Pastor's Note - March 17 
For the next few weeks, I’d like to use this space to address some questions I’ve been asked regarding the Sowing the Seeds campaign, related to the basement remodel, parking lot expansion, and eventual church plant. So, we could call this series of notes a “Sowing the Seeds FAQ.” The first question I want to address is related to the church plant, and whether investing in a church plant will make it more difficult to build and pay for the basement and parking lot. Some have been concerned about sending off a group of people from CBC, when we will need to maintain or increase our number of people to both fill and maintain our church, and pay for our building expenses. I understand that very real and reasonable concern! We probably would have a hard time sustaining our ministry and finances if we sent off 50 people tomorrow. However, that is not our plan. Our plan, goal, and prayer is to send off a church planting group in two years. That gives us two years to grow our church internally. Two years to invite more to come and be part of the mission. Two years to bring people to Jesus and the fellowship of His body here at CBC. Two years to prepare a team to launch. My hope and prayer is that we will spend the next two years growing our church so that we are in an even healthier position to send a team to plant another. Some have asked why we would send off a team if we are not yet full. I would ask a different question. Why would God give us a full church if we weren’t willing to send people on mission? Why would the Lord bring people to the fellowship of CBC, if we turned around and hoarded people, instead of sending them out for the sake of the gospel? If God has given us a great commission to spread the gospel and make disciples (and He has), then we should not expect Him to bless our church unless we are fully committed to that commission. I do think faithfulness to the great commission requires sacrificially sending for the sake of the lost. And my conviction is that we will actually grow by sending. We will add by multiplying. We will grow our church by having a mission to send people out. But in order for that to happen, we will all have to be intentional about inviting, investing, connecting, bringing, evangelizing, and witnessing, so that we can do the work of sending. I am confident we can do this over the next two years—not by our power, but by the grace and strength God and His Spirit.