April 15, 2005.

What is so significant about that date? One, it was the date that your federal, state, and local tax returns had to filed by midnight or you could be penalized. Second, it was the date that Lake Ridge Church set out to show Lake County, Ohio that God loves them in practical ways…no strings attached. Before I go any further, I want to say that I hope you filed your taxes on time and didn’t have to pay.  If not, let me know where you will be and I will make plans to visit you.

There were approximately fifty people who participated in making this project a huge success. People who stuffed the stamp cards we had printed up and those who were at the post office from 8:00 am until midnight. We handed out over 3,500 stamps to over 1,750 people.  It was amazing to see the reactions on people’s faces as they received the stamp. Many could not believe that someone would give them something free.  I thought it was crazy when people didn’t want the free stamps, but there were several of those who kept going when asked if they wanted the stamps. When they would ask, "what’s the catch?", we would respond, "A simple way of showing God’s love … no strings attached.

Thanks to Steve and Janie Sjorgen of the Cincinnati Vineyard Church for their help through Steve’s book and emails with Janie in giving encouragement for the project.  Our next project will carnation distribution for Mother’s Day at the Regal Cinema where we meet.

For photos of this event, go to our church website and click photos – www.lakeridgechurch.com