A Personal Letter to the At God’s Table Community

Dear friends,

I am so grateful to each of you for your faithfulness as participants in this community.  Nothing gives me more joy than to see how we care for each other.  I have done my best to make that a reality year after year by using your donations to give financial aid to brothers and sisters who are part of our worldwide assembly. Whenever we have had a need, you rallied to support each other.  Even though we are separated by geographical distance, I know that we belong to each other.  We are doing church – the way it was done in Acts.

Now I have to come to you with a personal need.  You know how reticent I am to do this, but perhaps it is time.

Rosanne lost her job in the construction collapse two years ago.  She’s had a few interior design consultation projects here and there a year ago, but that has dried up.  (Check out Rosanne’s interior design portfolio online.  If you have a project, please contact her.)

As many of you know, I’m the Academic Dean at Master’s International Divinity School.  Sounds prestigious, and it’s no surprise that I love the work and teaching.  But the salary only meets about half of our monthly expenses and the school is currently unable to pay me on time and is quite a bit behind.  So Rosanne and I have been slowly depleting our savings in order to pay the bills.

Now I need your help.  For the first time in 7 years, I need to begin taking a regular salary from At God’s Table.

My hope is that this will be accomplished by all of you donating just a little bit (or a little bit more) each month.  This will help me make up the personal shortfall, and At God’s Table will still provide the same level of financial aid to those in need.

There are over 600 people who receive Today’s Word each day.  Less than half are regular contributors.  In the recent survey of Today’s Word readers, 19% of you are monthly supporters, 28% are occasional supporters, 27% have only contributed once or not at all.  I’m asking those of you in the last two categories especially to consider setting up a monthly donation plan.  If each person increased the donation by just $10 a month, it would be a great blessing.  Of course, I know that some of you simply cannot.  Others are spread around the globe (63 countries get Today’s Word) and financial contribution is difficult.  But if you find daily value in Today’s Word, and if you have the means to do so, would you please sacrifice the cost of lunch once or twice a month to help?  Make a fast of one meal once a month and send the cost to the work of At God’s Table.

Please visit my donation page and choose the donor amount of $10, $25, or more per month.  The amount you choose will automatically be deducted from your credit card or bank each month. Of course, you can discontinue support at any time — for any reason — but I hope you will find the continued exploration and participation in the community valuable.

We are planning a lot of new material and some real face-to-face time very soon.  Books, videos, audio and a family reunion are coming!

I do not intend to stop writing, teaching or digging deeper.  But it is getting much harder to continue this work as the pressures mount for me to take on other jobs in order to meet my monthly financial obligations.  Please consider the value of Today’s Word and At God’s Table in your life by making a reasonable monthly contribution.

PS – At God’s Table is a 501c3 non-profit.  All donations are tax deductible.

PPS – For those who did not see this when I posted it a few months ago, here is a summary of 2009 expenses for At God’s Table.  As you can see, we do take care of each other in pretty big ways.

Shalom,
Skip

Yes, I want to help Skip by making a monthly, tax-deductible donation to At God’s Table!