EGC 365 Campaign

by Jeff Bass, Executive Director

Dear Friends,

In a season when our nation and Greater Boston are facing ever increasing challenges, do you believe that God is at work? Do you believe God is at work through his Church? Do you believe God is at work through you?

Since the mid-1960s, God has used immigrants, migrants, students, businessmen and businesswomen, and even some home-grown Bostonians to revitalize his Church. EGC gets behind Christian leaders of all types and helps the Church:

EGC is a “backbone organization” that others depend on for learning, connection, technical support, and strategic assistance. We have been doing this work for many years, and the fruit is seen throughout urban Boston and beyond.

Of course, this work depends on partners like you who support the Church and EGC with your prayers, finances and involvement. The work we do is staff intensive. It takes time to develop and maintain relationships and to do the hard work of learning, thinking, planning and working together, especially across the lines of community, race, denomination and ministry approaches/interests. We need steady, dependable support to be effective over the long term.

We have initiated this EGC 365 campaign to help EGC be sustainable, day in and day out, 365 days a year. We are seeking investment to strengthen our work, as well as 365 new monthly donors. We invite you to join us in this important work of strengthening Christian leaders by investing in EGC or by becoming a monthly donor.

Rev. Eva Clarke, Chair of the Board & Jeff Bass, Executive Director

PS - EGC’s work has never been more needed! Please join us in strengthening Christian leaders to serve urban communities.

EGC Strengthens Christian Leaders to Serve Urban Communities

We believe healthy leaders lead to healthy churches and related systems, which lead to healthy communities and positive change in the world.

We strengthen leaders by helping them:

Learn: by taking time to understand the city and the systems in which we operate.
Connect: by getting to know the people involved and facilitating strong working relationships, and by connecting the dots of stories and narratives to facilitate understanding.
Equip: by providing teaching, training, tools and resources for effective ministry, and by helping others learn and connect. Learn, Connect and Equip always work together and lead to action.

EMMANUEL GOSPEL CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

Seeking God, to understand the times and seasons

EGC’s learning has fueled Christian ministry in Boston and the New England region for decades. The city is constantly changing, the world is becoming increasingly urban, and the pace of change everwhere seems to be accelerating. Living System Ministry is needed now more than ever, so Christian leaders can understand and cooperate with how God is at work through the larger social systems in which we operate. Living System Ministry provides strong roots and soil for effective evangelism and outreach, and is critical for churches and communities to effectively understand and systemically address homelessness, youth violence, education, and the critical issues of our day.

A Growing Collaboration, that reflects the diversity in our city

The Abolitionist Network Director Sarah Dunham leads two cohorts consisting of 16 Christian leaders dedicated to increasing their church and ministry impact on human trafficking through education, prevention, safe and effective response, and holistic community to support survivors. Sarah and the cohort have led the charge in training over 30 churches, including the Emmanuel Baptist Church of Norfolk which is now taking the lead in their community in the fight against sex and labor trafficking.

The Boston Education Collaborative teamed up with Bethel AME Church’s Generation Excel Program to implement the Peer Mediation Program in a Boston public school that had recently experienced several tragic student deaths. This program trained 14 student mediators and served close to 70 students, providing them a healthy outlet to resolve peer conflicts or heal from trauma.

The Greater Boston Refugee Ministry (GBRM) trained over 200 Christian leaders from 50 congregations on how to conduct refugee ministry. After taking leaders through the training, GBRM assisted with deploying these leaders by creating and supporting functional teams dedicated to serving refugees through resources, fellowship, and social integration.

Sharing God’s story, to see hearts changed & renewed

In February 2017, EGC partnered with Vision New England and Greater Things for Greater Boston to host the second annual New England City Forum. This brought together 103 participants representing 32 churches and 30 nonprofits to discover what God is doing in the region, learn from each other, and plan for collaboration between Christian leaders.

WHAT LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EGC

“I have had the privilege of partnering with the Emmanuel Gospel Center for many years in strengthening youth ministry in Boston. EGC’s applied research has been a catalyst for all kinds of ministry development in our region. EGC plays a vitally important role, and I am grateful for their ongoing work.” – Rev. Ray Hammond, MD, Pastor of Bethel AME Church, Jamaica Plain

“For decades and for many of us, EGC has been an anchor, one cohesive place in the city that helps hold us together like family to grow together across multiple generations and seasons of ministry.” – Rev. Lorraine Anderson, retired Senior Pastor of International Community Church, Allston

“Emmanuel Gospel Center’s leadership in research plays an important role in helping to understand our largest cities. EGC provides a best-of-class model of the power of applied research based on decades of work in Boston. Their model is inspiring similar efforts in other cities, including New York City.” – Dr. Mac Pier, Founder and CEO of the New York City Leadership Center

“I’ve had the privilege to observe and appreciate deeply EGC’s critical role as servant-leaders of the Church in this city for almost 40 years. Going beyond theoretical biblical knowledge, my friends at EGC have struggled to discern and align themselves and their ministry to the Word and Spirit in the city, its people, and its systems.” – Rev. Eldin Villafañe, PhD., Founding Director, Gordon- Conwell Theological Seminary’s Boston campus

“Building bridges across various Christian traditions and cultures can be extremely difficult. EGC came alongside me in cultivating the vision for Christian unity that God has given me. Without their support and encouragement to persevere, I wouldn't be the leader I am today.” – Kelly Steinhaus, Founding Director, UniteBoston

“When I visited the EGC team, I saw a model of a ministry that had city-wide vision and impact. It was a synchronistic moment, as I had a vision on my heart for something similar when I returned home to Mumbai, India, to put into practice some of their principles. I saw the Center bring together the church in Boston while developing new patterns of ministry which effectively combined proclamation with praxis.” – Rev. Viju Abraham, Co-founder and Chairman, Association for Christian Thoughtfulness (ACT), Mumbai, India

OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH EGC

EGC’s work is staff intensive. As Boston becomes more and more expensive, it becomes more and more challenging for an urban ministry like EGC to retain, and fairly compensate the talented people we need for the time-demanding work that we do.

Currently, our funding base is strong. We are grateful for the 1,000 individuals and 100 churches that support EGC regularly, for the major donors that invest in our work, and for the foundations that entrust us with grants. However, there is a lot of opportunity for growth, and you are invited to partner with us. We lack an endowment to provide stability as project support ebbs and flows, and our current support base is not large enough to adequately support critical staffing needs going forward. For EGC to continue to be strong and do the important work we are called to do, our funding base needs to grow.

SUSTAINING SUPPORT

Become a monthly donor!

You can become a foundational part of EGC’s funding by becoming a monthly donor. This will make you part of EGC’s most valuable (and stable!) form of support. You will be joining 75 donors who currently give a total of almost $5,000 each month. Growing sustained giving to the General Fund is a major priority, as it supports and strengthens all that EGC does.

Our goal is to find 365 new monthly donors to support EGC’s General Fund. Will you support EGC with a gift of $10, $25, $50, $100 or any amount per month, and become a core sustaining partner of EGC?

# of Donors Monthly Annual
25 $100 - 500 $60,000
75 $100 $90,000
100 $ 50 $60,000
100 $ 25 $30,000
65 $ 5-24 $10,000
__________________________________________
365 $250,000

STRATEGIC INVESTMENT

Become a strategic investor!

Perhaps you are interested in a strategic investment in EGC’s heart of innovation. EGC is seeking $250,000 per year for the next 3 years to invest in our core capacity to learn about how God is at work in urban Boston, and connect and get behind those making a difference. This is the engine which drives EGC forward.

Your investment will help EGC continue to build long-term sustainable collaborations across urban ministries and churches. Your return on investment will be evidenced in terms of both community outcomes and indicators of collaborative urban ministry growth. Your investment makes the Church more unified and relevant.

Will you help us reach our goal of $250,000 annually for the next three years for EGC’s heart of innovation?

LONG-TERM STRENGTH

Leave a lasting legacy!

You may be more interested in being part of ensuring EGC’s long-term health. Ultimately, EGC will be most sustainable with a healthy endowment. A $5 million endowment will replace the need for ongoing investment and provide $250,000 of income per year to fund EGC’s core capacities.

At this time, such an endowment is the stuff of dreams and prayers. We know several people have included EGC in their estate plans, so perhaps one day this dream will become a reality.

If making a long-term impact by endowing EGC’s core capacity is exciting to you, or if you have ideas about how to make this happen, please talk with us!

EGC 365 Campaign

Strengthening Christian Leaders to Serve Urban Communities

35 Staff • $2 million Annual Budget • 200+ Churches Served Annually
500+ Leaders Served Annually

2 San Juan Street, P.O. Box 180245, Boston MA 02118 • 617.262.4567 • egc.org • Jeffrey Bass, Executive Director jbass@egc.org

Our Principles

We seek the Lord's leading and timing in making ministry decisions.
We seek to build relationships with those to whom and with whom we minister.
We seek to build the Kingdom of God in Boston, not just an individual, group, church or ministry (including our own).
We draw on the resources that the Lord provides and we are confident that God will provide the people and the resources to do his work.
We choose to take a fiscally conservative approach, and strive to maintain high standards of fiscal management.
We seek long-term results.