Holly Furtick

It’s Friday and time for another Life Change Inbox! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 that our lives are living letters written so that God might be glorified. People often write in to Elevation and share the work God is doing in their lives through our church. When I read these stories, I am reminded that we serve a powerful God who still works miracles in the lives of everyday people. These stories inspire me to keep giving, keep serving and continue praying for those who are far from God. I hope they will do the same for you.

If you have a story you would like to share, email us at amencorner@elevationchurch.org

Check out this story….

Addie joined the eGroup I led.  She was not like the rest of our group. Most of us were in our late 40-50′s, but Addie was a young 30-something nurse & Zumba instructor. She and her 2 year old son had just moved back into her parents house to get on her feet. She came to the first meeting clearly mad, hurt, and broken. I thought by her attitude that someone made her come. I later found out that she decided to return to church to help get her life back together.

She was forced into a rough lifestyle of drugs and abuse at the hands of her spouse. She had a front row seat to a life she would never chose for herself and especially not her son. When we met, her husband had just entered rehab. As the weeks passed, Addie began to open up and share her story. At first, she was rough, and honestly, as a leader, I thought the other members would shy away from her. I thought they would say, “we’ll pray for you, throw up a quick one, and do it again the following week”.  Never to put feet to their faith.

I was a new eGroup leader and clearly underestimated these Elevators. These “church ladies” embraced her. Some helped financially, some gave her son gifts, one member took her in, and Addie lived in her basement for a few weeks.  They all prayed for her! We watched this broken soul lean into God and us. First hand we witnessed His healing power over this family. We watched our Sun Stand Still prayers come alive.

Fast forward 2 years. Rehab worked. Her husband has FULLY RECOVERED and has a wonderful job. They moved to Tennessee and have made a great life! They have worked hard to restore a marriage that was a certain divorce, and now they are living happily ever after. Today their fairy tale got a little sweeter as they welcomed  baby Ellie into the family! God is Good! God is Good! 

Thanks Elevation for eGroups! It was such an honor to be a part of something God orchestrated so beautifully! Our group didn’t just change Addie’s life, but every member involved!

Tina

It’s Friday and time for another Life Change Inbox! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 that our lives are living letters written so that God might be glorified. People often write in to Elevation and share the work God is doing in their lives through our church. When I read these stories, I am reminded that we serve a powerful God who still works miracles in the lives of everyday people. These stories inspire me to keep giving, keep serving and continue praying for those who are far from God. I hope they will do the same for you.

If you have a story you would like to share, email us at amencorner@elevationchurch.org

Check out Steve and Lisa’s story….

Dear Pastor Steven and Elevation staff,

Why is it that sometimes giving to God can be filled with doubt and apprehension?  Intellectually, we know all our material possessions and money are blessings from the Lord, but sometimes it can still be hard to increase our giving.  In 2012, Lisa and I decided to take Pastor Steven’s challenge to give the full tithe to Elevation and increase our monthly giving to 15%.  During the Banner Years campaign, we were excited to give the largest single donation check we have ever written to the Banner Years campaign.

We also had an underwater mortgage that was keeping us from being able to sell our house.  Analyzing our income, it was going to take approximately 3 years to pay off the loan deficit.

We could not think of a better place to invest our money than Elevation where every week people far from God are being filled to Life in Christ.  We love Pastor Steven’s heart as he keeps the focus on the LOVE of Jesus and Holy Spirit as the true and powerful life changers.  My walk with the Lord is closer, marriage healthier, and less sin-entangled than ever before – thanks to Elevation.  Thank you Pastor Steven for “keeping it real” and preaching Truth in a way both church and nonchurch goers can relate to. The friends we bring to Elevation always enjoy their experience and many have started a relationship with Jesus.

If I stopped here, I think this would still be a good praise report.  BUT, here is the “rest of the story”…  Amazingly, due to unexpected revenue and gifts, a few days ago we paid off the significant mortgage deficit which will allow us to put our house on the market.  Upon writing this praise report, I realized that our loan deficit had been 8 times larger than our Banner Years offering.

The number 8 – where have we heard that that number before:):)?!?!

In humility and awe, we want to thank and praise the Lord because there is absolutely no way we could have paid the loan deficit by ourselves in 3 months.

We truly look forward to seeing what God is going to do in our new Elevation Church in 2013 - a new beginning in year 8 !!!

Sincerely,

Steve and Lisa

P.S.  A couple  weeks ago at the Uptown campus, I was sitting next to two very sweet ladies - VIP’s - that heard about Elevation at the woman’s homeless shelter.  I enjoyed our conversation and hope they felt loved and appreciated for joining the celebration.  It is so cool to go to a church where people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds can meld seamlessly in worship together.