The council and the treasurers have felt that the congregation should have a better knowledge of the church’s financial condition. We are all aware that the church has a generous endowment, but it was wisely decided that the endowment should only be used for missions, education, and improvement of the church buildings. It is not to be used for the day to day expenses required to run a church . This remains the responsibility of the church family.

 

 

With this responsibility comes the need for awareness of the church’s financial condition. We have devised a simple graph, which will reflect our financial health on a monthly basis. It will be printed in each issue of the Steepleviews. 

The graph consists of six bars arranged in three groups. The groups represent the budget for the current year, expenses, and collections. In each group, a bar will represent the most recent month and another bar for the average of the past months in the year.

 

I would like to explain a bit more about the groups. To begin, what we call a budget is not really a budget where you  match expenses against projected income. Since we cannot know what our income will be, what we call our budget is in reality an estimation of what our expenses might be in the coming year. The Budget Committee tends to aim high in order to cover all possible expenses. We can, therefore, consider the amount in the budget category our goal. If income matches this goal, we can be assured of adequate funding for the year.

 

In the expense group, there is no speculation. We know to the penny what has been spent. I would like to clarify that only money spent for day to day operation of the church is included. Any money used from designated funds, such as Memorials or Capital Improvement, will not be included. This is the amount we must have to avoid drawing down our capital reserve. In 2011, we spend about $9,000 of our capital reserve in order to meet expenses. Obviously, this is not a long-term solution.

 

The third group is collections. It consists of money received by the church for general use. Money given for designated purposes such as Missions and Memorials is excluded. Once again, this is an exact known figure, and only money actually received is included.

 

I think that one of the greatest things about our church is the way it has responded to needs when they have been explained. No pressure has ever been necessary, and I feel certain that keeping the congregation informed will be all that is needed to solve this problem.   Respectfully submitted, Bob King, Treasurer Pro-Tem