Goodbye October, hello November! We are so excited to begin a new month! We know we must be thankful every single day, but having all of November to focus on thanksgiving is so enjoyable! We have so many things to be thankful for this year, God has truly done so much through this pandemic! At the very top of our list is you! Although we have had to make some changes and a few adjustments during this time we have and will continue to work towards helping the community and in doing so furthering the Kingdom.
You may have noticed some of our changes, one of them being the way funds are distributed. This year we have been working closely with an accountant and the IRS to make sure we are doing things right to protect our 501c3 status. One highly suggested change was the method in which we set up our donations. We have grouped together our different ministries to create 5 different ‘buckets’. Today we would like to share with you about our Compassion Ministries.
When you give to Compassion Ministries you help with Happy Tummies (all locations)/Abuelitos, Stitches of Blessings, Library, Emergency Relief (Food Bags, Church on Wheels, Natural Disaster Assistance, etc.), Healing Hands, and Christmas Festival.
There is so much Impacto does through each of these ministries listed above, and as always, our main aim is to share the Gospel. So many are reached and cared for through each ministry and although the way our finances are organized has changed, everything else is the same. We are caring for each ministry as we always have, and that will never change.
As the end of the year is drawing near we would ask that you would prayerfully consider giving to our Compassion Ministries. Your gift will be used towards the ministries listed above and will be a blessing to so many people. One of the big things you’ll be seeing at the end of this year is our Christmas Festival. It will look totally different than previous years but we hope to make it special for about 150 families that we minister to.
Again, we are so thankful for you and we hope you have a wonderful start to the Holiday Season!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —
and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8 [NIV]
THE FIVE SOLAS
Five hundred and three years ago today, Martin Luther, a German theologist and student of the catholic seminary, after reading the whole Bible, discovered the great truth of the Word of God. He wanted to protest against the Catholic Church and did so by writing ninety-five theses based completely on the Bible; the Word of God. I want to invite and challenge you to read these five Solas which sum up the ninety-five theses. Meditate on them and you will find great theological content.
- Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) – 2 Timothy 3:16
- Sola Fide (Faith alone) -- Ephesians 2:8
- Sola Gratia (Grace alone) -- Titus 2:11
- Solus Christus (Christ alone) -- Acts 4:11-12
- Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God alone) -- Isaiah 42:12 and Habakkuk 2:14.
I hope that this helps us to understand much more about our evangelical faith.
