Finance News
Feb 5th, 2009 by Sherrell
BUDGET PROGRESS
Peggy Kessinger, Finance Chair, 503-645-9561
On February 20th, I presented to the congregation the current state of affairs that the finance team is facing in trying to put together a budget for the church. It was a difficult conversation which I will summarize below for those who were not there as we have a significant deficit of income to try to cover our expenses. However, as usual this congregation was very generous and responsive to this church’s ministry. There was an increase in pledges of $9,900 for 2010 over what is shown below. The response was very helpful, though our pledges still don’t cover the cost of salaries. I’m hopeful that there are still some people who are prayerfully considering what they can give to further help us be fiscally responsible. Thank you again for the dedication and support that you ALL give to this church and its varied ministries.
In short, it was summed up that we run a lottery. Each month, our treasurer has to decide which bills get paid this month as we don’t have enough ongoing cash flow to pay our bills consistently on time and we’re now at the point where we need help to even make a budget that comes close
As I stated above, the people in attendance on February 20th were very generous and affirming of our ministry and sent a clear message with their pledge cards that we are committed to this church’s ministry. However, we still have a ways to go to make ends meet. We are going to have to look at ways to reduce our expenses if we are unable to identify a way to increase our income by $12,000. I’m very proud of our Leadership Team’s plan to move forward looking strategically at how we want to transition over the next five years in getting out of renting the rental house next door and utilizing our property more efficiently for our mission. It takes faith and a committed congregation for us to look to at our long term potential even as we face short term challenges. Our church truly reflects God’s grace often and at unexpected times like when the roof is leaking and the budget isn’t coming together. Please pray for your finance and leadership teams as we try to make sense of where we stand.