July/August 2011 Archives:
New Walk-in Fridge and Freezer
Yay God! A generous grant from the Oregon Food Bank covered one half of the cost of our large new walk-in refrigerator and freezer. Sonrise's Food Pantry and the S.O.S. Shelter joined forces to cover the other half of the cost. This amazing addition to our church will allow us to serve those coming to our Food Pantry each week, those eating and staying during the cold winter nights at our S.O.S. homeless shelter, and the many other events and activities hosted in our building! The installation was completed in August and was filled within one week!
Sonrise's Debt Poll Results
Dear Sonrise Family,
I recently heard this illustration: Imagine a family that makes $55,000 per year, yet spends $96,000 per year–and because of this spending pattern is currently in debt for $366,000!* Can you imagine the attitudes that this family must have to keep on spending far above their means–all the while thinking the debt will just "take care of itself" in the future? How deceived would these parents be in leading their family in this direction? How deceived would these children be to keep expecting mom and dad to continue their out-of-control spending habits so they can enjoy life as they always have?
Okay, are you ready for the truth? Those are the exact ratios of our federal government's income, spending, and debt patterns! I hope that wakes you up and reminds you that the government is not going to lead the way out of our dire economic situation.
Last weekend during the Sonrise services we took our own debt poll and were shocked to add up everyone's debt. Here are the stats with 411 households participating:
• Average household debt (consumer debt only/excluding mortgage debt): $26,634
• Total congregation debt: $10,946,760.
If this debt is paid off at an average 16% interest rate over the terms of typical credit card or finance company schedule here is the result:
• $26,634 principal, plus $51,927 interest adds up to a total payoff of $78,561 over the course of the loan.
• If you pay the minimum payment only, then this would be a monthly payment of $533 over 48 years.
• When you multiply this by the 411 households that responded you get a monthly payment of $219,063 per month going out to consumer debt!
• The total payoff adds up to a whopping $32,288,571 over the course of the loan.
We currently have over 800 households attending Sonrise, so you could easily double that number.
Maybe our federal government is not the only one with the cavalier attitude toward debt? This is one of the key reasons why we're asking everyone to journey with us through Financial Peace University beginning September 18. If you have not yet signed up, please do so. Currently there are only 57 FPU kits available at the reduced price of $75. On our next reorder the kits will cost $100. To take the next step toward financial peace, visit http://www.isonrise.com/FPU or visit our "Great Recovery" kiosk in the Sonrise Foyer this weekend. If you join us on this journey your financial life will never be the same again.
*(The above illustration statistics were given by Dave Ramsey on the Piers Morgan Tonight show on July 28, 2011.)
Sonrise Serves! day of kindness
Sonrisers, young and old, got out on Sat. 8/06 to serve our neighborhood and community through various projects. If you follow us on Facebook, click here to see the full album of our teams in action!
Youth Mission Trip to Haiti
You heard about our Youth traveling to Haiti to do mission work for those so affected by the 2010 earthquake. You may have even prayed for them. Now check out the video of their experiences on the ground, sharing the love of Jesus!
