As we approach the congregational meeting the leadership team has received some thoughtful questions and comments that we feel need to be addressed. We appreciate those who have raised these questions because there may be others with the same questions. We want everyone to have a full and complete understanding of our intentions.
Some have expressed a concern that the wording used in regards the term of office for elders is unclear. They believe it could be interpreted to limit elders to serving only six (6) years total. Respectfully, that would be a misinterpretation of the restriction. It clearly states “consecutive terms”. No limit is placed on the number of terms, only on the number consecutive terms.
It is the leadership team’s responsibility to recruit and nominate elders, if they did not want a person to serve, for whatever reason, they simply would not nominate that person. They would also not allow any individual to improperly use this restriction against anyone else. The provision is quite clear as written. It prevents an elder from serving more than two (2) consecutive terms. It does not limit the number of non-consecutive terms in anyway.
Another question was asked about staggering the terms of elders. This is a good idea and will occur without any added provisions. If approved, those elected next year will be one (1) year staggered from the current elders. Each year, as new elders are added, their terms will be staggered as well. In six (6) years, only the two (2) current elders would be prevented from serving another consecutive term. After a year off, they could be elected again to serve.
In regards to the addition of the positions of Treasurer and Financial Secretary to the constitution and by-laws, there have been some questions. First, it must be understood that the current constitution and by-laws contains NO PROVISIONS regarding how the church finances must be handled. The leadership, under the ministry team structure, created the Stewardship team as a means of handling the finances. When using the team approach to managing the finances proved to be ineffective, the leadership instituted the Treasurer and Financial Secretary positions. This change has successfully improved our financial management and accountability. This is why the leadership team decided to include this significant change in the constitution and by-laws.
Finally, the question was asked about how these recommended changes were developed. In the past, we have put together a team of people to review the constitution and by-laws for changes. That was not done in this situation because we were only making a few changes, and most are minor changes. We are planning however in the coming year to put together a team of individuals to totally review of the constitution and by-laws. If you would be interested in serving on such a team, please contact one of the members of the leadership team.
Friday, August 28, 2009
State of the Church
The past year has been one of the most significant years in the history of Crossroads Christian Church. The congregation has undergone many changes. Some were intentional, while others were forced upon us by circumstances. However we have weathered the difficulties and God has proven faithful throughout.
Leadership Changes
We began the year electing two (2) new elders to the leadership team. Since that time, the two (2) currently serving elders have stepped down for personal reasons. This has left us with only the two (2) new elders remaining. Leading a congregation is not an easy task, even under the best of circumstances. These men have done a tremendous job of leading the congregation and dealing with difficult situations that were not of their own making.
Fresh leadership has given us a fresh perspective and a renewed focus on our mission and vision. The congregation is growing and reaching our community. We are adding new members and seeing visitors coming nearly every week. There is a new positive attitude that pervades our services and ministries.
We have discovered that we need to work on long-term leadership development and continuity. To that end, the leadership team is recommending a change in the church Constitution that increases the term an elder serves to three (3) years, but limits them to only two (2) consecutive terms. After serving six (6) consecutive years, an individual would have to “sit out” for, at least, a year before returning to the leadership. Our intention is to keep the leadership fresh and prevent burnout.
Economic Challenges
We are all well aware of the economic condition of the greater Lafayette community. While not as bad off as other areas in the nation, we have been impacted financially. The downturn in the economy could not have come at a worse time for the church. With our increased mortgage payment of our recent building expansion and the decision to increase our staff by another full-time position, we were forced to deal with some weakness in our financial structure.
The restructuring was difficult. However your generosity and support have allowed us to fully and successfully implement our new stewardship strategy. We are now in the best financial condition we have ever been in, systemically. We have a spending structure that is tied directly to our weekly offerings. We have established financial priorities, and debt reduction is one of them.
This is not to say that we have all the funding we need. We still have some members out of work and have lost others because of relocation to seek employment. Since July 1st, our offerings have not met our budget target, which means we will not have the resources for discretionary spending. I am still optimistic because July is traditionally a lower month for offerings.
Additional Staff
Beginning in September, Dave Nance will serve as an unpaid associate minister intern. I have agreed to mentor Dave in a study of ministry that will eventually lead to his being ordained to the preaching ministry. The program will combine study and practical experience in all related ministry areas. He is already leading our new young adult ministry, “The Bridge.”
Goals for the Future
Our primary goal will be to continue pursuing our mission and our vision by intentionally reaching out to the lost in our community. We have identified some key areas that need attention this coming year:
1. Add more elders to the leadership team through the recruiting and mentoring of qualified men in the congregation this year.
2. Reestablish our commitment to building a quality, growing small group ministry that connects members in authentic community.
3. Create a team of members to review the entire Constitution and By-laws and make recommendations on possible changes to be considered by the leadership and the congregation.
4. Develop a strategy for discipleship development that involves specific outcomes in terms of knowledge and behaviors.
5. Maintain vigilant adherence to present stewardship, worship, and ministry strategies.
As always, the leadership team is open to your suggestions, constructive criticism, and especially your prayers. God continues to bless our congregation because we remain faithful to His purpose for the Church.
Leadership Changes
We began the year electing two (2) new elders to the leadership team. Since that time, the two (2) currently serving elders have stepped down for personal reasons. This has left us with only the two (2) new elders remaining. Leading a congregation is not an easy task, even under the best of circumstances. These men have done a tremendous job of leading the congregation and dealing with difficult situations that were not of their own making.
Fresh leadership has given us a fresh perspective and a renewed focus on our mission and vision. The congregation is growing and reaching our community. We are adding new members and seeing visitors coming nearly every week. There is a new positive attitude that pervades our services and ministries.
We have discovered that we need to work on long-term leadership development and continuity. To that end, the leadership team is recommending a change in the church Constitution that increases the term an elder serves to three (3) years, but limits them to only two (2) consecutive terms. After serving six (6) consecutive years, an individual would have to “sit out” for, at least, a year before returning to the leadership. Our intention is to keep the leadership fresh and prevent burnout.
Economic Challenges
We are all well aware of the economic condition of the greater Lafayette community. While not as bad off as other areas in the nation, we have been impacted financially. The downturn in the economy could not have come at a worse time for the church. With our increased mortgage payment of our recent building expansion and the decision to increase our staff by another full-time position, we were forced to deal with some weakness in our financial structure.
The restructuring was difficult. However your generosity and support have allowed us to fully and successfully implement our new stewardship strategy. We are now in the best financial condition we have ever been in, systemically. We have a spending structure that is tied directly to our weekly offerings. We have established financial priorities, and debt reduction is one of them.
This is not to say that we have all the funding we need. We still have some members out of work and have lost others because of relocation to seek employment. Since July 1st, our offerings have not met our budget target, which means we will not have the resources for discretionary spending. I am still optimistic because July is traditionally a lower month for offerings.
Additional Staff
Beginning in September, Dave Nance will serve as an unpaid associate minister intern. I have agreed to mentor Dave in a study of ministry that will eventually lead to his being ordained to the preaching ministry. The program will combine study and practical experience in all related ministry areas. He is already leading our new young adult ministry, “The Bridge.”
Goals for the Future
Our primary goal will be to continue pursuing our mission and our vision by intentionally reaching out to the lost in our community. We have identified some key areas that need attention this coming year:
1. Add more elders to the leadership team through the recruiting and mentoring of qualified men in the congregation this year.
2. Reestablish our commitment to building a quality, growing small group ministry that connects members in authentic community.
3. Create a team of members to review the entire Constitution and By-laws and make recommendations on possible changes to be considered by the leadership and the congregation.
4. Develop a strategy for discipleship development that involves specific outcomes in terms of knowledge and behaviors.
5. Maintain vigilant adherence to present stewardship, worship, and ministry strategies.
As always, the leadership team is open to your suggestions, constructive criticism, and especially your prayers. God continues to bless our congregation because we remain faithful to His purpose for the Church.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
August 30th - Congregational Meeting
On Sunday, August 30th, we will be having our annual congregational meeting. A lot has transpired since last year’s meeting. We have lost some folks and we have gained some folks. All in all though, we are doing well as a church. In the meeting, we will be considering some changes to our Constitution and By-laws, as well as approved leaders and coaches for the coming year. The changes range from a simple change in terminology to a more significant change in the office of elder. It is important that you understand why these are being recommended for your consideration.
The first change is simply substituting the word “coordinator” for the current term we use of “coach.” This is more than just a cosmetic change. Our ministry team structure relies upon men and women to serve as deacons and deaconesses over specific areas of ministry. Originally, we chose the word “coach” because it was descriptive of what we thought their work would entail. However, we have discovered that the role is more coordinating existing ministries than coaching individuals in a specific ministry.
To that end we wanted to make this change to bring some consistency to our ministry structure. When a person is in charge of a specific ministry or event, they are called a “director.” For example, we have a VBS director. Their responsibility is solely for Vacation Bible School. We also have a nursery director whose responsibility is specifically over the nursery ministry. What is needed is not someone to coach them, but an individual to coordinate their ministries with all the other children’s ministries at Crossroads. This is why we want to make the change. A coordinator will coordinate similar ministries for greater effectiveness.
Another change we have proposed is the addition of the two (2) newly created positions of Treasurer and Financial Secretary. This division of labor has worked as planned in providing better financial accountability while not overburdening a single individual. These are positions that are vital to our new stewardship strategy. We want them to continue to be a part our congregational structure.
The final change proposed is to the length of time an elder serves. In the past, elders have been elected for single-year terms, and could be elected continuously with no limit. Given the importance of the eldership to the future success of the church, we decided that we wanted to increase the length of time they serve, but limit each elder to six (6) years of continuous service. They then would have to sit out for one (1) year before being elected again.
There are several reasons for this change. The first is that it creates consistency in the eldership. Single-year terms open up the possibility of several new elders coming on board at one time without enough seasoned elders to support them. With the three (3) year term, you would have only a few elders being elected each year. This would prevent any radical shifts in leadership.
The second reason is that by having a mandatory "sabbatical," we prevent elders from getting burnout and out of touch with members of the congregation. Oftentimes, leadership can only see the church from a leadership perspective. By taking time away from leadership, an elder can often get a fresh perspective and return better able to serve.
These changes are designed to help make Crossroads a better church. They will not be the last changes, however. As we go forward, I am sure there will be other ideas for improving our structure, as well.
The first change is simply substituting the word “coordinator” for the current term we use of “coach.” This is more than just a cosmetic change. Our ministry team structure relies upon men and women to serve as deacons and deaconesses over specific areas of ministry. Originally, we chose the word “coach” because it was descriptive of what we thought their work would entail. However, we have discovered that the role is more coordinating existing ministries than coaching individuals in a specific ministry.
To that end we wanted to make this change to bring some consistency to our ministry structure. When a person is in charge of a specific ministry or event, they are called a “director.” For example, we have a VBS director. Their responsibility is solely for Vacation Bible School. We also have a nursery director whose responsibility is specifically over the nursery ministry. What is needed is not someone to coach them, but an individual to coordinate their ministries with all the other children’s ministries at Crossroads. This is why we want to make the change. A coordinator will coordinate similar ministries for greater effectiveness.
Another change we have proposed is the addition of the two (2) newly created positions of Treasurer and Financial Secretary. This division of labor has worked as planned in providing better financial accountability while not overburdening a single individual. These are positions that are vital to our new stewardship strategy. We want them to continue to be a part our congregational structure.
The final change proposed is to the length of time an elder serves. In the past, elders have been elected for single-year terms, and could be elected continuously with no limit. Given the importance of the eldership to the future success of the church, we decided that we wanted to increase the length of time they serve, but limit each elder to six (6) years of continuous service. They then would have to sit out for one (1) year before being elected again.
There are several reasons for this change. The first is that it creates consistency in the eldership. Single-year terms open up the possibility of several new elders coming on board at one time without enough seasoned elders to support them. With the three (3) year term, you would have only a few elders being elected each year. This would prevent any radical shifts in leadership.
The second reason is that by having a mandatory "sabbatical," we prevent elders from getting burnout and out of touch with members of the congregation. Oftentimes, leadership can only see the church from a leadership perspective. By taking time away from leadership, an elder can often get a fresh perspective and return better able to serve.
These changes are designed to help make Crossroads a better church. They will not be the last changes, however. As we go forward, I am sure there will be other ideas for improving our structure, as well.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Hardest Part of Being a Preacher
If you were to ask me, “What is the hardest part of being a preacher?”, you might be surprised by the answer. I am not sure every preacher would have the same answer to that question. Each individual minister may struggle with a different aspect of the ministry. We are not all the same.
Honestly, though, in my thirty-some years of experience, I can honestly say for me the hardest part is living with a constantly broken heart. We have all had our heart broken at one time or another. Everyone who has ever loved someone knows what I am talking about. Unless you have lived a totally isolated life, you know the pain I speak of.
This may be my own character flaw or it may be the one area of my life that I have achieved some Christ-likeness. The fact is that I live with a constantly broken heart. I can remember colleagues warning me about getting too close to people of the church. Their advice was to not make friends in the congregation, and maintain a professional distance. It could be their counsel was the result of some bitter experiences in their own ministries.
What I have discovered over the years is that I cannot do this work without getting emotionally involved. I simply cannot bring myself to the point of not caring about the people I serve as an evangelist. This is not true for every job I have had.
When I have worked other jobs, I honestly made every effort toward being a great worker. I tried to do quality work and be a good employee. However, I had no emotional investment in the job. In fact, one of my supervisors criticized me in an evaluation by saying, “You come to work happy and you leave happy.” She was right because I never took the job “home” with me.
Being an evangelist, to me, is a calling more than a job. It is not about money or the size of the church, or even personal recognition. To me, it is about the lives of people. I truly believe that what God does through me is to transform people’s lives and their eternality. I cannot involve myself dispassionately in that process. It is too important.
Thus, the reason for my constantly broken heart is people. People are a messy business. They will break your heart sometimes, but they will bless it as well. Nothing feels as good as playing a small role in the transformation of someone into a disciple of Jesus Christ, to walk with them in their spiritual growth, and to see God working in them.
Such joy will, in turn, make you vulnerable to heartache when they stumble. While you know you cannot make their choices for them, you can no less turn off your concern for them. There is a danger that if you care too much, their pain can become your pain. As I often say, a sure way to insanity is to make yourself responsible for what another person says, does, or thinks. I say this for my benefit as much as anyone else’s. But it still hurts.
I do find great comfort in the realization that Jesus, Himself, suffered from a constantly broken heart. Jesus wept, and wept a lot. Because He loved deeply, He was constantly having His heart broken. Whether it was betrayal by Judas, failure by Peter, or abandonment by all His disciples, Jesus lived with a constantly broken heart.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus spoke with His disciples and said this, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:9-12).
I guess if I am going to love people as Jesus loves me, I will have to learn to live with a constantly broken heart – but a heart that also knows the joy that comes from serving Him.
Honestly, though, in my thirty-some years of experience, I can honestly say for me the hardest part is living with a constantly broken heart. We have all had our heart broken at one time or another. Everyone who has ever loved someone knows what I am talking about. Unless you have lived a totally isolated life, you know the pain I speak of.
This may be my own character flaw or it may be the one area of my life that I have achieved some Christ-likeness. The fact is that I live with a constantly broken heart. I can remember colleagues warning me about getting too close to people of the church. Their advice was to not make friends in the congregation, and maintain a professional distance. It could be their counsel was the result of some bitter experiences in their own ministries.
What I have discovered over the years is that I cannot do this work without getting emotionally involved. I simply cannot bring myself to the point of not caring about the people I serve as an evangelist. This is not true for every job I have had.
When I have worked other jobs, I honestly made every effort toward being a great worker. I tried to do quality work and be a good employee. However, I had no emotional investment in the job. In fact, one of my supervisors criticized me in an evaluation by saying, “You come to work happy and you leave happy.” She was right because I never took the job “home” with me.
Being an evangelist, to me, is a calling more than a job. It is not about money or the size of the church, or even personal recognition. To me, it is about the lives of people. I truly believe that what God does through me is to transform people’s lives and their eternality. I cannot involve myself dispassionately in that process. It is too important.
Thus, the reason for my constantly broken heart is people. People are a messy business. They will break your heart sometimes, but they will bless it as well. Nothing feels as good as playing a small role in the transformation of someone into a disciple of Jesus Christ, to walk with them in their spiritual growth, and to see God working in them.
Such joy will, in turn, make you vulnerable to heartache when they stumble. While you know you cannot make their choices for them, you can no less turn off your concern for them. There is a danger that if you care too much, their pain can become your pain. As I often say, a sure way to insanity is to make yourself responsible for what another person says, does, or thinks. I say this for my benefit as much as anyone else’s. But it still hurts.
I do find great comfort in the realization that Jesus, Himself, suffered from a constantly broken heart. Jesus wept, and wept a lot. Because He loved deeply, He was constantly having His heart broken. Whether it was betrayal by Judas, failure by Peter, or abandonment by all His disciples, Jesus lived with a constantly broken heart.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus spoke with His disciples and said this, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:9-12).
I guess if I am going to love people as Jesus loves me, I will have to learn to live with a constantly broken heart – but a heart that also knows the joy that comes from serving Him.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Our Stewardship Strategy
One of the most difficult subjects for the church to address is the issue of congregational stewardship – not how much you give as members, but how we, as the leadership, handle the tithes and offerings you give to be used to support the work of the church. It can be a very touchy subject because everyone, and I mean everyone, puts a different value on a dollar. What one person would spend their money on, another person would never think of spending money on. This is why we have taken some time to pray over and determine a long-term stewardship strategy for Crossroads.
With our perilous economic times, it is even more critical that we have a solid, wise, and long-term strategic plan for the church finances. We believe we have such a plan that addresses our current situation and will make our position better in the future. It incorporates a lot of expert advice and wise counsel. It is based, in part, on Dave Ramsey's “Financial Peace” principles of money management.
The strategy can be understood best as a five-legged stool that is well-balanced on all five legs, where each leg supports the weight on the stool. The five legs of this stool represent our five stewardship priorities. These priorities have been prayerfully and carefully established in a specific order.
1.Tithing to Missions
We are committed to tithing ten percent (10%) of our general fund income to support missions. We cannot ask our members to tithe of their income if we, as a congregation, are not trusting God by doing so ourselves. We believe this ought to be our first priority and that God's blessing will follow our faithfulness.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. It is a mistake to believe that simply increasing this percentage arbitrarily demonstrates our spirituality. As our congregation grows so will our income, and in turn, so will the amount we tithe.
2. Reducing our Debt
We are committed to putting three percent (3%) of our general fund income toward additional mortgage principal each week. It is extremely important that we eliminate our debt as quickly and responsibly as possible. With our recent refinance, we did lower the rate of interest and our payment. We want to use part of that savings to accelerate our repayment.
If we can maintain our weekly offering of $4,000 or more, this three percent (3%) applied to the principal of our mortgage would shorten the term from twenty years to fifteen years. It would also save us over $110,000 in interest over the life of the loan. This is money that could be used for expanding our ministry, as well as funding the final phase of our master building plan.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. We cannot starve our ministries for resources, because they produce the growth in our congregation. There is no wisdom in paying off a building that will be empty.
3.Proper Financial Management
Properly managing the finances of the church is critical. The leadership team must submit a budget that demonstrates wise and thoughtful planning. It must take into consideration past giving trends and current financial conditions. It must be rooted in the practical realities of our community. It must be an attainable goal for our congregation.
Having a reasonable budget is only half of the equation. There also must be a reasonable system established to handle the appropriation of the funds when they are received. Not everything in the budget is of equal importance. Just as in your own personal or family budget, there are essentials which must be paid FIRST. Only after these have been funded will funds be made available for discretionary spending. Every dollar must be spent carefully and effectively, and never before it has been received.
Meeting and exceeding the budget will be seriously pursued by the leadership and the ministry teams. As God blesses, any funds received in excess of the budget will NOT be considered a surplus until the end of the budget year. At that time, the leadership team will determine the best use of the funds for the good of the congregation.
To support proper money management, we have created a "contingency fund" of $5,000 for emergencies. Should the church need funds for an unplanned expense, these would come from the contingency fund. At that point, funds going toward debt reduction would be diverted to the contingency fund until it reached the previous balance, at which point the funds would go back toward debt reduction. This eliminates scrambling for funds in an emergency.
4. Separate Funding for Benevolence
As a Christian Church, we believe that the budget of the church must be funded by the tithes and offerings of the membership. We do not have fundraisers to pay salaries or the utilities or the mortgage. These are the operational expenses of God's church and therefore the responsibility of God's people. God's work is not the responsibility of the unbelieving.
However, in the case of benevolence, all the funds spent are for the benefit of those who are NOT members of the church. This is why the decision was made to establish a separate fund for community benevolence. This way, we can raise money through various means to build up resources for benevolence requests.
Each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, ALL of the money received on that day will go to support our benevolence ministry "My Brother's Keeper." We will report to the congregation on the number of people that have been helped and how they were helped. The objective is to build up enough resources that when times are tough and money is tight in the church budget, we will still be able help those in serious need.
5. Special Projects Funding
Our recent special offering on Easter Sunday demonstrated the kind of generosity God can provide through His people. We have decided that every Easter, we will have a large special project or several small projects that we want to ask the congregation to give a sacrificial offering to cover. These projects would include, but not be limited to, capital improvements in the building and grounds.
The goal and the project(s) will be announced in time for members to prayerfully consider and make such personal sacrifices as they deem necessary to give generously. The proceeds of the offering will be used strictly for that purpose and that purpose alone. However, it will give one and all the opportunity to give as the Lord leads.
We believe that by having and following this stewardship strategy with dedication, Crossroads will continue to be financially strong and able to meet the challenges of the future successfully. With God's blessing and your faithful generosity, we will have the resources to achieve our mission and fulfill our vision.
With our perilous economic times, it is even more critical that we have a solid, wise, and long-term strategic plan for the church finances. We believe we have such a plan that addresses our current situation and will make our position better in the future. It incorporates a lot of expert advice and wise counsel. It is based, in part, on Dave Ramsey's “Financial Peace” principles of money management.
The strategy can be understood best as a five-legged stool that is well-balanced on all five legs, where each leg supports the weight on the stool. The five legs of this stool represent our five stewardship priorities. These priorities have been prayerfully and carefully established in a specific order.
1.Tithing to Missions
We are committed to tithing ten percent (10%) of our general fund income to support missions. We cannot ask our members to tithe of their income if we, as a congregation, are not trusting God by doing so ourselves. We believe this ought to be our first priority and that God's blessing will follow our faithfulness.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. It is a mistake to believe that simply increasing this percentage arbitrarily demonstrates our spirituality. As our congregation grows so will our income, and in turn, so will the amount we tithe.
2. Reducing our Debt
We are committed to putting three percent (3%) of our general fund income toward additional mortgage principal each week. It is extremely important that we eliminate our debt as quickly and responsibly as possible. With our recent refinance, we did lower the rate of interest and our payment. We want to use part of that savings to accelerate our repayment.
If we can maintain our weekly offering of $4,000 or more, this three percent (3%) applied to the principal of our mortgage would shorten the term from twenty years to fifteen years. It would also save us over $110,000 in interest over the life of the loan. This is money that could be used for expanding our ministry, as well as funding the final phase of our master building plan.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. We cannot starve our ministries for resources, because they produce the growth in our congregation. There is no wisdom in paying off a building that will be empty.
3.Proper Financial Management
Properly managing the finances of the church is critical. The leadership team must submit a budget that demonstrates wise and thoughtful planning. It must take into consideration past giving trends and current financial conditions. It must be rooted in the practical realities of our community. It must be an attainable goal for our congregation.
Having a reasonable budget is only half of the equation. There also must be a reasonable system established to handle the appropriation of the funds when they are received. Not everything in the budget is of equal importance. Just as in your own personal or family budget, there are essentials which must be paid FIRST. Only after these have been funded will funds be made available for discretionary spending. Every dollar must be spent carefully and effectively, and never before it has been received.
Meeting and exceeding the budget will be seriously pursued by the leadership and the ministry teams. As God blesses, any funds received in excess of the budget will NOT be considered a surplus until the end of the budget year. At that time, the leadership team will determine the best use of the funds for the good of the congregation.
To support proper money management, we have created a "contingency fund" of $5,000 for emergencies. Should the church need funds for an unplanned expense, these would come from the contingency fund. At that point, funds going toward debt reduction would be diverted to the contingency fund until it reached the previous balance, at which point the funds would go back toward debt reduction. This eliminates scrambling for funds in an emergency.
4. Separate Funding for Benevolence
As a Christian Church, we believe that the budget of the church must be funded by the tithes and offerings of the membership. We do not have fundraisers to pay salaries or the utilities or the mortgage. These are the operational expenses of God's church and therefore the responsibility of God's people. God's work is not the responsibility of the unbelieving.
However, in the case of benevolence, all the funds spent are for the benefit of those who are NOT members of the church. This is why the decision was made to establish a separate fund for community benevolence. This way, we can raise money through various means to build up resources for benevolence requests.
Each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, ALL of the money received on that day will go to support our benevolence ministry "My Brother's Keeper." We will report to the congregation on the number of people that have been helped and how they were helped. The objective is to build up enough resources that when times are tough and money is tight in the church budget, we will still be able help those in serious need.
5. Special Projects Funding
Our recent special offering on Easter Sunday demonstrated the kind of generosity God can provide through His people. We have decided that every Easter, we will have a large special project or several small projects that we want to ask the congregation to give a sacrificial offering to cover. These projects would include, but not be limited to, capital improvements in the building and grounds.
The goal and the project(s) will be announced in time for members to prayerfully consider and make such personal sacrifices as they deem necessary to give generously. The proceeds of the offering will be used strictly for that purpose and that purpose alone. However, it will give one and all the opportunity to give as the Lord leads.
We believe that by having and following this stewardship strategy with dedication, Crossroads will continue to be financially strong and able to meet the challenges of the future successfully. With God's blessing and your faithful generosity, we will have the resources to achieve our mission and fulfill our vision.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What is "My Brother's Keeper" ministry?
What is “My Brother’s Keeper” ministry? It is the benevolent ministry of Crossroads Christian Church. In the past, benevolence, assistance given to non-members of the church, has been handled through the general budget. Often, this would mean that funds were not available when the needs would come in. This resulted in our missing opportunities to reach out into our community with the love of Christ.
This is why we have decided to handle benevolence through a separately funded ministry called, “My Brother’s Keeper”. Through this ministry, we will able to respond to financial needs in the community by developing several funding streams in addition to the funds provided by the church.
Funds for the ministry will come from three possible sources. First, the church itself will contribute directly to the ministry two ways. One will be through a special offering we will receive on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This will become our annual “Benevolent Sunday”. Our service that day will be centered a round our responsibility to care for the needy in our community. We will also report to the congregation on what the ministry has done in the past year.
Another way that the congregation will contribute to the ministry will be through our annual church garage sale. This event has been used to fund several different missions and projects in the past. However we would like to focus this event on raising funds to help the needy in our community. The event is a great outreach ministry as well. Currently, we are in need of someone to direct this event this summer.
Besides direct giving, My Brother’s Keeper will be funded through secondary giving by leveraging our spending. For example, if you shop at Payless or Marsh, there is a way that five percent (5%) of what you are already spending can be donated back to our benevolent ministry through using gift cards. There are several other such programs that we will talk about on May 31st when we launch the ministry.
I hope you will come and hear the exciting possibilities of this ministry and God can do through you. The movie is great, and the evening is free to all. Bring your family, neighbors, and friends on May 31st at 6pm to see a "One Night with The King" and hear more about My Brother's Keeper Ministry.
This is why we have decided to handle benevolence through a separately funded ministry called, “My Brother’s Keeper”. Through this ministry, we will able to respond to financial needs in the community by developing several funding streams in addition to the funds provided by the church.
Funds for the ministry will come from three possible sources. First, the church itself will contribute directly to the ministry two ways. One will be through a special offering we will receive on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This will become our annual “Benevolent Sunday”. Our service that day will be centered a round our responsibility to care for the needy in our community. We will also report to the congregation on what the ministry has done in the past year.
Another way that the congregation will contribute to the ministry will be through our annual church garage sale. This event has been used to fund several different missions and projects in the past. However we would like to focus this event on raising funds to help the needy in our community. The event is a great outreach ministry as well. Currently, we are in need of someone to direct this event this summer.
Besides direct giving, My Brother’s Keeper will be funded through secondary giving by leveraging our spending. For example, if you shop at Payless or Marsh, there is a way that five percent (5%) of what you are already spending can be donated back to our benevolent ministry through using gift cards. There are several other such programs that we will talk about on May 31st when we launch the ministry.
I hope you will come and hear the exciting possibilities of this ministry and God can do through you. The movie is great, and the evening is free to all. Bring your family, neighbors, and friends on May 31st at 6pm to see a "One Night with The King" and hear more about My Brother's Keeper Ministry.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
God is GREAT!
God never ceases to amaze me. When the leadership team determined the goals for our Easter Sunday, I believed that only with God's help could we attain them. I know many of you prayed daily for God to move us, and He most certainly did. Six (6) new members, over twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) in a single offering, and over two hundred in attendance at worship (204), are clearly a demonstration of His presence in our church.
Most of you are aware of the challenges faced by our congregation in the past twelve months. However I believe we have turned the corner on those difficulties and that the accomplishment of these goals is evidence of that reality. You see, struggles are not always all bad. God often uses them to test our faith and commitment. He will use them to cause us to grow in ways that we are either afraid or unwilling to grow in. They make us reassess our motives and our beliefs. They make us stronger in the end.
This is not to say that we still do not have more challenges to work through. However we now have a true spirit of unity and cooperation in which to deal with them. With God's guidance and help, none of them are beyond our ability to work through. Some of them will require that more changes be made in the way we do things. We will need greater commitment from all of our members, including those who serve in positions of responsibility within our church.
On that subject, I want to express my appreciation to a man who has served as an elder in this congregation from its very inception, Neil Anderson. During my eight years, Neil has served continuously as an elder, with the exception of an accident-forced sabbatical. He has worked in both leadership and service. He has served in shepherding and in oversight. He has stood strong in the face of criticism and of difficulty. He successfully led us through three building campaigns. It is no exaggeration to say that Crossroads would not be where it is today without Neil Anderson.
Recently, Neil has stepped down from serving as an elder. He will continue to serve as the coach of support ministries and wants to focus his energies there. This is the ministry that deals with the maintenance of our facilities. As you might imagine, as our building has grown, so have the responsibilities for taking care of it. Neil, along with his wife Jennifer, has recently taken on the task of cleaning the church each week. This is no easy task, with all that we are doing through the week as a congregation. I am sure he would love to have more volunteers.
The leadership team will be looking to add more elders in August. We will be speaking to several men in the meantime about this. Please be in prayer for Scott Thatcher, Dave Nordhielm, and myself, as we continue to lead Crossroads.
Most of you are aware of the challenges faced by our congregation in the past twelve months. However I believe we have turned the corner on those difficulties and that the accomplishment of these goals is evidence of that reality. You see, struggles are not always all bad. God often uses them to test our faith and commitment. He will use them to cause us to grow in ways that we are either afraid or unwilling to grow in. They make us reassess our motives and our beliefs. They make us stronger in the end.
This is not to say that we still do not have more challenges to work through. However we now have a true spirit of unity and cooperation in which to deal with them. With God's guidance and help, none of them are beyond our ability to work through. Some of them will require that more changes be made in the way we do things. We will need greater commitment from all of our members, including those who serve in positions of responsibility within our church.
On that subject, I want to express my appreciation to a man who has served as an elder in this congregation from its very inception, Neil Anderson. During my eight years, Neil has served continuously as an elder, with the exception of an accident-forced sabbatical. He has worked in both leadership and service. He has served in shepherding and in oversight. He has stood strong in the face of criticism and of difficulty. He successfully led us through three building campaigns. It is no exaggeration to say that Crossroads would not be where it is today without Neil Anderson.
Recently, Neil has stepped down from serving as an elder. He will continue to serve as the coach of support ministries and wants to focus his energies there. This is the ministry that deals with the maintenance of our facilities. As you might imagine, as our building has grown, so have the responsibilities for taking care of it. Neil, along with his wife Jennifer, has recently taken on the task of cleaning the church each week. This is no easy task, with all that we are doing through the week as a congregation. I am sure he would love to have more volunteers.
The leadership team will be looking to add more elders in August. We will be speaking to several men in the meantime about this. Please be in prayer for Scott Thatcher, Dave Nordhielm, and myself, as we continue to lead Crossroads.
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