November 7, 2013 Dear Friends, Sometimes people wonder why we do an annual stewardship campaign for the Church Ministry Budget. Every church does not do these annual campaigns, and I have pastored a few who don’t. Though most churches I have been appointed to adopted this model long ago. And there are good reasons for it. First, it gives everyone the chance to re-evaluate their giving in light of their income and make their gifts proportionately. Several years ago a young family began attending the church I was serving and a Sunday school class that I was leading. Through their involvement they transferred their membership and not long after we began our annual stewardship campaign. Their previous church had never held one. Their giving pattern had always been to give a certain amount in the offering on every Sunday they were in attendance, though it was generous, it was kind of like buying a ticket to be present. Some months they donated every Sunday, and other months only once or twice, depending on how often they were present. Our campaign got them to start thinking of their giving differently, instead of giving based on how often they were present beginning to give in proportion to their income. They set that proportion at the tithe (or 10%) even though I told them they could work up to that if they wanted. And after that first year this young family became one of the top givers in that congregation. A second, and no less important reason, is that it gives our leaders and ministry areas a sense of what we will be able to accomplish and then prioritize in advance so that we are being strategic in our planning and good stewards of the gifts the congregation is making. Every year we have to do this. I have yet to see a year when every plan and dream for the next year’s mission was fully funded. Prayerful, and sometimes painful, decisions are made about what to fund and what goes unfunded. 2010 was one of the most painful years in my memory of serving as a pastor. But it was needed and necessary, and a blessing to do it in advance rather than discovering it later in the year when we would have been overextended. Some of those ministries have been restored; others have not and are no longer a priority to restore. Some we are still hoping to restore, like the quarterly mailings of giving statements and financial information which I told you about last week and in the letter I have mailed to you with your pledge card. While that information is available to every member by request, it still comes up that it is something many would like to have access to. Until we know if those mailings can be restored here is how to obtain the information in case you have forgotten. Our monthly financial statements, which include giving and expenses for the Church Ministry Budget, the Building Fund, the Designated Fund and reports on the trends in giving toward the pledges for the Church Ministry Budget and the Building Fund is available to any member who asks to receive it. When it is emailed to the Church Council each month, it is also emailed to members who have requested it as well. There is a sign-up sheet outside of the church office where you can request to be added or you may call the office at 816-941-0112 or by email to [email protected]. Anyone wishing to receive a statement of their giving can have one at any time by contacting our Financial Secretary, Debbie Boeth, who can be reached at 816-582-3152, if she is unavailable simply leave your name and a number where you can be reached and she will call you back. You should receive your pledge card for the 2014 Church Ministry Budget in the mail sometime in the next 10 days. I hope you will prayerfully consider the proportion of your income that you want to offer for your stewardship. If you are not currently tithing I would challenge you to grow toward it through a larger proportional gift. I have found that there are wonderful blessings in the practice of tithing, not that it is a law but it is a guide toward generosity to God and discipleship. Remember, we are asking for pledge cards to be returned on either Sunday, November 17 or Sunday, November 24. Extra pledge cards will be available at the church on those days. If you cannot return your card on either of those dates, please mail it back to the church by then. Thank you, Rusty October Financial Reports Through October (83.33% of the year) we have received $283,723.23 (83.65%) of anticipated income toward our Church Ministry Budget, so our giving is on target with what we have expected to receive and has held there for most of the year. Thank you for your faithfulness. Our expenses from the Church Ministry Budget through the same period have been $280,641.81, which includes $24,409 in payments on our district and conference apportionments. We were not able to make a payment on our apportionments in October toward the remaining balance of $19,984 we hope to pay. 95 members have contributed toward their pledge to the Church Ministry Budget out of 99 who made a pledge. 16 of those have made gifts larger than the pledge they made. And 78 people have made gifts that did not make a pledge, for a total of 189 identified givers to the Church Ministry Budget. Through October (83.33% of our three-year capital campaign) we have received $503,847.50 (86.4%) of anticipated income toward our Building Fund. Thank you for your faithfulness. 107 members have made contributions toward their pledge totaling 83.6% of the total pledged out of 115 members who made a pledge. 21 members are making gifts beyond the amount they pledged and 7 members who did not make a pledge have contributed, for a total of 135 identified givers to the Building Fund. In June we converted our Construction Loan into an Amortized Loan with a principal of $829,363.80 and a monthly payment of principal and interest of $6,088.38. In addition to making the monthly payment our giving has allowed us to make an additional premium only payment of $20,000 this month leaving us a balance on the note of $792,988.63 which is ahead of our repayment schedule. Men’s Club Meets this Saturday All men are welcome and invited to join for breakfast, fellowship and in a thoughtful devotion this Saturday, November 9 at 8:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. October Church Work Day Saturday, November 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 (noon) you are invited to join in helping us catch up on our to-do list both inside and outside of the building. You are welcome to come and go as you need to if your time is limited. Rakes and tarps may be helpful in chasing down leaves! Veterans Recognitions are this Sunday We will recognize veterans for your service to our country this Sunday, November 10. This will take place early in the service, right after our morning announcements at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Blood Drive We are hosting a blood drive on Sunday, November 17 in cooperation with the Community Blood Center in our Family Life Center. We exceeded our goal at our last drive and hope to do so again. Please plan to donate, if you are able. Taco Bar Our Ablaze youth group will be hosting a Taco Bar on Sunday, November 17; whether you are a blood donor, or not you can help support our youth on Sunday, November 17 in the Family Life Center as well.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:48:20 +0000
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