Absolutely not. In the 7.5 years since we planted the church, we had not done one series or initiative on giving until the beginning of the ALL-IN Initiative. We are ultra sensitive to those churches out there who have talked about money in an unbiblical and greedy way. Our hope is only to help each other follow Jesus and establish a permanent hub of gospel purpose in South Reno. Our elders and leaders are committing to this initiative like we’re asking everyone else to do as well. We truly believe that when we give the Lord control over our finances, he is faithful to grow our faith, our joy, and provide for us (and others through us) in miraculous and profound ways.

We are asking that you pray and seek God’s direction for how He is asking you to grow in giving and generosity as a follower of Christ in this season. Prepare your heart to hear Him and then listen to what He says. In obedience, take your next step. Engage in personal reflection with God in this journey guide. Talk with your spouse, your family, or others about what this commitment will mean for this season of your life. We are asking that you make a sacrificial commitment to

Gospel-centered generosity—whatever it is that God leads you to do. Follow His leading. We anticipate an unprecedented impact from our collective ALL-IN commitments—something only God can do. Please mark your calendar for Anniversary Commitment Sunday, May 3rd, and prepare to experience a life-changing worship service that will forever be remembered as a defining moment for our church family.

ALL-IN is about the vision for our church and our personal discipleship in giving as followers of Jesus. We believe that the local church is one of the most compelling missions to give toward. If you choose to plant roots and make Living Stones your home church, we invite you to join us in ALL-IN when you are ready.

We totally understand and appreciate this question. First we would say that Jesus is saving people from eternity without Him, and we cannot be selfish and close our doors when He is bringing people to salvation. Secondly, the truth is...with roughly 1000 people on Sundays, we are already not a small church. Yet it still FEELS small, which means we have worked hard to help people feel KNOWN and LOVED in our hospitality, serve teams, groups, etc., And churches that have grown and kept the “small feeling” have shown the key was participation by church members  in Community Group and volunteering on Sunday. We will continue to help and encourage this connection and work hard to keep this culture going no matter our size.

We have a deep heart for the planting of new churches, and it’s one of our core values. Despite the fact that we absolutely will plant more churches in the future, church planting is not an immediate solution for us for two reasons:

1. We don’t have a church planter. No healthy church can be planted without a called, qualified, equipped, and sent out man/family/core team to do so. If we had a qualified planter who was called to plant a church, we would send him out regardless of the season and needs of Living Stones South Reno. This is the main reason we aren’t planting another church.

2. Even if we did have a church planter, however, that actually felt called to plant ALSO in South Reno, this would not likely draw people away from our current church to join the new church less than 10 minutes away. There are two reasons for this:

   • Church planting strategists have a 20 minute minimum distance so that most people will actually go to the new church plant rather than their original home church. If the mother church retains all the members, it doesn’t help our size issue nor serves new church plant well. Planting within 20 minutes of our current church isn’t likely wise. Also:

   • The 20 minute limit can be void if there is a big barrier to people driving the distance. For example, we planted South Reno because McCarran Blvd is a “barrier” to those of us who live in South Reno, this is our home, and we live and move in this area. So we planted from the Midtown Reno Church even though it’s just shy of 20 minutes away. The nature of our geographic area here is that South Reno is a unified locality, meaning there are no (what demographers call) “psychographic barriers” that keep people separated. We don’t have a barrier to people attending from all over South Reno, meaning it would not likely be wise to try to multiply our congregation to a new location, needing new staff, building, dollars, and fighting to get people to go there who the South Reno Church already serves well.

ALL-IN was crafted specifically with you in mind. ALL-IN is a “One Fund” generosity initiative. It’s different from a traditional capital campaign, where you are called to give an extra gift above and beyond your normal giving, thus creating two steps for people who aren’t yet giving. ALL-IN is a call to sacrificial, Gospel-centered generosity for everyone at Living Stones.

If you have never given before, this is your opportunity to say “Yes” to the Lord and experience His blessing and design for generosity.

ALL-IN is about your total, radical, sacrificial generosity to God’s mission in and through Living Stones. We believe that God calls us to action in times of hardship just as much as He does in times of abundance, and that looks different for every person

(2 Corinthians 8:1–5). ALL-IN is about a heart change—one that is only accomplished by surrendering our lives completely over to God in this area of giving and declaring that we are a people who are unfinished. That may mean that you are being challenged to sell things, pick up odd jobs, or trust God in faith to provide for the commitment He is calling you to make. If you are struggling to put your finances in order or would like help in this area, we are exploring trying to offer a financial education class. If you need financial help or want to be notified if we start a course, you can email infosouthreno@lschurches.com

Our current annual giving is approximately $1.4 million, which, multiplied by two years, is $2.8 million. So, in essence, we are believing for an additional $5.2 million over the next two years.

We are asking that everyone commit from now until May 2027. For those making their first commitment to All-In, the giving period for your commitment can begin on Anniversary “Big Give” Sunday, May 17th, 2026 and culminate in May 2027.

There are multiple ways to fulfill your commitment during the initiative. Some regular givers may choose to adjust the amount of their recurring online gifts over the two-year period to arrive at the total they have chosen to contribute. Some may keep their current giving arrangements and simply donate additional funds with a one- time cash, check, or online gift. Since all giving will be directed to one fund, there's no need to plan to designate certain amounts to separate areas of ministry.

If you are someone currently paying off debt, we commend you for making progress on that. And you should continue to do so! We would be happy to help you on this journey and/or to recommend a budgeting class that might minister to you. Being in debt does not, however, “excuse” someone from being obedient in giving as a follower of Christ. Please contact infosouthreno@lschurches.com if you need assistance with this.