THE FORGE
A Quarterly money and ministry update
Welcome to The Forge
"That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
Dear Foundry Family,
This summer, 940 kids and volunteers waded into Rainforest Falls—our VBS week of waterfalls, towering trees, and one big discovery: the nature of God. The whole curriculum was built on the Psalms, and kids went home with a simple yet life changing truth—because I know who God is, I understand who I am. God made them, God knows them, and God is a safe place when the storms come.
The truth is, the verse those kids learned isn't a children's verse. It's for all of us.
A tree planted by streams of water yields its fruit in season, and its leaf doesn't wither. Notice what that tree is not doing. It isn't straining to produce. It isn't anxious about the dry months. It bears fruit and stays green for one reason. It is planted in the right place and its roots are nourished by the right water.
It invites us to consider an important question: what are we planted next to? What are our roots actually drinking from? Because we will become like whatever we sink our roots into.
One of the clearest places this shows up is in how we tend our time, our energy, and our resources. Where those go is where our roots go. A life that pours those things into the things of God becomes a tree that bears fruit in season—steady, generous, unhurried, green even when the season is dry.
I saw a picture of that in VBS. It was another way we lived out our three focuses for 2026—prayer, hospitality, and witness. One of the most visible expressions was the way your giving helped kids from Mission of Yahweh and our Hope Center attend, where they were loved and pointed to Jesus. That's the people of God bearing fruit. (You can read more of their story later in this edition.)
This, in the end, is what The Forge is all about. Not just budgets and bar charts—those are just the visible roots. It's about helping all of us build Kingdom lives: lives planted by the stream, rooted deep, bearing fruit in season.
Let's be that kind of tree.
With gratitude,
Pastor Ray
Where We Stand
Your faithful generosity is what makes everything you read in this publication possible—every ministry, every mission, every moment of life changes at Foundry. Here is a current snapshot of where we stand:
We are deeply grateful for your continued faithfulness. Consistent, generous giving is what sustains every aspect of Foundry’s ministry—our staff, our campuses, our programming, and our mission commitments locally and globally.
If you have not yet begun giving regularly, or if you’ve been thinking about taking your giving to the next level, this is a meaningful moment to take that step. Every dollar is stewarded with care—and every dollar matters.
Total Amount Pledged:
Total Pledges Received:
Total Expenses to Date:
Total Cash Funds In NEXT Account:
Line of Credit approved for construction draw timing: (as needed, will be paid back as pledges are fulfilled)
Total Funds Available:
$7,905,600.00
$5,165,557.00
$811,724.00
$4,353,833.00
$5,000,000.00
$9,353,833.00
Whose Money Is It Anyway?
A next step for every giver
Jesus talked about money constantly — not because He needed it, but because He knew what it does to us. Scripture's message is surprisingly simple: it all belongs to God, and we get the joy of managing it for Him. Money becomes one more place where we learn to trust Jesus and take our next step with Christ. Giving isn't something the church asks from you; it's something God grows in you.
Around here, we talk about next steps with Christ all the time. But let's be honest: there's one next step most of us would rather not talk about — and it involves our money. That silence isn't godliness; it's avoidance. And growth in any area of life works the same way: get clear about where God is calling you, get honest about where you actually are, and make a plan to close the gap.
So wherever you are, there's a next step with your name on it.
If you're just getting started, track what comes in and goes out for thirty days, build a simple spending plan, and give something — on purpose, consistently. The amount matters less than the direction.
If you're growing, work toward margin, chip away at debt, and move toward proportional giving — a fixed percentage, given first rather than last. The tithe has been the historic benchmark for God's people, and for many of us it's less a ceiling than a launching pad.
If you're a seasoned giver, the smartest gifts often don't come from your checking account. Giving appreciated stock, real estate, or business interests directly can reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes, so more reaches ministry. If you're 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA gives without raising your taxable income. This isn't about chasing tax breaks — faith shapes how we give, not incentives. It's about sending less to taxes and more to the Kingdom.
Want to go deeper? We recommend Compass — Finances God's Way (compassfinancialministry.org), with free devotionals, videos, and studies you can take at your own pace. Seasoned givers exploring non-cash gifts will find a trusted guide in the National Christian Foundation (ncfgiving.com).
And if you'd like to talk through any of this, our team would love to help. For bigger decisions, there are Christian financial advisors — including some right here at Foundry — who can serve less like a salesperson and more like a coach, helping you see your current reality clearly and strategize toward where God is leading. The goal was never the money — it's a heart fully alive to Jesus.
To give, visit foundrychurch.org/give or stop by the Connection Point at either campus.
A Testimony
The first four years my wife and I attended Foundry, we kept saying we’d be more involved in church “when the time is right” or “when I know the Bible better.” Those were the most common excuses I used, but underneath that I was much more concerned with being able to please God (and impress others) with my biblical knowledge before I was ready to speak in a group format about my faith. Before I had conquered my knowledge of the Bible, I was asked to join and eventually help lead a small group, and I was terrified to be exposed as a fraud. What I found instead was people and God willing and eager to meet me right where I was. Through this I learned that trusting God is the best way to please Him.
The best way for me to learn to listen to God was to drop my facade and start asking questions about God and myself that I was previously ashamed to ask. The truth is, the best way to grow in Christ is with other Christians who are also eager to learn and share their knowledge. When my wife and I decided to press into God and Foundry, we truly felt God and Foundry press back into our lives tenfold.
In 2025 and early 2026 my mother-in-law fought and ultimately succumbed to cancer; the only way my family was able to persevere through that time was by trusting that God had a plan and leaning on the new relationships we had made through pressing into Foundry. If you have been on the fence about getting involved and serving in any capacity, I strongly recommend it, because the reward will be far greater than you can imagine.
Daniel Sharpe
WHY YOUR GIVING MATTERS
Daniel’s story is what generosity makes possible. Giving to Foundry isn’t funding a program — it’s opening a door for someone to be met right where they are, the way Daniel was in his small group. And it never stops with one person. As Daniel pressed in, his family found the strength to persevere through deep grief, and the people closest to him — at home and at work — saw a faith being formed in real time. That’s the ripple: one life learning to know, follow, and share Jesus, and a whole household and workplace changed because of it. When you give, you make room for the next Daniel — and take a real next step with Christ yourself.
24 Kids, VBS on Mission and an Ongoing Partnership
This month, 24 kids from Mission of Yahweh and our Hope Centers spent the week at Vacation Bible School. They sang, they played, they heard about our mission partners, and they heard that Jesus knows them and loves them.
They were here because of two partnerships our church has invested in for years: the Hope Centers, which we support through our monthly partnership with Cy-Hope, and Mission of Yahweh. All of it is possible because people in our church give.
A partnership we helped start
Cy-Hope is more than a Foundry partner — it started with us. In 2013, a previous Foundry capital campaign put up $1 million in seed money to launch Cy-Hope. Today it's the largest nonprofit in our area, and the 24 kids who came to VBS this week are, in a real sense, part of what that gift became.
Cy-Hope's mission is simple — making life better for kids — and that $1 million has multiplied into far more than anyone could have pictured in 2013. Today Cy-Hope runs after-school Hope Centers, a counseling center, youth mentoring, summer camp, food and school-supply assistance, a STEM bus, teen nights, and college and career help for kids across our area. You can see the full picture of their work at cy-hope.org.
Foundry has stayed in it ever since, and over the years the partnership has taken many shapes:
• Back-to-School Backpack Drive — Every year we run a drive for the Backpack program. Last year our church packed and donated 150 backpacks full of supplies.
• Season of Hope — Each Christmas we sponsor kids through Season of Hope, making sure they wake up to gifts and to the reminder that they have not been forgotten.
• Hope Chest — Twice a month, our MomCo group collects items to keep Hope Chest stocked.
• Hands-on service — This past March we sent a team to deep-clean and organize the kitchen, and many of our people show up to volunteer at Cy-Hope week in and week out.
VBS week wasn't a one-off. It was one more week in a relationship that runs all year long.
Mission of Yahweh
This partnership is a special one. Sister Gay started Mission of Yahweh 65 years ago, and it's running stronger than ever. Karen Starnes, our Director of Missions, has been spending time on campus getting to know the clients and volunteers there. Our students served at Mission of Yahweh during The Call and came away captivated by the people they met — so this year we chose Mission of Yahweh as our VBS special initiative. Our kids and parents are working hard to remodel the learning center where children go every day after school.
Moments from the week
One we won't forget: a child with special needs from Mission of Yahweh came to VBS. We weren't sure how we'd meet his needs — and then we watched our kids team and volunteers surround him and make him feel truly seen.
And on Friday, the Cy-Hope driver who brought kids all week told us she'd felt the love of Christ every single day. She had tears in her eyes as she took Karen's hand and said how much this partnership meant to every kid we sponsored.
Looking ahead
The same kids and families we welcomed this week are the ones our church keeps showing up for all year — through the backpack drive, through Season of Hope, through Hope Chest, through the volunteers who keep going back.
That's what generosity actually buys. Not just a fun week, but a steady, ongoing invitation for these kids to take their next steps with Christ — and to know they belong to a church family that isn't going anywhere.
If God is stirring something in you and you'd like to serve, we'd love to get you connected. Email Karen at Karen.starnes@foundrychurch.org, or visit our missions page for the latest ways to jump in: www.foundrychurch.org/missions