Giving is a response, not a requirement.
What follows isn’t a pitch — it’s an invitation to respond to what God has already done. Prayerfully consider your part, as a family, on your own timeline.
Two ways to respond
Make a Commitment
Pledge a three-year commitment, over and above your regular giving.
Make a CommitmentSince 1994, God has utilized Bay Life Church in making thousands of people new through life-changing faith in Him. He has always given us what we’ve needed to honor Him. For this I am equal parts amazed, blessed, and grateful. God has been so, so good to us!
We are looking to Him once again to provide as we rally around His vision for next things. Visions of this magnitude are realized when everybody involved commits to their part in the process. I’ve asked God to direct Eleanor and me in what we will give, and I’m praying the same for you.
Please read through this Giving Guide and then ask God how He wants you to participate. Every gift makes a difference. Thanks ahead of time for whatever offering you make – may God bless you richly as you give.
Your giving will…
When Lifers give sacrificially toward $2.8 million over three years, together we will:
- Give our Bay Life Kids ministry real classrooms, with ceilings and acoustic dampening, so children can hear the person telling them about Jesus.
- Open up a shared space in the Bay Life Kids area of the Student Center for play, creativity, and family community.
- Replace the projectors, computers, wiring, and microphones in the Bay Life Kids space with a full technology overhaul and update.
- Renew the audio and video systems in the Worship Center, some of which have run our services for more than two decades and have reached their technology end-of-support. The room itself stays as it is.
- Carry the gospel beyond our walls to Lifers and seekers who are sick, homebound, or far away.
Pray. Consider. Commit. Expect.
1. Pray
Ask God to shape you in this season, not just your gift. Walk through the 27-day devotional with fellow Lifers, and pray that God would move powerfully in you and through you.
2. Consider
Reflect on what God has done for you. Then prayerfully consider what He is asking you to give. We are not asking for equal gifts but equal sacrifice. Talk it through as a family, and give yourselves time.
3. Commit
Decide on a three-year commitment, over and above your regular giving. Paul says a gift is “acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have” (2 Corinthians 8:12). Then make it, in faith.
4. Expect
Anticipate God’s provision as you commit to the Made New Project. Look forward to how He will make you new as you honor Him. Trust Him for all that you need.
Ways to give.
At Bay Life
Place your gift in the offering at any weekend service. Write “Made New” on the memo line of your check, or use a Made New envelope, so your gift is counted toward your commitment.
Online
Give at baylife.org/give and choose the Made New fund. Set up a recurring gift, and your commitment takes care of itself each month, quarter, or year.
Mail your gift to Bay Life Church, Attn: Made New, 1017 Kingsway Rd, Brandon, FL 33510. Include your name and address so we can credit your gift for tax purposes, and note that it is for Made New.
Bill Pay
Use your bank’s bill pay to send a check to Bay Life Church, 1017 Kingsway Rd, Brandon, FL 33510. No stamp needed. Put “Made New” in the memo field.
Crypto & Digital Assets
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and over 90 other digital assets can be given through our giving partner at baylife.org/give. Gifts are converted on receipt, and giving an appreciated asset directly may carry a tax advantage. Ask your tax advisor.
Stocks & Bonds
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, or estate gifts can be given and transferred directly to Bay Life. Ask your tax advisor about potential advantages of giving this way. For information on how to transfer these items, contact Tom Eichem at teichem@baylife.org.
How to make your commitment.
- Pray over it first. Decide what God would have you give over three years, above your regular giving.
- Fill out the commitment card using the online commitment form: your total commitment and how you plan to fulfill it, whether monthly, quarterly, annually, or in a single gift.
- Bring your form on Celebration Sunday, October 11, along with your first fruits. Many Lifers bring a first gift that morning to start us strong. Our elders, staff, and other Bay Life leaders will have committed first on October 4.
- Fulfill it joyfully through any of the giving options above. This is between you and God; we will simply send a statement so you can see where you stand.
Our commitment today helps make room for what God will do tomorrow.