Those were the words I said when the accounting team added up the donations at our recent banquet. We had a lower attendance this year: 650 instead of our usual 750-800 people. Statistically, the offering should have been substantially lower than usual.

The day of the banquet, the staff and volunteers gathered and prayed for the event. We prayed that God would work in the hearts of those who were attending and those who couldn’t attend, that the night would be honoring to God and that the donations received, whatever amount, would be what we needed to sustain this part of the ministry. 

And then all of you showed up. You stepped up to sponsor the event, gave donations that night, and many of you gave gifts despite the fact that you could not attend the banquet. So at 8:30 pm, when the accounting team gave the total of $142,820.90, we weren’t sure what to believe. Could it be possible that even with fewer people in the room, we broke a record for our banquet offering? Yes, it was possible. 

Just over a week later, when the online donations have been processed, all the checks have been double and triple checked, and a few other gifts arrived in the mail from those who wanted to contribute to the banquet offering, our total is now sitting at $144,686.43. It is amazing and is only possible because God used all of you to make this happen. We certainly aren’t in the clear for the rest of this year. The banquet total is about 14% of our budget for the year. But we know we will be all right because with God all things are possible.