June-July 2018 Branches

Connecting Money,
Relationships,
and the Gospel
by Debbi Akers
One of our local mission partners, CornerStone Initiative,
is starting a new program called Faith and Finances. Their
Executive Director, Debbi Akers, explains the heart of it
here. If you would like to support this class by providing
a meal, please call the church office or email shannon.
clark@southwood.org.
When you serve in a community where over 50% of the families live
below the poverty level, you could easily spend your days moving
from one crisis to another, rescuing people in need. But that is
not the vision that God has given CornerStone for the people of
35805. We continually seek to serve in a way that brings deep and
lasting change – a way that leads to a life that is flourishing with a
foundation built on an intimate walk with Jesus Christ.
This summer, CornerStone will embark on a new journey that
provides the opportunity for just that – and we are going to get
there through bank statements! Yes, that is right. The gospel
via financial literacy classes! 12 weeks of financial literacy will
target individuals who continually struggle to make ends meet,
individuals who are entangled with pay day lenders and title loan
companies, and individuals who are ready to get out of the rut of
constant crisis. We will prayerfully entwine the lives of these 20
students with 20 volunteer “allies” who commit to coming along
side of them – not to rescue – but to love and encourage them.
We will spend our summer journeying together down a path of
understanding God’s design for our lives and our money.
Every Tuesday throughout this summer, we will gather at 5:30
pm at the CornerStone office on Holmes Avenue and fellowship
over home cooked meals provided by volunteers. For two hours,
allies and students will actively engage together in prayer, goal
setting, reviewing and planning budgets, discussing purchases
and calculating costs, preparing for emergencies and planning for
long-term change. It will be a setting filled with encouragement
and accountability, prayer and praise, and a lot of laughter. Who
said finances had to be boring?
We are so excited and humbled that God would allow us to provide
a space for people to go on this journey. It is our prayer that their
journey, above all else, would ultimately lead to Him. Setting the
stage for relationships that lead to hope is what CornerStone is all
about. How amazing it is that God can use a financial literacy class
to bring people together in a setting where we are all aware of
our own brokenness and our deep need for him. This summer will
be an exciting adventure as 40+ strangers journey towards lasting
change – in Jesus’ name!
June 3 to August 5
9:00-10:10am
Hwy45 Room, Upstairs
Bring your kids for a fun and engaging 10-week study
where they'll learn about King David and how he was
a man after God's own heart. Kindergarten through
5th grade completed will meet together in Hwy45
upstairs for a time of games, worship, prayer, and
small group time while learning Biblical truths.
WOMEN'S WEEKEND
With Guest Speaker Julie Sparkman
August 17 &18
Finding rest in a world you can't control