The congregation says to the newly baptized, “We welcome you into the mission we share.”  Synod Deacon Glenn Schaeffer, St. Paul, Pensacola, realized that this could be a mission moment.

He proposed that the ELCA’s Good Gifts Program as a way for St. Paul to share their mission. What if they gave every newly baptized and every new member a certificate from a gift donated in their name to the Good Gifts program as a way for St. Paul to share their mission? This way everyone that becomes a member immediately is sharing in the mission.

A dinner and silent auction raised over $1700 for this project. The members of St. Paul now join in truly welcoming new members and the newly baptized into “the mission we all share.”