Dear Church Family,
The Operating Budget of our church is established annually by the Church Board to support the ministries of the church. The Board gathers information from its various committees during the fall of each year and establishes a budget which reflects the ministries that we believe God is calling us to in the coming year.
During the same time period that the budget is being crafted, the Stewardship Committee implements our annual request for coming year pledge commitments from the congregation. As our people make their pledges, the Board is able to determine the level of financial commitment that our church can make for the coming year to support the program and personnel costs of our ministries.
Each individual or family will be given the opportunity to support our church through pledging. Prior to our first Stewardship Sunday on October 16, you will receive a packet in the mail from the Stewardship Committee. Our hope is that each individual or family will review the information, and pray about and make a financial faith promise (pledge) for 2023 by filling out the pledge card and returning it to the church.
What are some things to consider as you decide about your financial faith promise for our church for 2023? First, giving is a matter of grace, not law. We want you to give because you see that your financial participation in our church will bless the church and allow it to do its ministry, not because you feel pressured to give.
Second, take your money seriously, but not too seriously. Proverbs cautions, “Don’t wear yourself out to get rich.” Money is important, but it isn’t everything, and it can’t bring true satisfaction. If you take money too seriously it can cloud your judgment, alter your motives and steal the joy that generosity brings. The generous person remembers that money is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Third, be a river, not a reservoir. We are called to be channels, not containers. God’s love and grace are to flow through us, not be held in us. As stewards, our compelling desire must be to constantly give as the river of God’s blessings courses through our lives. Christians who practice generous giving have a conscious recognition of passing on what God has given them.
We are a community of faith in Jesus Christ, and we desire for each person to both benefit from, and contribute to, that community. May each one of us purpose to give with a grateful heart, thankful for God’s abundance.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Steve