Hearts for Ministry

...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Prayer and Devotional Guide

Greetings from our Stewardship Campaign chair

2008 Budget

Commitment Sunday
October 28, 2007

Commitment Card

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in your sight, O lord,
my strength and redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

Greetings!

Having grown up in this church, and now having my own family involved here, I feel blessed to have experienced a wide range of our church’s remarkable ministries and activities, many of which are highlighted in this brochure. I am thankful for our talented lay leadership and gifted professional staff, who have designed these exciting and dynamic programs for our growing congregation of over 6,000 members, representing all ages and stages of life. Since we have been in our new church facilities, we have been fortunate to expand our ministries and welcome more people. As we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, there is a place for each of us to be involved, serve Christ and put our faith into action through service and outreach to others, both locally and globally.

All of our wonderful programs, ministries, missions and remarkable facilities are made possible by the gifts and offerings of the congregation to the Operating Budget. In 2007, our Operating Budget was $4.5 million, which represented an increase of 11% from the previous year. Since 2005, our Operating Budget has grown by over 35% as a result of our expanding ministries and new facilities to support these ministries, and our amazing and supportive congregation has responded faithfully to the challenge of funding this growth. For 2008, we are anticipating a budget of $4.8 million.

Upon joining the church, we each pledged to support the church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service. While pledge commitments are voluntary, the church completes its budget and designs its programs and ministries based upon the total pledges of the congregation. The giving decision that each family makes ultimately determines the level of ministry the church can achieve.

I encourage you to get involved through your prayers, your presence, your gifts and your service. We have the ability and opportunity to create our legacy through the ministries of this church, and your commitment does make a difference as we grow and further our mission to make disciples for Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Melinda Harvey Lawrence
Chair, Finance Committee