a weekly amount on your heart to give beyond your regular giving. You might use the giving matrix (on the next page) as a helpful tool.

3. Ask yourself what amount:

• you feel God has placed on your heart • you believe God will provide for you to give, and • you would like to give

4. Assume for a few days you were to give the amount God has placed on your heart. Then ask yourself these questions:

• Is my gift sacrificial? • Am I demonstrating faith in God’s promise and provision? • Am I joyous about giving this amount?

!If you can answer “yes” to all these questions, then you can feel comfortable about your gift amount. If you cannot honestly answer “yes” to questions 2-4, run through steps 2-3 again until you are comfortable with your answer in step 4. !If you are married, you and your spouse should follow steps 1-3 separately. Then, get together and share your gift amounts. If you arrive at different amounts, repeat steps 2-4 together and come to an agreement on what you believe God wants you to give. Don’t rush it...take your time...and make sure you are both ready. We won’t be turning in our commitment cards until October 5th.

getting Involved

PRACTICALLY DETERMINING YOUR IMPACT Many families may choose to rearrange their financial priorities and give up something in their current budget in order to give on a regular basis.

A family of 5 chooses to eat out once a week. They can easily spend around $50 on that meal alone. This family decided to make the change to only eating out two meals a month and committed to only ordering water to drink. They saved, on average, $130 per month and $1,560 each year.

A single mother with two kids has little room in her budget. She has, however, found that she can save around $20 per week by using coupons at the grocery. She also stopped picking up coffee on her way to work in the mornings. These conscious decisions, along with money her kids made from a garage sale, totaled almost $1,330 by the end of the year.

Total Goal: $2.6 million this includes our two year operational budget, missions, benevolence and building expansion

getting Involved (cont’d)

gifts needed gift level annual gift monthly gift gift level total

1 $270,000 $135,000 $11,250 $270,000

1 $175,000 $87,500 $7,291 $175,000

1 $135,000 $67,500 $5,625 $135,000

3 $100,000 $50,000 $4,166 $300,000

4 $75,000 $37,500 $3,125 $300,000

5 $50,000 $25,000 $2,083 $250,000

6 $35,000 $17,500 $1,458 $210,000

8 $25,000 $12,500 $1,041 $200,000

25 $15,000 $7,500 $625 $375,000

20 $7,500 $3,750 $312 $150,000

25 $5,000 $2,500 $208 $125,000

30 $2,500 $1,250 $104 $62,500

40 $1,200 $600 $50 $48,000

total gift goal $2,600,500

"I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God… offerings that cost me nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24

Recognizing that God is the Provider and Owner of all I have and all I will ever have, it is my desire to make a faith promise to support our church and its God-sized vision of $2.6 million over two years:

IMPACT On Lives IMPACT On Our Community IMPACT On Our World

This is not an “over and above” offering but a total of what you intend to give for the next two years.

What I normally give in a year to The River Church

My expanded annual generosity !x 2 years !

Gift from my stored resources

NOVEMBER 2014 TO NOVEMBER 2016

!!Name(s)

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone

Email

MY IMPACT GIVING PLAN

+

+

IMPACT FAITH PROMISE =

=

Recognizing that God is the Provider and Owner of all I have and all I will ever have, it is my desire to make a faith promise to support our church and its God-sized vision of $2.6 million over two years:

IMPACT On Lives IMPACT On Our Community IMPACT On Our World

This is not an “over and above” offering but a total of what you intend to give for the next two years.

What I normally give in a year to The River Church

My expanded annual generosity !x 2 years !

Gift from my stored resources

NOVEMBER 2014 TO NOVEMBER 2016

!!Name(s)

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone

Email

MY IMPACT GIVING PLAN

$

$

$

+

$

$+

IMPACT FAITH PROMISE $=

=

You May Be Asking:CAN WE UTILIZE ANY OTHER PORTION OF THE BUILDING? !We have already repurposed the room off the café as our “Overflow Room,” but it is a short-term solution to serving the individuals and families God is entrusting to us. !CAN WE ADD A FOURTH SERVICE? !At this point we don’t have the depth in our attendance to provide enough volunteers to sustain a fourth service for an extended time. Conducting three services has already proven to be a strain on our volunteer base. !HOW SOON DO WE REALLY NEED TO BUILD? !As soon as possible! We have grown 105% over the last four years, moved to three services, and are often near or over 80% capacity in our third service. At our current growth rate we could be at over 600 people in two years. Our auditorium only has 200 seats! God is moving on the hearts of people to learn more about Jesus and we need to make room! !WHAT IS OUR PROCESS? !We will conclude the Impact Campaign on Sunday, October 5. It is on this day that everyone will bring their commitment cards indicating their regular giving and extended giving for 24 months beginning November 15th. On Sunday, October 19th, we will receive an additional offering in which we will give as much as we are able toward that two-year commitment. That afternoon, the members of The River Church will meet to vote on moving forward with the project.

You May Be Asking (cont’d)

WHAT IS A “ONE FUND”? !Some churches have two funds where people continue general giving and then those who desire to contribute to a building fund can make designated gifts to that fund. The problem is that not everyone is part of the solution or the blessings. !A “One Fund” allows everyone to contribute to RIVER IMPACT. It simply means that one participates in regular giving and increases their giving for two years in a generous and even sacrificial manner. The church continues to operate within a budget as always, and the remainder goes to the building. !WHAT IF WE DON’T REACH OUR GOAL? !We’re convinced that this goal is very attainable for our church family. But if necessary, we will seek wise counsel to determine the best percentage of what is raised to put toward our existing debt and what percentage will be retained as equity for future expansion. Our heart is to be wise stewards of God’s resources. We won’t build without membership approval. However, one of the things we love about The River is its heart for God’s purposes and spirit of generosity toward the things of Christ! !WHAT ARE WE ASKING PEOPLE TO DO? !We are asking everyone to do four things: Pray, Surrender, Listen and Obey. Pray: Ask God what His number is that He wants you to give over the next two years. Surrender: We want everyone to surrender to God all that they are and have – to recognize that all of it is His. Listen: We want people to ask God what they should do and listen to what He lays on their hearts. Obey: Follow through on what God leads them to do for the campaign. !IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN GIVE OTHER THAN MONEY? !David Kuntz can be consulted to discuss stock or other asset donations (cars, land, jewelry, etc). He can be reached at david@HitTheRiver.com.

HitTheRiver.com RiverImpact.com

5546 Cincinnati Dayton Road Liberty Township, OH 45044

513.755.7777

special events Calendar

Sunday, September 14 !September 14 - October 11 !October 5 !October 19 !November 2014

RIVER IMPACT Campaign starts !Community Group meetings !Bring your IMPACT Commitment Card !IMPACT Offering Sunday !Launch of 2 year giving period