Its the End of 2020
Jan 26 Written By Brian Neville
For most of us we are happily moving right into 2021, but in the church there is a lot of work to be done before we are finished with 2020. Our Financial Secretary is still counting up the last of the pledge cards (if you didn’t do yours yet, pledge online now!), our finance team is looking over last year’s numbers as they prepare a budget for 2021 and our membership chairperson, along with a few other leaders, are reviewing a host of data to prepare our statistical reports due to the Annual Conference at the end of January! There is much to be done, but I want to pause to give you a few highlights on where we stand so you can get a sense of how the church is doing.
First, let’s talk about finances. You may be worried about the finances of the church. Giving was already down in 2019 and a pandemic in 2020 certainly couldn’t help. The good news is that the pandemic also meant our expenses were way down. Between wise stewardship, the faithful giving of our many members and a government grant (Payroll Protection Plan), we ended in positive territory this year. Preliminary estimates put us at about $10,000 above expenses. We also expect to receive a second round of federal grants (PPP 2.0) equal to about $50,000. This will help us keep all of our staff employed in the new year, which is surely good news. We are also looking to hire someone part-time to oversee our sound and video equipment. This will allow us to consistently stream our Sunday services. You may have noticed problems with our streaming over previous months. Despite great volunteers, we have had a number of challenges with the equipment and need someone with more technical knowledge to get us to the consistent level we want. As we return to in-person worship at some point, we know some folks may need more time to be vaccinated or feel safe with large crowds. Streaming will continue to be an important part of our ministry moving forward. Overall, we are doing okay financially. Would more money help? Sure! But our church is steady despite the pandemic thanks to the generosity of our many members.
How about our attendance this year? The pandemic closed our church doors in March, and though we were open from August to November before we closed again, we missed the three biggest seasons of the church year - Easter, Confirmation and Christmas. Our in-person attendance is certainly far lower than normal, but there is good news here, too! We have reached a huge online audience during this time, something that may have seemed unimaginable just a year or two ago! Last year we would reach perhaps 50-100 people for our services. This year we broke 1,000…twice! We averaged 525 people worshiping with us every single week. Is it the same as worshiping in-person? No, of course not. But it is some good news in a challenging year. We have reached many people with beautiful worship music, engaging sermons and inspiration that is literally making earth a little more like heaven, all during a pandemic. That is good news indeed!
As we look to the future of our church, we are hopeful that a core team for Sunday morning worship will soon be vaccinated and we can resume in-person worship. We know how eager folks are to return to the church, and we are too! There are many other important aspects of our church, such as Sunday School, small groups and missions. We have found a way to keep these ministries active, sometimes in innovative ways and sometimes by sheer force of will by our volunteers! It is a blessing to see the resiliency of our congregation and the commitment to share the love of Christ with the world. Indeed, we are an inclusive community passionately following Jesus Christ! Thank you to our staff and volunteers. Thank you to our members and friends who continue to support this good work. Thank you to Jesus Christ who knits our hearts together in unity, despite all that is in the world that could divide us. We are blessed beyond measure by God’s love and grace. Our response in this difficult season is a small sign of that love born in us, shared with the world. Please keep praying for the church, and for all those that are struggling. Some are sick, some are lonely and some need God’s love. May our church continue to be a source of hope and light for this community as we seek to do God’s will amidst these challenges. God bless!
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26).
— Pastor Brian Neville
