Stewardship Newsletter

With the gradual passing of summer, fall has quietly arrived. To us New Yorkers, however, September is anything but calm. The world was shaken nine years ago on September 11th, and that 9/11 event changed the face of world politics and religion. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers two years ago brought the global financial crisis to a fever pitch. Then, just a few days ago, we were hit by tornados; while some brothers’ and sisters’ homes or cars got damaged, at least everyone was safe. Indeed, “if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)

Praise God that He has brought QHC through 21 years, of which each day was filled with His grace. At our congregational meeting this year, I shared some thoughts with brothers and sisters. Some of those thoughts are included in my sharing here:

As our church grows in size, the types and number of ministries have increased accordingly to meet the growing needs of our brothers and sisters. Many of these ministries and activities are intended for newcomers or non-Christians. At the same time, we must continue to improve our current ministries and strengthen our discipleship and leadership training. Many ministries cannot continue in the same old model as before, and it will take some recalibration to find the appropriate improvements.

While we need to address the many needs that exist, our primary responsibilities must remain these: the deepening of our spiritual foundation and the building up of more disciples who love God, love others, and who continue to grow. For an entire church to continually grow deeper is a tremendous spiritual battle and challenge that desperately needs prayer!

With the growth of QHC, we have more and more workers on staff, and many ministries became led by full-time staff. With other brothers and sisters working together, there is a strong sense of teamwork. However, a major issue I have been pondering about is how to better equip lay brothers and sisters, giving them more opportunities to participate and more room to utilize their gifts. I very much need wisdom from above on this matter.

The Church is God’s family, and we are members of this family. I often feel nostalgic for the intimacy we had in the past, when I not only knew each brother and sister, each one’s background and his/her current situation or struggle, we also walked the different stages of life together. Now that we are greater in number, many brothers and sisters do not know one another, and it is also necessary for the church to become more institutionalized, with formal structures and rules, in order to prevent disorder and confusion. Even I have had to learn to adjust to this change. It is not easy to maintain a church that both exude the warmth of a family and the operational efficiency of an organization. May God help us.

For 21 years, we have been diligent in missions work, supporting it with both finances and workers. From the time we built the new building until now, even with such tight finances, we still have the goal of keeping the same level of giving toward missions. For 2010, we pledged to spread the Gospel to 2200 people, and we have seen God add to our number those who are saved.

We see the drastic increase of immigrants from China in Queens and, as a result, the great need of the Mandarin-speaking population for the Gospel, which we cannot ignore. However, our resources are quite stretched due to the development of our community ministries. For this, we need to offer ourselves and increase our effort.

Please pray fervently for yourselves and for the church, as we endeavor to complete the stewardship pledge. With one heart, let us continue in our labor to “Proclaim the Gospel, Nurture the Heralds, and Send the Servants.”