Tuesday, September 26, 2017

DISASTER RECOVERY RIGHT HERE

This is a time of possibility!   

The church is at a crossroads.  For years, we lived not by depending on the Lord, but by the generosity of an old-time member.  But now is the time when we must depend on our Lord Jesus afresh.  Shortly before I arrived at the church, Veronica Smith passed away and left the church a bequest of a million dollars.  That became the ‘go to’ for church operations.  And for many years, it was wonderful.

Instead of having to worry about church budgets year in and year out, we had deep pockets left to us by the loving memory of one of our own.  But the reality is that these funds do not last forever.  We are now at a place where most churches find themselves.  We have expenses and it is by the tithes and offerings of our membership that we meet those expenses.

We are in a very rough period of adjustment.  Our operating expenses got ahead of us over the last quarter.  Summer attendance-and giving-is always the lightest season in the church, but it hit us when we were already at a difficult time in paying for everything.  With a substantial fund transfer from what investments we have left, we have caught up, for now.  But the bills keep coming…
We are also at a place where there are significant maintenance issues in the church, issues of roof repair and a newer problem of water leakage into the Auditorium.  Tackling those problems has become secondary to balancing our finances.   


But now is the season of our Recovery.  As good people are working to recovery from Harvey and Irma and Maria and whatever else nature chooses to throw at our nation, so too, this is what we are doing.  Session sat together last night and began this work.  Laying out the reality for the whole congregation is our next step.  Then, together, in the Lord’s power, we shall recover, overcome, and carry forth His work in our city. 

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