Update from Finance & Planning

September contributions
hold up well

By Ronald Kelly

We want to express our warm and sincere appreciation for your valued support to our church fellowship during these dramatic times of national crisis.

We are grateful to report that income in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy has met or exceeded our expectations.

No organization, church or charity could possibly predict the urgent financial needs that can come so unexpectedly. At our international church headquarters in California we continue to receive inspiring reports that many of our local congregations, as well as individual members, are contributing generously to relief agencies helping families of the thousands of people affected by the terrorist hijackings.

In that light, one also could not forecast how regular church giving would be affected. But our members have been moved to maintain a good level of regular contributions to the church while sacrificing to financially aid those in great need in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Regular mail and special offering income for September closed at just over $1.6 million, which is a two percent increase over the same period last year. We also received an estate donation that brought the overall income from all sources close to $2.4 million for the month. 

Estate donations are a valued and substantial part of the church's income. We are grateful to members who have and will in the future include the church in their estate planning.

Total income was therefore up about 8.6 percent for September compared to the same month in 2000.

As we close the first nine months of the year, our donation income has now passed $16 million. All other sources of income have totaled $4.7 million, bringing the total year-to-date receipts to almost $20.8 million.

However, as I have mentioned several times in this column, our expenses continue to exceed our income. From January through September we have spent just over $25 million. That means we have needed to transfer $4.2 million from the reserve fund into operating capital. However, that is in line with our projections.

While we continue to work toward achieving a balanced budget, we realize the slow pace of closing escrow on our Pasadena property means we have to exercise a great deal of patience.

Once again, thank you so much for your generosity and love for the church’s work. We pray daily for our dedicated ministry and members who are fighting the good fight of faith.

Statement of Income and Expenses for

WCG and PTM combined for September 2001

                                                       For the Month                        For the Year-to-Date

Income

       Mail Income                                  $ 1,610,000                                    $ 16,077,000

       Other income                                      769,000                                         4,722,000

           Total income                                2,379,000                                       20,799,000

Expenses                                                 2,583,000                                       25,074,000

Net gain (loss) to bank reserves              $ (204,000)                                     $ (4,275,000)

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001