"I am writing to express a long overdue word of thanks to you, the DeLand District, and our Florida Conference for the tremendous gift of financial support you have provided our new church since the summer of 1997! As you know, Pine Ridge Fellowship is planning to be chartered on May 21, 2000, and at that time we will be financially self-supported. Without your guidance and the financial backing of our conference and district, Pine Ridge Fellowship would have been incapable of getting off to such a strong start in reaching out to the unchurched of our community with the life-changing love and truth of God! This point was driven home in my mind recently when I reflected on the fact that two other independent new church starts in our community have recently closed their doors due, in part, to a lack of moral and financial support from a denominational agency.

"I realize it has been a huge financial investment on the part of many people to get Pine Ridge Fellowship up and running. I am deeply humbled and touched to see each and every week how God has honored the financial faithfulness of our Florida Conference and the DeLand District and translated it into changed lives, marriages and families for the sake of the kingdom."

The strategy we are using to launch healthy churches is to provide 100 percent financial support for the first 12 months, 65 percent the second 12 months, and 30 percent the third 12 months. By the fourth year the goal is for new churches to be self-sustaining.

New Life Community in Jacksonville, led by the Rev. Candace Lewis, reached that goal in June 1999. Everglades Community in Pembroke Pines, led by the Rev. Edwin Green, and Community of Hope in West Palm Beach, led by the Rev. Dale Locke, will reach theirs by June 2000.