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| "Our visit to your congregation--to revise upward your WELS mission offering pledge, and our heartfelt discussions with your pastor--have borne fruit." |
DP Jon-Boy Buchholz
"I am pleased to report that across our Arizona-California District the visits are bearing fruit. Many of our congregations have revisited their CMO and revised their subscriptions upward. The final results remain to be seen, but we pray that significant cuts to our synodical mission work will not be necessary.
If your congregation has not yet reevaluated your CMO and considered the possibility of an increase, please do so as soon as possible, and communicate your decision back to your circuit pastor."
***
GJ - One of my Evangelical friends told me about a trick used by visiting financial experts in Pentecostal and Evangelical congregations.
The expert comes in and leads a pledge service. Usually the sermon is about God owing us many times more what we give, so we should give more and become rich.
The cards are collected and counted. The speaker and the ministers all sign pledges.
When the total is announced, the speaker gets agitated and asks for his pledge card. "I am not happy with what I pledged. I want a new card." They fish it out and give it to him. He dramatically tears it up and fills out a new one.
On cue, the staff ask for theirs, rip them up, and fill new ones.
"Now who else wants to change their pledge?" Hands go up slowly, then more hands as people look around. The counters know what they put down so they better increase them. The lash of the law is felt on the small of their backs.
Soon everyone has re-pledged and the new total is announced. "HalleUOJya!"
The speaker is paid a fat fee.
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| At one WELS conference, Cho books were sold to the participants. At the Kelm CG conference I was told to attend, Cho was praised. Cho stole $12 million from his own church. His son also embezzled large sums. Dream big - as Parlow says. |