Dear loyal blog reader and friend,

What I’m about to do isn’t something that I do very often; those who know me can attest to how rare it is.  I generally don’t like asking for help (remember this post?); it’s not something I’m good at.

I don’t like asking for help because I know that everyone already has enough on their plates.  The last thing you need is some priest to leverage his spiritual authority to make you feel guilty about not doing more or giving more.  Am I right?

But that’s why I don’t want you to take this as a request for help.  Instead, I hope you see it as an invitation to be part of something great…really great! 

When God commanded Moses to build a sanctuary for Him (aka, the tabernacle), He knew that Moses didn’t have enough resources on his own to build it.  He needed help to fulfill the command.  So what did He tell Moses to do?

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.  And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.  And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”  (Exodus 25:1-8)

The same thing happened a few years later when David wanted to prepare the material for his son Solomon to build the temple.  Where did all the material come from?

"Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.  And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.  Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.”  (1 Chronicles 29:6-9)

In both cases, where did the resources come from?  THE PEOPLE OF GOD!

Moses didn’t have enough gold or silver or bronze to build the tabernacle on his own.  So he gave the children of Israel a chance to offer and they did.  And the tabernacle was built.

Same thing with David.  He knew he didn’t have enough to build the temple on his own; so he gave the children of Israel a chance to offer and they did as well.  And the temple was built.

In both situations, God gave a command to build knowing full well that the project could not be completed unless they asked for help.  And in both situations, when given the opportunity to give, the people did so willingly and generously and in the end, everyone rejoiced/partied!

Why?  Because they willingly made offerings to build God’s kingdom.

So now I’m doing the same thing.  I’m not asking you for help because we need money; I’m asking you to help because God’s house is in need and you have the chance to do something about it.  You have a chance to make an offering that will build God’s house – not a forced offering made out of guilt, but rather a freewill offering made out of a desire to be part of something great.

What am I asking for specifically?  

By now, you’ve probably heard that God has called us to build Him a home here in Arlington – just three miles outside one of the most influential cities in the world, Washington DC. But to do that, we need your help.

We need to raise $2 million by October 12 and I'm asking for your help to make this happen.

Please understand that I don’t want you to feel guilted into giving or to give grudgingly.  That’s not what this is all about.  Instead, all I want you to do is simply ask yourself one question: "has my life been impacted by the work being done here?"

Maybe it was through a sermon that you heard at just the right time… or maybe it was a blog post that seemed like it was written just for you… or maybe it was a weekend retreat or conference where you experienced God and felt His Presence in a special way…

Whatever it may be, if you’ve been impacted in some way, now is your chance to partner with us by making a contribution to the BUILD YOUR KINGDOM campaign and giving someone else a chance to feel that same impact in their life.

I need your help because without you, we can’t do what God is clearly calling us to do here.  He’s calling us to impact more lives… to reach more people… to win more souls.  He’s calling us to show the world that our Orthodox faith isn’t a dead faith, it’s A LIVING FAITH – one that is 100% applicable and relevant and needed in the world today.

God is calling us to do a lot, but we need your help to get there.  I’ve never felt that our ministry should be limited to just our “local members.”  We take pride in being able to serve our “global members” – through online sermons, blog posts, weekend conferences, etc – and we’ve always looked at our global ministry as simply an extension of our local one.

So now I’m asking you to prayerfully consider making an offering.  CLICK HERE to learn more about the project and to make a donation.

Thank you in advance.

“Consider now, for the Lord has chosen YOU to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”  1 Chronicles 28:10