Investing In A Kingdom Legacy: A House Fund For The Sanctuary
During the depth of the Great Depression in 1933, the members of Woodville Baptist Church pulled together $5,000 and placed it in an interest-bearing bank account. That $5,000 grew to over $200,000 by the late 1980's and helped the church survive into the new millennium.
Now it is our turn to trust God with the future, as our faithful depression-era members did, to provide for current and future saints here in Hopkinton. We are prayerfully planning to purchase a nearby property — a house — that will over time provide both income to the church and a place for Sanctuary retreat goers to stay overnight. We have set out to raise $30,000 so that, assisted by church assets, we should be in a position to buy.
The original Woodville Baptist Church in Hopkinton, Mass.
During the depth of the Great Depression in 1933, the members of Woodville Baptist Church pulled together $5,000 and placed it in an interest-bearing bank account. At that time, the unemployment rate was 20%, the average daily income was $3.60, and there were many food and resource shortages.
These saints trusted God with the future and wanted to, by faith, invest in it. They had to make the difficult choice, while in great need themselves, to either meet their own immediate needs or plan for the future.
Fast forward to the late 1980s and the church went through a forced rebuild as the old church building became unsafe and was condemned. They rebuilt the facilities into what we have today and paid for it in full by the 1990s! Soon after that, the long-forgotten $5,000 deposit was re-discovered. It had grown to over $200,000! That money allowed the church to survive until it ran out in 2017, when it formally became The Sanctuary at Woodville, the legacy ministry of Woodville Baptist Church, now a church and a spiritual formation, retreat and Kingdom promotion center.
These saints trusted God with the future and wanted to, by faith, invest in it. They had to make the difficult choice, while in great need themselves, to either meet their own immediate needs or plan for the future.
Fast forward to the late 1980s and the church went through a forced rebuild as the old church building became unsafe and was condemned. They rebuilt the facilities into what we have today and paid for it in full by the 1990s! Soon after that, the long-forgotten $5,000 deposit was re-discovered. It had grown to over $200,000! That money allowed the church to survive until it ran out in 2017, when it formally became The Sanctuary at Woodville, the legacy ministry of Woodville Baptist Church, now a church and a spiritual formation, retreat and Kingdom promotion center.
Soon after that, the long-forgotten $5,000 deposit was re-discovered. It had grown to over $200,000! That money allowed the church to survive until it ran out in 2017, when it formally became The Sanctuary at Woodville, the legacy ministry of Woodville Baptist Church, now a church and a spiritual formation, retreat and Kingdom promotion center.
The Sanctuary at Woodville, legacy ministry of Woodville Baptist Church, in present day.
The Sanctuary began with little financial support, but thanks to God’s leading and your support, we have achieved financial sustenance. We thank you for your faithful part in this journey along with the visionary saints during the Great Depression.
Now it is our turn to trust God with the future, as our faithful depression-era members did, to provide for current and future saints here in Hopkinton. We are prayerfully planning to purchase a nearby property — a house — that will over time provide both income to the church and a place for Sanctuary retreat goers to stay overnight.
We envision the property will start out as a home for rent to pay its own way initially. We have set out to raise $30,000 so that, assisted by church assets, we should be in a position to buy. We plan for this property to be a self-funding endeavor that will also provide additional funding for the church in the future.
Would you prayerfully consider a gift towards this vision? Donations or pledges are appreciated to help us see this large vision come to life. We hope to raise this money over the course of the year so that we might purchase a home as soon as possible!
Now it is our turn to trust God with the future, as our faithful depression-era members did, to provide for current and future saints here in Hopkinton. We are prayerfully planning to purchase a nearby property — a house — that will over time provide both income to the church and a place for Sanctuary retreat goers to stay overnight.
We envision the property will start out as a home for rent to pay its own way initially. We have set out to raise $30,000 so that, assisted by church assets, we should be in a position to buy. We plan for this property to be a self-funding endeavor that will also provide additional funding for the church in the future.
Would you prayerfully consider a gift towards this vision? Donations or pledges are appreciated to help us see this large vision come to life. We hope to raise this money over the course of the year so that we might purchase a home as soon as possible!