from Spencer Smith, Stewardship and Finance Team Leader–

Every October is a transition month at our church. The Stewardship Team mails out pledge cards and promotional literature to encourage our members and friends to fund our church program for the following calendar year.

This October will also arrive during another important time of transition for our church, one that occurs when we are between established ministers. I want to challenge our members and friends to consider the impression that we will make with a candidate when she or he sees that we pledged to fully fund our 2020 budget, an important signal of our optimism about the future of First Christian Church.

As you probably know, our church collects all the pledges of financial support, then prepares a budget for the congregation to approve. In recent years, although we’ve succeeded in receiving more than we spend, the Stewardship Team has felt pressed to reconcile the difference between pledges and the budget. Year after year, the Congregation has approved deficit budgets: For 2019, -$10,207; for 2018, – $3,258; for 2017, -$11,938; and for 2016, -$16,644. For 2020, let’s pledge enough to break this deficit habit!

Just as our Search Team will carefully review the qualifications of ministerial candidates, we can be certain that any prospective pastor will be taking a long hard look at us:  Are we united behind our vision?

Do we work well together?  Do volunteers step forward?  What is our financial condition?  Are we losing ground or are we on a sound footing?

If you have never made a financial pledge, let this be the year to get started.  If you have made pledges for a few or for many years, we thank you and hope you will consider increasing your support for our church in 2020.

For the current year 2019, we received 65 pledges from individuals/couples/families that provide 95% of our approved budget.  For 2020, I hope and pray that with your help “Measuring What Matters,” we will increase the number of pledges received as well as increase the dollar amounts of each pledge, so that we will be able to fully underwrite the costs of operating our mission on Market Street.

Thanks for your time and for your prayerful consideration. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Commitment Sunday will be October 27.