Input statistics: Giving and Attendance

The response to the McWorship series, otherwise known as an expository study of Malachi, was overwhelming; the Super Size challenge in particular. It might be helpful to put that response in perspective.


The Super Size Sunday offering was roughly four times the amount of our regular weekly offerings; from July through the end of December, average weekly offerings are around $44,000.


Giving is tracking about 12% ahead of giving for the same period a year ago.


Attendance is tracking about 2% ahead of attendance for the same period a year ago.


The last time we saw giving growing at a higher rate than attendance was in 2004, just as we entered a strong attendance growth period. Eventually, I'm going to get around to explaining why I think that giving and attendance tracking, while important, are not the measure of a church's health and what measures I'll be using to assess the health of Grace.


NEXT TIME: Imploding Churches

What's the connection with the CAR?

Why orphans in the CAR? First and foremost, we believe God has opened our eyes to see that it's an area where He is working, He's invited us to join Him in what He's doing and He's brought us as leadership and as a local fellowship to the point of requiring faith and action. So we're making the local body aware of where we think God is working to see if the church body senses the same thing and shares our passion and faith to take action and join. That's the succinct answer, but there are ancillary reasons...

Having not grown up in the Grace Brethren Fellowship, I've been surprised by some facts that many GBC'ers don't seem to be aware of, one of which surrounds the Central African Republic (CAR). The largest concentration of Grace Brethren members worldwide is found in the CAR and not by just a close margin, I don't have the data, but I know they out pace any other country by the thousands, if not the tens of thousands. So that's one connection between Grace Church and the CAR.

Secondly, Pastor Scott and I have been talking, spurred by the passion of Greg and Rebekah, about the plight of orphans for the better part of a year. Scripture (James) is explicit that the church is to care for widow's who's family is unable to provide for them and for orphans. We've been aware of our calling to widows and strive to fulfill that responsibility, but we've been negligent in our responsibility toward orphans. This appears to be a natural place to start.

Thirdly, the work the Grace Brethren Fellowship is doing in the CAR is church-based and looking to address the needs through church-sponsored schools. Hmmmm, sounds similar to the Grace Church/Lititz Christian School setup. While I believe Matthew 28 to set the purpose/mandate of the local church, I believe Acts 1:8 to describe the approach. While the CAR is as close to the "ends of the earth" as I can think of, a church-sponsored school is as close to a Samarian-type ministry as I can think of. Samaria being similar, yet different from Judea. A church-sponsored school in Lititz partnering with church-sponsored schools in the CAR. The ministry opportunities that this provides are exciting to contemplate - mission trips for church groups, school students, school sports teams, you name it!

You can participate in the Birthday Gift for Jesus by marking such on the Special Line of your giving envelope, on the memo line of your check or by placing cash in an envelope labeled with your name and Birthday Gift for Jesus.

What about the Cambodians?

I'm not sure how long we've been doing the Birthday Gift for Jesus at Grace, but it's been at least 10 years, probably more. For the past nine years we've used the Gift to support three Cambodian national missionary families for a full year's support plus additional projects related to their church planting efforts in Battambang and surrounding areas in Cambodia. This year, we're using the Gift to support at least three church-sponsored schools designed to educate, clothe and feed 150 of the 200,000 some orphans in the Central African Republic (CAR). I want to dissect this in total, first, we'll start with the Cambodians, are we no longer supporting them?

Nope, starting with the 2007-08 budget, we moved our support of the Cambodians into the annual budget. We're sending monies to them on a monthly basis to allow their ministry to continue. We still support three families of Cambodian nationals - one or two of them have changed because they left the ministry for other pursuits etc., but we're still very active in joining God in what He's doing in the Battambang region.

Through Mike and Joan McCracken, our ties and investment in the Cambodian ministry remains very committed. If you have a desire to participate further in that extension of the Grace Church ministry, let me know, talk to the Mike and Joan or talk to Pastor Scott.

We see us using this approach, the Birthday Gift for Jesus to launch future endeavors to join God where He's working. After a few years, assuming the work is on going and we sense the congregation is connected and invested in the ministry, we'll fold the regular support into the general operating budget and use the Birthday Gift for Jesus to launch another new outreach.

Next I'll answer, so, why the CAR? Why orphans?

Bring your Box Tops and Soup Labels to Grace

You can help the Grace Education Ministries by bringing Box Tops and Soup Labels to the church. Each Box Top and soup label earns money for our education ministries. They are great programs (both our educational ministries and the box top/soup label programs).


Of course, there was a time when you needed to send in the entire box top. Now, you just need to clip out a small square of the box top. Oh, but it's not always on the box top. On Kleenex tissues, you're actually sending in a piece of the box BOTTOM. And Cottonelle toilet paper isn't even packaged in a BOX!

That's what happens we you hold a strict literal hermeneutic.

Is it time to accept ATM cards?

Close to 7-8 years ago was the first time I was asked to consider some type of giving outside of the traditional cash/check being placed in the offering plate. The worshipful act of giving has gotten a bad reputation, sometimes overshadowed by desperate pleas to make ends meet, rather than emphasizing it in proportion with the amount of emphasis we place on prayer, signing and other elements of worship. And like them, there's something to be said for doing it corporately instead of in seclusion. Like prayer and signing, there's a place for giving in solitude. I have some intense sessions of prayer in quiet seclusion with no one around and I've belted out hymns, choruses and other sounds in the confines of my blue van that brought the roof lining down - literally. But I'm convinced that God's uniquely created corporate worship to be something special and that goes for giving too. That's been my hang up. Allowing ATM/Debit/Credit card giving opens us up to allowing giving outside of the corporate worship.

The corporate worship issue is my biggest problem with the idea. Secondarily, I'm uncomfortable opening up the possibility that someone can charge their gift to a credit card. I question the financial practice of putting a gift to God on credit. And if you use a cash back or rewards card, would the gifts to the church count toward your cash back/rewards points? This just opens up too many issues, maybe my analysis paralysis has kicked in again.

I'm well aware of the increased convenience to all of us. Goodness, I've heard countless stories of how churches actually receive more money once they make the switch. But it's not about the money, it's about your life and your relationship with Our Saviour.

But, when more and more establishments accept plastic the pressure to adapt is building. Did you ever imagine McDonald's would take cards? I myself rarely carry cash. I'm sure there are many people for whom their check to Grace Church is the only check they write each month.

So, if you attend Grace on a regular basis, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Is our love for God evident in everything?

"When you do not pay your bills, you're marketing. When you do not cut your grass, you're marketing. ...You are shaping perception in the hearts and minds of your members and your target community..." Richard L. Reising

We're pretty good at paying our bills on time, and we're doing our best to keep the grass mowed, but I admit the exterior of our property doesn't reflect how much we love God and His people. If you'd like to help us in that cause, contact me.

How to give anonymous gifts

There are several ways to give someone an anonymous financial gift. I have to state that unless the leadership of Grace Church has announced that a special collection is being taken, any such gift, according to IRS regulations, does NOT qualify as a tax-deductible gift. But that shouldn't stop you from making the gift. Here are several methods you can use to keep your financial gift anonymous:

1. Go to your local bank and ask the cashier for a Cashier's Check in the amount you want to contribute. From what I've seen a Cashier's Check has not identifying information on it other than the bank institution used to produce the check. I think you can have the check made out directly to the person you want to give it to. With the check, you can hand it to someone to deliver it for you.

2. You can give a cash gift, put it in an envelope and ask someone to give it to the person on your behalf.

If you're looking to give a tangible gift, it's just a matter of how you deliver it. You can again ask someone to be your delivery person, you could also drop ship it directly to their address. Or, if you could make it a family deal and plan a covert operation to drop the items at their home without being noticed. Just some ideas.

Ministry Plan for 2007-2008

On June 17, Pastor Scott, John Kegarise (Elder Chairman) and myself presented the ministry plan for 2007-2008. The ministry plan has been developed by the ministry leaders and paid staff. I've assembled their work and reviewed it with Pastor Scott before presenting it to the Elders. With Elder approval the plan went before the church body for their review. But before we look ahead, let's take a quick review of what God has been doing in our midst for the past several months.

For about a decade our attention has been focused on other ministry areas, but over the past year, it appears that God started to move in new ways in our Children's Ministries. By providing the financial resources we were able to set aside funds to return the Children's Ministry Director position to full time status and to increase the Early Childhood Director to a half-time position. In addition to providing the funds, God also provided the individuals to fill those slots.

Our second year of the Christmas Walk-Thru had even greater numbers of people travel through our building to the Victorian era, on to Italy, then Switzerland and finally the manger scene.

On Sunday mornings we've studied the Book of James, When Faith and Life Collide; what Jesus said about the future, Back in the Future; Meeting People Where They Are and Moving People to Where God Wants Them to Be; Baptism and Footwashing, Just Add Water; Lost and Reel Families. Through these studies, God has challenged us, convicted us and drawn us into a deeper relationship with Him. And of course we baptized 104 adults and children this past Spring.

Sunday morning Auditorium attendance has been up about 8% over the previous year. We're averaging 1,191 people per Sunday in the Auditorium. Giving has been healthy too, but as you might expect with an influx of new attenders, it's increased at a slower pace.

God has done some AMAZING things in our midst in 2006-2007! What could He possibly have in mind for 2007-2008?

In 2007-2008 we are seeing signs that God is opening up opportunities for us to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

Meeting People Through the Rodeo
The Elders and staff are really excited about the potential of how God might work through us and the rodeo outreach to build new relationships with people who are far from God. With the tremendous upside potential in that one day, we are preparing across the board to be able to meet more people and help them take steps closer to God. We anticipate that the rodeo impact on our ministry may well span all of 2007-2008, if not beyond.

Meeting People; Moving People Through the Core Classes
With all of the growth we've experienced over the past several years, we've identified that we need to provide stronger opportunities for people to connect with our body. The Pastor's Class is being reworked into four Core Classes. Each class will end with a specific next steps of seeking water baptism, daily Bible reading, getting involved in a specific ministry and regular tithing. The Core Classes have the potential to provide those who are new to Grace an avenue to take steps to grow deeper in their relationship with God.

Meeting Children and Teens Where They Are, Moving Them to Where God Wants Them To Be
We're also anticipating fresh approaches in our ministries for children and teens. We think we see signs that the work God initiated in these areas in 2006-2007 will take off in 2007-2008. The new staff are getting settled in their positions, have had time to assess and seek God's direction for their ministry and in 2007-2008, we'll start to see the launch of some of those new components. These ministry areas have been using the same type of approach for more than a decade; meanwhile the culture of the children/teens we've been serving has changed drastically. We are excited about how God is leading us in new directions to reach the children and teens of today with His Word in a way that is relevant to the way they think.

Moving McCracken's and Roche's to Where God Wants Them To Be
In Global Outreach we're excited about what God is doing in Cambodia. Our support of three Cambodian nationals, who've been supported through the Birthday Gift for Jesus is now part of the budget. We also have the opportunity to support them as they shift into tent-making ministries. We are happy to announce that we'll be sending Mike and Joan McCracken to assist the Cambodians in setting up a business of raising pigs. In our backyard, we're happy to be officially partnering with Joe and Kim Roche, who've been our go-to couple for people with financial counseling needs. The Roche's have sensed God's leading them to join with Crown Financial Ministries in a full time capacity and seeing evidence of how God has equipped them and utilized them in that type of role already, we are excited to be supporting them as they take this step of faith.

To sum up, we the staff and the Elders, see 2007-2008 as a hallmark year for Grace Church. As God continues to lead us in seeing His Kingdom expand in the greater Lititz area, we recognize that our body has to be equipped at every level to be able to handle the growth. We need to see those who've joined the Grace Church body of the past several years get connected and involved in our ministries beyond Sunday morning services and become fully engaged, active participants of the living body that is Grace Church.

The budget translates our proposed ministry plan for 2007-2008 into financial figures. The plan requires a bit more from each of us than in year's past. While each endeavor has an attached price tag, and giving is an important part of this process, it's not so much your money for which we are asking. We want to see everyone under the umbrella of Grace Church become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, joining us in our endless pursuit to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

April Fool's Offering

Tomorrow I'll start a 3-post series about the Holy Week I'll Never Forget, but here's one more post from the weekend...

April Fool's was always marked on my calendar and often involved several weeks of premeditation. See, when you live in a all-boys dorm of some 15+ teenagers, it's an atmosphere ripe for joking. I remember many a morning coming to the breakfast table to be met by blue-colored milk or green eggs as someone snuck into the kitchen and gotten a hold of the food coloring.

So when the Count Team brought me the following offering envelope yesterday morning, I smiled immediately. Someone's Monopoly set is short $500.

More Giving Statement Info and Taxes

I'm no tax expert or advisor, so consult your tax advisor before you do anything. But as I was working on taxes last night, and reading the 1040 instructions and the instructions for Schedules A & B, I came across additional information related to yesterday's post. Yes, I usually do my own taxes and yes, I read the instructions; interesting reading actually. I like to try and figure out why they have us do the different calculations, where they're getting the numbers from, etc. etc. Through the course of my reading last night (the following were copied straight out of the instruction books), I discovered...

Volunteers can deduct out-of-pocket expenses and mileage
Contributions can be in cash (keep canceled checks, receipts, or other reliable written records showing the name of the organization and the date and amount given), property, or out-of-pocket expenses you paid to do volunteer work for the kinds of organizations described earlier. If you drove to and from the volunteer work, you can take the actual cost of gas and oil or 14 cents a mile. But, if the volunteer work was to provide relief related to Hurricane Katrina, the amount is 32 cents a mile. Add parking and tolls to the amount you claim under either method. But do not deduct any amounts that were repaid to you. (See 2006 Instructions for Schedules A & B (Form 1040), page A-4)

A detailed explanation of the $250 threshold
You can deduct a gift of $250 or more only if you have a statement from the charitable organization showing the information in (1) and (2) below.
1. The amount of any money contributed and a description (but not value) of any property donated.
2. Whether the organization did or did not give you any goods or services in return for your contribution. If you did receive any goods or services, a description and estimate of the value must be included. If you received only intangible religious benefits (such as admission to a religious ceremony), the organization must state this, but it does not have to describe or value the benefit. In figuring whether a gift is $250 or more, do not combine separate donations. For example, if you gave your church $25 each week for a total of $1,300, treat each $25 payment as a separate gift. If you made donations through payroll deductions, treat each deduction from each paycheck as a separate gift. See Pub. 526 if you made a separate gift of $250 or more through payroll deduction.
(See 2006 Instructions for Schedules A & B (Form 1040), page A-5)

New requirements for contributions of money
New record keeping requirements for contributions of money. For charitable contributions of money, regardless of the amount, you must maintain as a record of the contribution a bank record (such as a cancelled check) or a written record from the charity. The written record must include the name of the charity, date, and amount of the contribution.
(See 2006 Instructions for Schedules A & B (Form 1040), page A-1)


Consult your tax advisor as to how these paragraphs relate to your situation.

Year-end Giving Statements

If you have a giving envelope number, you should have received your year-end giving statement in the past week. I thought you might have some questions about the statements that you never had the chance to ask.

Why do I receive a statement? Why don't I receive statement?
Year-end giving statements are sent to (1) everyone who has a giving envelope number or (2) anyone who contributed at least $250 or more at one time (the $250 threshold is an IRS-mandated limit). If neither of those criteria were met then you did not receive a statement.

Why do I have to use giving envelopes to receive a statement?
The giving envelopes are our system for keeping track of contributions in as confidential a manner as possible. If you watched Mission Impossible, it’s somewhat similar to NOC list. We work hard to keep your private information confidential.

What if the church’s statement doesn’t agree with my personal records?
Note the discrepancies and send in the business reply envelope to our accountants, Hamilton & Musser.

Why do I have to send it to the accountants instead of talking to the church office?
Our accountants keep us accountable to processing your contributions correctly. To maintain a high standard of checks and balances, any discrepancies should first be reported to the accountants.

If I find a discrepancy with the church’s statement, does it really make a difference?
Absolutely! If we made a mistake, we need to know and to correct it. Plus, it’s important that your records be accurate for your filings with the IRS.

What happens when I report a discrepancy to the accountants?
They make note of the discrepancy and ask the church office to investigate it. In many cases, we simply made a mistake. In those cases, we ask the donor to show us proof of the contribution. If there are other issues, we contact the donor to work through the issues.

How can I help?

• If you don’t have numbered envelopes, contact the church office to request them
• Always use your numbered envelope with every contribution
• Print clearly when writing your checks and filling out the giving envelope
  
• When you use your numbered envelope be sure to write the total contribution amount on the outside of the envelope

As with anything under my responsibility, if you have other questions, please let me know... even squirrels find me approachable.

Overseas Missionaries Don't Wear Capes

Generations of spiritual giants returning from the mission field have left the impression that missionaries are supermen. Our missionaries are made of the same stuff that you are.

-Philip Armstrong

Though I only have a vague recollection of what he looked like, no memory of any conversation with him or whatever, I did have the chance to meet Philip Armstrong when I was a young boy. I knew him as the General Director of Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (now known as SEND International) a missions organization with which my parents served and my grandparents on my Dad's side served with as well.

I came across this quote of Armstrong's recently and it captures something I've thought since returning to the US for college. I say this as a missionary kid, who only recently had lived more years in my homeland than the number of years I lived in a foreign country, and as a person who to this point has committed his live to full-time ministry. Too often we view those whom God calls to serve overseas as super-Christians or better-thans. Just because God hasn't called those who remain in the homeland, wherever that might be, doesn't make them less-thans. And interestingly, God uses strikingly similar approaches to making disciples regardless of what ocean you're closest too, so it's not like those in other countries live a Christian life that looks much different than the way we live our lives. I watched my Dad build relationships with Filipinos at the sari-sari stores at the end of the block as they grabbed the morning breakfast bread that everyone eats in the morning. And in a very similar fashion I know of many who are building relationships with the people they run into at Sheetz every morning as they pick up their morning coffee. Being the active kid that I was, I became friends with Filipino kids which eventually gave my parents an in to talk with the parents, not that much different from your kids who are in sports leagues, school plays and the like and because of car-pooling needs or parties etc., you get to know mom and dad.

Beyond the obvious, how does this impact the ministries of Grace? We need to view Missions as an extension of our ministry, not as a separate function from the rest of our ministries. Everything we do is missions. The purpose is the same: to make disciples. We're all praying that God would work through us to add more people to His Kingdom. The way all of that is carried out has a lot of similarities too. We invest in curriculum materials for our children through adult ministries, and if they don't already, I'm pretty sure the Beuggerts will too. We allocate resources to fix plumbing problems, so do the Weavers. So when you see the church budget for 2007-2008 in a few months, don't be surprised if Missions is replaced with something like Judea/Samaria/Ends of the Earth Ministries. That's really what they are, aren't they? Following our Biblical directive, it's our participation in what God is doing in the church universal.

Missionaries serving overseas are no different than the Christians who work at RR Donnelley or any other capacity. Missionaries don't wear capes, just maybe a sarong or a toga, depending on the country. What's taken me several paragraphs and a couple hundred words to express, Armstrong captured in three sentences...

You have your call: it is to God. If you accepted that call you are at divine disposal. Stop making distinctions about home and abroad. Don't let geography represent a roadblock.

-Philip Armstrong