This week, we’re sending membership gifts out to our new members. I used to be the one to pack those, and took a particular delight and care in it. I got to envision the joy on each face as they unpacked their mug, read their letter, and pondered the mystery of their member card. More than that, though, I reveled in knowing that each parcel going out represented someone who loved the Rabbit Room the way I love it.
The world is full of folks who seem happy to be passive consumers, but I’ve never been one of those. When I love something, I have to dig my hands into it. I don’t just want to see the lake, I want in that water. If you don’t want someone singing harmony to your car jams, you best tell me ahead of time. The mountains are gorgeous, and I’m thrilled to gape over them, but at some point I’ve got to find a trail. Let me knead the dough, climb the tree, pull the weeds. Put me in the game, coach. I’ve never been content to stand by and watch. It doesn’t matter how clumsily I may start out, I want to be involved.
That’s who our members are—the people who dig in. They encountered this crazy, wonderful experiment called the Rabbit Room and weren’t content to love it from afar. I’m not surprised to find kindred spirits here—this community is full of creators who feel pulled toward engagement and cultivation.
When we kicked off the membership prototype in 2013, we couldn’t have imagined the community that the Rabbit Room would grow into today. We just wanted to create a space for people to get involved. There are folks who’ve been with us since the start, back when membership was just a shaky scaffolding. Since then, we’ve worked to build it into something more sturdy. Along with gifts and surprises, we’ve begun meaningful dialogues with our members about ongoing and upcoming Rabbit Room projects, events, and activities—and we’re working on ways to keep improving as we incorporate our members even more.
At the end of 2022, we hope to be able to tell you that the Rabbit Room is 100% operationally sustainable through our membership, and that every dollar given beyond that goes toward new works, programs, and ways to bless artists and the community. Shigé Clark
This membership has grown into a foundation of kindred friends who’ve made it possible for the Rabbit Room to keep running and bless others in times of trouble—and these last years of being able to turn and support artists and ministers during an economic crisis has inspired us toward a new dream for the membership. Our dream is for the Rabbit Room to be 100% operationally sustainable through membership alone. That means that we as members would cover all of the Rabbit Room’s operational needs, so that every donation beyond that will go directly toward programs, products, and services. We’ll provide the solid foundation, so that everything else goes toward building the house, where people will find refuge and inspiration for years to come.
So we’re making it our goal to find 700 new members in the next year—folks who resonate with the Rabbit Room’s mission, believe in the work God is doing here for the life of the world, and want to dig in with us. At the end of 2022, we hope to be able to tell you that the Rabbit Room is 100% operationally sustainable through our membership, and that every dollar given beyond that goes toward new works, programs, and ways to bless artists and the community. This quarter, we hope to find 200 more people who want to be involved—and we’re looking forward to finding more ways to make membership fun and inclusive along the way!
We hope you’ll join us. If you’ve been teetering on the edge of whether or not you should be part of the membership, this is your chance to jump in. If you haven’t heard of the membership yet, come learn about it here. And if you’re already part of the membership with us, thank you for being part of this good work that has been such a blessing, to me and to so many. We’ll be rolling out updates this quarter and next year, and we can’t wait to show you all that we have planned. I hope you’ll be a part of it. Let’s dig in.