Open Letter From Ocracoke Assembly of God

First I would like to thank you for taking time out of your already busy day to read this letter.  I know this is a hectic time of year for all of you.

This year is an exciting year for the Ocracoke Assembly of God.  On October 21stwe will be celebrating 80 years of ministry on the Island. The Church began in 1938 and while we celebrate our beginnings we look ahead with great anticipation to the future and celebrating many new beginnings yet to come.

Ocracoke Assembly of God from its conception has always been active in the community and we continue to strive towards being more active every day.  Many think of church just as services, weddings, funerals and such and although all of that is important and much needed within the community there is so much more to be done.  We currently have a scholarship fund in place which we have been giving for the past 15 years and as many of you know we started the Bread of Life Food Pantry 4 years ago to meet needs within the community during the offseason and in emergency situations such as the power outage last year.  Later this year an additional building will be in place beside the church to house the food pantry paid for by donations to that cause. Also, this fall we will be starting an alcohol and drug recovery program called Celebrate Recovery to help those dealing with substance abuse issues.

From small beginnings in 1938 on the back porch of a house next door to where the church is currently located to a one-room church house in 1941 which now sits on Hwy 12, to the completion of our new Sanctuary in 2004 the church has been moving forward. The parsonage and back portion of the building was built completely by volunteers and there was no debt or mortgage on that portion of the building when completed.

When the new sanctuary was built the church borrowed $140,000.00 towards the build due to needing a local contractor and engineer for the project. In 14 years, from 2004 until now, by God's help and many that have poured their hearts into this Church, the mortgage has been reduced to $37,854.42. (Current amount owed as of 7-7-2018)

That brings us to this wonderful news and opportunity.  This past week we received an anonymous donation of $25,000 dollars to jump-start a fund matching campaign to pay off the remainder of the mortgage!  We are looking for individuals and businesses to join with us towards this fund matching campaign to reach the goal of having the mortgage paid in full by our Homecoming on October 21st of this year.  All funds that come in will be matched dollar per dollar up to $25,000.00 and will go directly towards our mortgage and building fund.  Please consider joining with us as we move ahead!

Donations can be sent to Ocracoke Assembly of God, PO Box 68, Ocracoke, NC 27960

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to many more new beginnings!!

Blessings,

Pastor Ivey Belch