Why raise an Ebenezer? Well, “Ebenezer” literally means “stone of help” or “commemorative stone” in Old Testament Hebrew. God instructed Israel to raise a twelve-stone Ebenezer to commemorate His faithfulness after they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land.2 In this biblical tradition, please celebrate with us as we raise our own annual Ebenezer, our “commemorative stone” to God, for His faithfulness to us in 2009. Rejoice with us in His faithfulness to “nourish churches as gospel-driven champions of life” (our mission statement) this past year.
- The Gospel remained true all year long! God held fast to His covenant with His people because of Jesus Christ, our Mediator. He remained seated on His throne all year, and He sovereignly presided over all things for our good.3 Therefore, Christ is our boast, joy and crown – The Cornerstone of our Ebenezer! Beyond any temporal blessing, and all the good things listed below, we praise God for who He is and for His eternal faithfulness to us in Christ. Amen.
- Shared CFL’s vision for becoming a holistic, gospel-driven champion of life with over 58 churches and pastors representing 9 different denominations in the St. Louis Region and beyond
- Shared CFL’s vision with 2 denominational bodies representing about 40 churches
- Coached over 32 churches/pastors to start or grow a Life Team in their church (this is an ongoing work)
- Began mentoring CFL’s first Regional Director – a man who, once certified, will graciously press CFL’s ministry model into churches in Northern Missouri
- Hired a part-time Ministry Assistant to increase our ability to nourish churches as gospel-driven champions of life
- Launched an online e-giving system which God has already used to bring financial partners who make up about 25% of our income
- Refined CFL’s website, www.getintolife.org:
- Maximized our website’s usefulness, as evidenced by these results4 for 2009:
- Added 2 directors to our already excellent Board of Directors: Tim Wood and Jay Westra
- Launched Life Team Leader Training – a much-needed component to help Life Teams grow
- Began putting Life Team Leader Training on video – to increase access to our training which will help Teams grow faster and stronger
- Realized an increase in giving – a wonderful blessing from God, considering the sluggishness of the economy
- Faithfully published CFL News, our monthly e-newsletter, each month
- Launched a baby item drop box which provides an easy, ongoing way for churches to give diapers and other baby items to moms and dads in crisis pregnancies, making it easier for them to choose and nourish life
- Preached, taught, led life-affirming film discussions, and gave announcements in many area churches to nourish them as gospel-driven champions of life
- Aired 2-minute segment on KMOV Channel 4 News about our gospel-driven sidewalk ministry training
- Strengthened our prayer base by launching a weekly Prayer & Praise email (become a prayer partner by emailing us at info@getintolife.org)
- Mentored a courageous woman in Texas who longs to see her pro-choice pastor, church, and denomination return to the gospel and the sanctity of human life
- Launched CFL’s Get Into Life, a program to provide service opportunities in the life arena to laypeople, with 4 Life Teams to over 4,000 congregants
- Created a 3-minute CFL vision DVD – an extremely useful tool to cast our gospel-driven vision to pastors and churches (see it HERE)
- Equipped over 161 people in various CFL workshops:
- 78 equipped in 4 Life Team 101 workshops, gaining skills to start or grow a gospel-driven Life Team at their church
- 70+ equipped in 4 Sidewalk Supporter Boot Camps, learning how to be a godly presence on the sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic
- 13 equipped in 2 Life Team Leader Trainings, being equipped as leaders of their respective Life Teams
- Equipped over 1,100 people in a gospel-driven, biblical worldview of life through several timely articles, including:
Again, we praise God for His faithfulness in 2009! Thank you for joining us in celebrating Him!
End Notes
1Most know the term “Ebenezer” from a line in the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing which says, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come….” The hymn was written by Robert Robinson in the mid-1700s. Here is the stanza which contains this famous lyric: Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by Thy help I'm come;and I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.
2 Joshua 4:1-7 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
3 Deut. 7:9ff, Ps. 31:5, 145:13, Isa. 49:7, Rom. 8, esp. v. 28, 1 Cor. 1:9, 1 Thes. 5:24, 2 Thes. 3:3, Heb. 10:23, 1 Pet. 4:19, 1 Jn. 1:9, Rev. 19:11
4 Annual website results extrapolated based on actual results for 1/1/09 through 12/6/09