Dear Colleagues in Ministry,

Greetings in the name of Jesus!  I am writing to you today on behalf of the Chesapeake-Delaware-Potomac District of the Church of God.  If you are a Minister in the Church of God and live in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., or northern Virginia, you are part of CDP.  If your Church is in one of these same locations, your Church is part of CDP District.

I am writing today to ask for your support for the work of the CDP District of the Church of God.  We try to provide opportunities for you to be equipped and to have fellowship with the other Ministers and congregations in CDP.  We do better together.  We Celebrate, Disciple, and Partner together as the Body of Christ.

In 2024 we met a couple of times to worship, to hear news of what is happening in the District, to make plans for the future.  We met at Cornerstone Church in Columbia and we met most recently at Fairfax Community Church in Fairfax, Virginia.

We are trying to provide opportunities for you to gather and events for you to share in each year.  If we are to continue working together to impact our region we need your support; both financial and your presence.

Our CDP Credentials Committee works with Ministerial candidates through Leadership Focus.  This is a two and one half year training program used throughout the Church of God to train men and women who sense a calling to Ministry and seek Credentials in the Church of God.  We currently have 9 men and women who are taking advantage of this program.  Our CDP District helps with some of the financial cost for this program.  Your gifts to our CDP District make this possible!

In 2024 we also entered into a partnership with the congregation formerly known as First Church of God in Federalsburg, Maryland.  That congregation, working with Rev. Dan Turner, has entered into a re-start process and we are partnering financially with the congregation in this endeavor.  The Church, now known as “The Bridge Community Church,” under the leadership of Rev. Angela Sagasse re-launched in October 2024 after several months of re-working, praying, and re-organizing.  They had 75 persons in attendance on that first Sunday in October!  Your financial gifts to the CDP help us to help them.

There are so many things we would like to initiate and do to benefit the Ministers and Congregations in the CDP District, but we can’t do it without your consistent financial support.

As you know, we work together with a freedom that is both a blessing and a curse.  We don’t have a hierarchical leadership imposing restrictions and financial burdens on us.  We are free to support as we are able and as we see fit.  But at the same time, we can’t do significant ministry together unless we have all our Churches sharing together.

So, I am asking you to consider giving on a regular basis to the Ministry of the CDP District of the Church of God.  We are currently working on setting up a way for you to contribute electronically.  Your Church could establish a monthly amount for CDP and have it sent automatically to help the District.  You could give a special offering as well.  Some of our Churches give once a year, others give more frequently.  The point is that unless we share the burden, we will not be able to continue.

As Ministers and Churches in the CDP District, we are called upon to support the work of the District financially and by our participation and attendance at meetings and events.  We can do more together!

Will you help us?  Will you talk to your Church Board, Council, whatever governing structure you work with and see if we can work together in 2025?  It would be very easy to establish a monthly amount for CDP and make it part of your Church’s 2025 budget.

If you have questions or would like to talk about this, please feel free to contact me at the location and number at the end of this letter.  I long to hear from you and would love for us to enter into a working partnership.

God Bless You!

Rev. Jeff Tomlinson

Pastor, Church of God at Dundalk

Chairperson, CDP Elder Board

Phone:  410-900-2974 (cell)  410-284-0722 (Office)

Email:  jtomlinson9278@gmail.com