Dear Church Family,
“A Jazz Christmas with David Esleck” was a magnificent event this past December. The attendance was strong, with 4 of the 5 shows sold out. The event served as a joyful community outreach, with over 2,000 people welcomed to Second Baptist over the weekend. The volunteers were excellent, with over 100 people offering their time and energy to serve. The show itself was stellar, with all 5 performances beautifully conveying the good news of Christ through melody, lyrics, drama, and spoken word. In addition, substantial support was offered for Urban Hope, a Christian-based affordable housing ministry in Richmond, which received the following funds.
Þ $22,435 in ticket sales, sponsorships, and café revenue
Þ $4,476 in jar donations of cash
Þ $780 in jar donations of checks to Urban Hope
Þ $5,100 in QR code online donations to Urban Hope
Total: $32,791
You read that right. Through “A Jazz Christmas,” over $32,000 was donated to Urban Hope last month. What’s more, if we add the amount Urban Hope received through our church per “A Jazz Christmas” in 2022 ($19,515), and the total amount of other gifts our church has offered to Urban Hope through the Missions Council since 2020 ($32,600), then we can see that over the past four years, the grand total our church has provided for Urban Hope is $84,906!
Given the shortage of quality affordable housing and the call of Scripture to extend hospitality and shelter to neighbors in need (e.g., Matthew 25:34-36; Hebrews 13:2), the fact that our church has provided over $84,000 to a Christian-based affordable housing ministry in Richmond’s East End since the pandemic first began is absolutely outstanding. On top of that, many of our church members have also offered hands-on service to Urban Hope in terms of painting, landscaping, and more. Thanks be to God!
We are so grateful for your multi-faceted support of this event, and we are excited to announce that we will present “A Jazz Christmas with David Esleck” again this year. Please mark your calendars for the weekend of December 6-8, 2024 for another marvelous, missional, musical event!
In Christ,
Pastor Noel Schoonmaker