By Ronald Kelly
By Ronald Kelly
The summer is rapidly passing, with lots of activity in our church fellowship.
However, income for the month took a disappointing turn during the final days of July.
Through the first two thirds or three quarters of the month, donation income was holding fairly stable. But those last few days of declining income brought the daily average for the month down to $91,716 and the year-to-date daily average down to $94,625.
Dear brothers and sisters, I don't report this information to in any way discourage you.
We receive two kinds of messages regarding our finances. On the one hand, some members feel like we spend too much time and effort reminding members of the financial needs of the church.
All this talk about declining income and negative percentages is not enjoyable. So some seem to prefer less knowledge about the church's money problems.
On the other hand, some members feel like they are being fully informed. They feel like they are part of the team. They know better what to pray about and what the specific needs of the church are. And even though the financial news is a bit dispiriting, some members appreciate being kept in the loop.
Of course, our hope is that everyone will feel like the second group. So please don't take my monthly column as any kind of inappropriate pressure. So many members, as we often write, are giving above and beyond the call of duty.
If some church members have not been contributing because they are upset over denominational decisions, if they are upset with their pastor, or if they are having conflict with another member, we hope we can educate them, inspire them and encourage them to be an important and contributing member of the team.
We are already in the planning stages for our 2000 budget. We are projecting donation income patterns, and department managers are adjusting expense budgets.
This is an extremely stressful process because budget reductions primarily equate, sadly, to unavoidable employee downsizing. But we all try to approach the planning process prayerfully and ask you to join us in prayer that God will provide according to his will as he knows our needs and what he has in mind for us during the coming year.
Our planning process for next year is different from any previous year. That's because, God willing, the headquarters staff will be moving to a new location before the end of 2000.
Our staff will be even further reduced, although we have not yet determined how many employees we will retain, nor have we yet identified a location and building. Much work is yet to be done.
We so much appreciate your loyal and dedicated support for the Worldwide Church of God during these exciting times.
Save postage! If you have Internet access and a credit card, you can make donations to the church through our website.
Direct your computer to https://www.wcg.org/DonationForm.asp and give us your personal identification number, name, address, card number, expiration date and donation amount.
You can make a one-time donation, or set up an automatic monthly donation. You can choose which day of the month your donations will be effective, and if you already have a monthly donation established, you may change the credit card information or donation amount by submitting the new information.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999