By Ronald
Kelly
By Ronald
Kelly
A heartfelt thanks for your generous donations in July. Income for June had dipped below our expectations. Now, July income is right on target. As you will see in the box below, total income this month was just over $3 million. That brought January through July income to $18.2 million.
Most of us have to manage only our family income. And there aren't many of us who commonly use the term million to describe our income and expenses. Therefore when we see sums such as $10 million or $20 million, it sounds like so much. I hope that doesn't lull you into a sense of everything is OK with church finances.
Our church finances, in many ways, are just like your family finances. First, you have your income. Then you have various budgeted expenses: mortgage or rent, utilities, taxes, groceries, automobile expenses, clothing, education and many other smaller expenses.
Our church expenses are much the same. We have salaries to pay, properties to maintain, accounting, computer and legal expenses, hall rent for churches, expenses for ministers, utilities, telephone and many other expenses. The major difference between our family finances and the finances of the church is the number of 0s after the dollar sign.
As you budget your personal finances, I'm sure you have a much easier time if you have a regular, steady income. Some of you are in professions where your income can fluctuate--perhaps you have major income during the summer months, but less during the winter. If that's the case, you have to carefully save for the lean months. If you can identify with that comparison, perhaps you will better understand why I so much appreciate regular, faithful, steady donations.
Obviously we welcome any and all contributions to the work of the church, but when we can depend on regular income, our budgeting goes so much more smoothly.
You might be pleased to know that between 10 and 12 percent of our donation income is from individuals and families who do not attend our church services. They believe in and identify with the work God is doing in our church. Of course that means about 90 percent of the income is from all of you faithful and dedicated members.
Although we celebrated Pentecost in mid-June, I did not have the completed figures for the offering to report last month. The total offering for Pentecost was $757,406. That is more than our projections, and when donations are more than we anticipated, we are quite excited. So another big thank you for your special offerings.
Much work here in Pasadena is focused on the sale of the property to Legacy Partners. Because Legacy is working with subcontractors and the City of Pasadena, we still don't have a definite date for closing the sale. It could be as early as December, but we also must be prepared for closing to take place in early 2001. We would appreciate your prayers for God's direction and blessing during this key time of transition.
For the Month For the Year-to-Date
Income
Donation income $ 2,019,571 $ 14,159,096
Other income 1,066,034 4,076,605
Total income 3,085,605 18,235,701
Expenses 2,128,597 19,965,095
Net gain (or loss) to bank reserves $ 957,008 $ (1,729,394)
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2000