Monthly Financial Reports

One of my monthly tasks is balancing our bank accounts and once balanced, to produce the monthly financial report packets.

Each packet contains four statements that report the activity of
1. the entire organization, those pages are usually white
2. the church, those pages are usually blue
3. the daycare ministry of the church, those pages are usually lilac
4. the school ministry of the church, those pages are usually green

Each of these reports have 1 to 3 pages entitled Statement of Operations. The Statement of Operations pages have 7 columns. From left to right:
The first column lists the different income and expense categories.
The next three columns report the actual, budget and budget variance for the monthly activity.
The final three columns report the actual, budget and budget variance for the year to date activity.
The Statement of Operations shows how we are doing over time compared to our projected budget.

Each of the reports also has a page labeled Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Assets. This page shows how much cash each area has and the accounts in which it is located. It's like a snapshot of where all our assets are. The page labeled Operating Cash Worksheet reports similar information. It's bottom line shows how much money is in the General Fund beyond the amounts we have set aside.

The final page in the packet, which is usually yellow, reports the Sunday morning attendance figures on one side, comparing the current attendance with prior years on one side. On the opposite side is the giving figures comparing the current giving with the prior years. All of the giving and attendance figures are recorded weekly, with week 1 representing the first Sunday in July so the worksheet matches our July-June fiscal year.

These reports are presented to the Elders and Board of Education each month. Copies are also available for anyone to pick up in Alpha Lobby.

If you have any questions about the statements, would like to understand them better or about anything else, please contact me.

Church Email Lists

Most people don't realize that the church email lists (Pastor Scott's bi-weekly updates, the weekly eBulletin and Andy Brightbill's monthly Youth update) are all kept on a computer server in Winona Lake, Indiana.

The lists are all automated, like subscribing to a magazine, you can handle your personal subscription to our lists. Unfortunately, when your email address changes, you need to remember to update your subscription to the email lists, otherwise you won't receive the messages anymore. Since it's an automated list, when you update your address on the list, we don't get a copy of it here in the office. So if you want us to have your new address, you'll need to email us separately. It's a bit cumbersome, I know.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe to the main church email list (Pastor's updates & eBulletins)

Subscribe/Unsubscribe to the Youth News list

2006 Church Directory

I've you're a faithful subscriber to Administering Grace then you've probably figured out that the 2006 Church Directory is way behind schedule; we've been inundated with other projects. In any event, we've gotten the directory to it's final draft form and my goal is to have it published for Sunday, March 5 or earlier if possible.

Now, Joan and Elaine will tell you that I'm a proofing/draft nut. I filled-in for Joan the other week creating the Sunday bulletin and I must've had 4 or 5 drafts that I asked Elaine to proof before we finally went to print. The church directory is on draft 8 or 9 (hmmm, maybe that's part of the reason it's been delayed). For what it's worth, I've put a draft copy on our website if you want to help us proof it. If you find typos, informational errors etc. I'd love to know about them. We did make some editorial decisions in terms of how to list names etc., so not all suggestions may be used, but I welcome your input.

Here are a couple of other details about the 2006 Directory:

• It is 40 pages, listing 699 church families/individuals
• It will be printed in full page (8 1/2 x 11) format, two-columns of addresses per page
  
• It will be printed on 11 x 17 paper, landscape, folded in half and stapled in the middle to form a booklet.

Now that the directory is published, as you discover out of date information, please contact us so we can update our records. Thanks!

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow...

Another snowy Sunday and once again, Grace held regular services; many other churches in the area cancelled parts or all of their Sunday programs due to the storm system. I explained our perspective on cancelling Sunday services in an entry back in December. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so.

Here are the stats from Sunday, February 12:

• 6 counties were under advisories, watches, or severe weather warnings.

• WGAL's forecast for the morning, "Sunday: Heavy snow this morning east of Lancaster, ending from west to east. Total storm accumlations from 3"-6" north of I-81, 6"-12" south of I-81 with locally heavy amounts in excess of 15"." I would guess there was around 10" at our house.

Wind: North at 6 MPH
Humidity: 85% Dewpoint: 23°F
Barometer: 29.65 inches and steady
Wind Chill: 20°F
Route 501 was cleared, but still snow covered.

• Grace Church auditorium attendance (not including attendance at children's programs, Sunday School or Adult Bible Fellowships), this is just the number of people in the Auditorium for worship services: 400

Here's a general review of how we responded to this latest storm system.

• Friday - with reports of a coming storm system, our plower dropped off his equipment at the church Friday afternoon. Though I can't find a specific forecast on the internet, when our plower's backhoe is dropped off at the church, I know somethings coming.

The following times are unconfirmed, but should be pretty close...

• Sunday (3 am) - I would guess our plower and his son(s) started plowing the church parking lot around this time.
• Sunday (5:45 am) - Jay and Marlin started shoveling/snowblowing the sidewalks.
• Sunday (7 am) - I talked with Jay and confirmed that the building was ready to receive people. I then called Pastor Scott. He found 501 driveable and neither of us saw a reason to cancel services.
  

I appreciate being able to worship on days like yesterday. If it weren't for people like Jay, Marlin, and our plowers, we wouldn't be able to do that. I appreciate their getting up early and sometimes missing the services themselves, which allows us to worship together.

There was a part of me that was tempted to call WDAC and WJTL and ask them to announce that Grace Church was on a two-hour delay. Why do churches simply cancel instead of using delays like schools?

Looking for a Good Weather Forecast

The Internet has become my main news source. I don't watch news broadcasts (local, network or cable). Here are the sites I use to keep up with the world:

Google News

ESPN.com

WGAL

Lititz Record Express – I'm too cheap to pay for the local paper, but want to know the local beat

Terry White's Blog – Terry appears to know more about the events in the FGBC, even more than we know about ourselves! In the past few months, I learned from Terry's blog that Grace was selected as a 4:12 Commission site and that E-Town College was hosting a benefit concert for the Katrina Relief trip Grace is sending. Terry knew things about Grace that we didn't even know.

Warwick Township – I try to keep tabs on upcoming township meeting agendas and I follow the minutes from the meetings, specifically looking for items relating to our ministries and our involvement in the community

Symantec's Latest Virus Threats – Though we have real time virus protection, I still want to know about the latest viruses and other malware that'll be trying to penetrate our system

BBC News – For an foreign perspective

Drudge Report

I love the immediate access to information with the net, but there's one area in which the net appears to be lacking – detailed weather forecasts. The Weather Channel, Underground Weather and in our area, WGAL websites all give decent general forecasts of the high/low temperature and outlook for each day. But when it comes to a storm system, it seems the net lacks the detail of the weather reports broadcast on TV. Maybe it's because the forecasters fear putting their accumulation forecasts in writing. Whatever the reason, for someone who relies primarily on the Internet for information, not having specific forecasts when a storm is on the way can get frustrating.

Renovation Update

The Alpha Lobby renovations have gone very well this week. Jay and Marlin have worked really hard along with the subcontractors and the rooms are looking really good. There have been some unexpecteds that slowed the progress however. Though the women's room is just about complete, there's an outside chance that a few details may be unfinished. We ran into some delivery snags on the men's room, so it isn't very far along at all.

Both bathrooms will be functional on Sunday, so no worry there. But bear with us as the renovations are still a work in progress.

Throw in the Rabbit and you've got a deal

During lunch today, I scanned my regular list of newsfeeds and came across confirmation that Al Michaels (he of "do you believe in miracles" fame) was leaving ABC to join John Madden at NBC to call the Sunday night NFL games beginning next fall.

Al Michael's, who's been the voice of Monday Night Football, was a key asset at ABC Sports and rightfully, NBC had to make a decent offer to get him. According to the article, "In exchange for letting Michaels out of his contract with ABC and ESPN, which are owned by The Walt Disney Co., NBC Universal sold ESPN cable rights to Friday coverage of the next four Ryder Cups, granted ESPN increased usage of Olympic highlights and sold to The Walt Disney Co. the rights to "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit," a character in silent cartoons made by Walt Disney from 1927-28."

The Ryder Cup is pretty big, I see the value there. Increased usage of the Olympics has value too. But what's the point of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? I can envision the deal negotiations...
NBC - We'd like to offer you Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup for Al Michaels
ABC - We'll take the Ryder Cup but we want more Olympics highlights and $1M in cash
NBC - We're good for the Olympic highlights, but the cash is over the top
ABC - Okay, throw in Oswald the Rabbit and we've got a deal
NBC - Done

Oswald was apparently an early cartoon character created by Walt Disney. Walt used Universal to distribute the cartoon and lost the rights. Mr. Disney created another character based on a mouse, known today as Mickey.

I guess you can get your rights back, even if it takes a long time. Do you think there's still hope for Esau? Throw in the rabbit and we've got a deal.

This is not the end... it's just the beginning

We continue to rejoice with our achievement of paying off the mortgage. Plans are underway to mark this event in the life of our church similar to the ways the Israelites marked the accomplishment of crossing the Jordan and the other celebrations recorded in scripture. Though I haven’t convinced anyone to share their memories in this forum of how God has worked, I know they’re out there.

Traditionally, paying off a mortgage is celebrated in a mortgage burning ceremony. But paying off the mortgage is something I want us to remember, not forget by turning it into dust. For ceremonial purposes, we’ll be burning copies of the mortgage, but I suggested we frame and mount the original document as a monument to what’s been accomplished and what He may do in the future. This is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

Why is this just the beginning?

The local church will always be faced with a space problem. House churches need houses that are big enough; churches facilities that have existed since the 1700s need upkeep and maintenance. Churches that are growing exponentially have to find ways to handle all the people. In the northeast, we don’t just have a space problem, the weather conditions require that our spaces have walls and insulation – we can’t get away with using tents.

No matter what approach is used to solve the space problem; there are costs involved. Churches that rent space pay premium amounts without gaining any equity. Churches that have mortgages pay premium amounts of interest, but gain equity in return. Churches that meet in homes run up someone’s utility bills and the house was likely bought with mortgage. Existing buildings have maintenance expenses. It’s not a matter of saving the cost of a facility or being able to re-allocate the facility expense to ministry expenses. Space costs money, it’s just a matter of how it will be spent.

We are already accustomed to making a monthly mortgage payment. For the past 15 years or so, we’ve made a monthly mortgage payment and never missed one. We’ve weathered some financially trying times when we really tightened the belt and wished we could’ve tapped into the mortgage money, but we survived without doing so. God has blessing us with a double harvest right now that our ministry has been able to grow in spite of having a mortgage payment.

If we are always going to have a space problem, and space is always going to cost us money, and we’re already in the practice of setting a chunk of money aside for facility expenses, why not keep up the practice?

What’s the game plan, moving forward?

Now that the mortgage is paid off, we will continue to pay ourselves each month’s mortgage payment to save up money to put a new roof on our building. We anticipate this will take about a year’s worth of payments, if not a bit more. That would take us into Spring 2007.

Beyond the roof replacement plan, our thought is to keep making the virtual payments so we have ourselves positioned on the launch pad to be able to join where we see God working. Obviously, talking in these sums, we are specifically thinking of future facility issues, but the monies that we set aside ourselves, the virtual payments, are monies that we can choose to use as we see fit. That’s different from the monies designated for the expansion fund, the IRS requires us to utilize those funds for expansion purposes only.

That’s why we see this celebration as the beginning. It’s the beginning of our praying, seeking, dreaming and pursuing what God has in store next – striving to identify where He is working and how we can become a part of it. We move forward with the confidence that God has revealed His will to us in the past, provided for our needs in extraordinary ways and has worked through us to stake a claim in the greater-Lititz area for Christ.

Did You Catch the Double Meaning?

The title of this blog is probably the most succinct way to capture my responsibilities as Business Manager. While I wear many hats, the two words, each with a deliberate double meaning capture the essence of what I’m supposed to do day in and day out.

Administering Grace
ad∙min∙is∙ter (əd min´ə stər, ad-) To manage or conduct, as public affairs; to direct or superintend the execution, application, or conduct of; as, to administer the government or the state.

grace (grās) n. Grace Church, Grace Brethren Church of Lititz. A fellowship of believers located around the greater-Lititz area of Pennsylvania.

I am charged with managing and conducting the business of our church. Jokingly, I’ve often described myself as being responsible for all the non-spiritual aspects of the church, though you’ll see that that’s actually far from a true description of what I do. The business of the church involves overseeing the facility, managing the finances, managing the church office, running the computer department and handling the benefits of our employees. I have the privilege of representing the church with our business contacts, of implementing new initiatives to keep our systems up to date and equipping our ministries with the tools they need to remain effective. Part of the business of the church is also setting policies and procedures to make things work smoothly. And it’s in this context that Administering Grace takes on a second meaning.

Administering Grace
ad∙min∙is∙ter (əd min´ə stər, ad-) To dispense; to serve out; to supply; execute; as, to administer relief, to administer the sacrament.

grace (grās) n. (Theol.) The divine favor toward man; the mercy of God, as distinguished from His justice; also, any benefits His mercy imparts; divine love or pardon; a state of acceptance with God; enjoyment of the divine favor.

In a vain attempt to follow Christ’s example, as I manage church operations the challenge I face is to do so with grace. Each day is filled with opportunities for me to extend grace in the way we conduct business. The business world is accustomed to absolute deadlines, strict policies, heavy precedents and unbending rules. The challenge is to meld the black and white world with a grace-centered world in how we relate to others, to our ministries and all of our relationships. Not to say we’ll be pushovers for there are absolutes, but to identify and seize the grace opportunities afforded in each situation.

And so we take on the challenge each day. Hopefully this blog has and will continue to give you a glimpse into our attempts and our progress in our endeavor to Administer Grace.

Fantasy NASCAR

The Fantasy NASCAR league, Grace Racers, is setup and I invite anyone to join. You can do so by going to http://racing.fantasysports.yahoo.com/auto

Create a team - use as creative or catchy a team name as you'd like.

Once you have a team, click the "Create or Join Group" button and follow the path to join an existing private group. Then, when prompted, enter the following information...

Group ID#: 22760
Password: nascar

Daytona's only 13 days away!

Super Memories: XVIII

Super Bowl XVIII was played January 22, 1984 in Tampa. You'll recall from a previous post that I no longer had a strong allegiance for any particular NFL team, but sometime in the mid-80s, maybe even on January 22, 1984, I developed a liking for the Oakland Raiders. Though my Raider interest probably had little to do with football.

From grade 4 - grade 7, our house was about a 4-hour drive from school, so my brother and I were boarding students. Unlike a college dorm setting, our dorms were structured like a large family. Each dorm was run by a husband and wife, who often had their own children, and then there were 15-20 of us dorm-kids who were under the dormparent's authority. For reasons I no longer recall, I didn't have a favorable view of my dorm father, Mr. Pearson, during my grade 4-6 years. On thing I do remember, being from Virginia, he was a Redskins fan.

Keep in mind that few non-military personnel had access to the Armed Forces Network broadcasts in the 1980s, I'm not sure why since by the 1990s it was as if the Armed Forces Network was broadcasting to the whole nation. So in the 1980s, the Super Bowl was the only NFL game we'd see on TV. I had no idea what had transpired during the 1983 season, but when I heard that the Redskins were playing in Super Bowl XVIII, I knew I would be rooting for the opposition.

I distinctly remember awakening in the early hours of Monday, January 23 (being 13 hours ahead of Easter Standard Time) to watch the pre-game and the first quarter. There was a group of us, maybe 10 or 15 gathered around a small TV in the school gym. By the second quarter, school was in session, and when possible, I would detour to the gym to check the score while changing classes. Since big sporting events in the US usually occurred on Monday in the Philippines, the school rumor networks were always primed and ready to go. Throughout the day, tidbits of "the Dolphins were intercepted" or "the Raiders are leading by 7" or "so and so fouled out" would work their way around the school and keep us up on the game even though we weren't seeing it live. Even so, every opportunity to catch the game was seized. This whole experience, the early morning, the challenge to stay abreast of the competition, made being a sports fan that much more enjoyable.

As the Super Bowl unfolded and the Raiders obliterated the Redskins, the Oakland fan base increased by at least one. To see my dorm father's team take such a licking brought a big smile to my face and I relished every moment of dinner that evening. As was our daily custom, our entire dorm seated amongst several tables eating dinner together with many of us piecing together the highlights of the game from each others memories with Mr. Pearson enduring it all in quiet agony.

In the end, I came to respect Mr. Pearson for his tremendous knowledge of and ability to teach AP U.S. History and his consistent enforcement of our school's policies as Vice Principal. But his tenure as my dorm father turned me into a bandwagon Raider fan for a brief spell in the mid-1980s.

Computer Week

Much of my attention and focus has been diverted to computer issues this week. We moved several databases from one server to another in addition to troubleshooting several problems. I don't mind these tasks, but the lack of success wears on me, particularly as the day drags on into night. I take it personally when the tools I'm responsible for providing to our staff (their computers) hinder their effectiveness more than they help them in their individual ministries. The good thing about having responsibilities over a wide variety of areas is that it breaks up any potential monotony. The bad thing about having responsibilities over a wide variety of areas is that one can get pulled in all directions at once and end up like silly putty.

Facility: Some Scoops

We're working on a couple of facility projects that should be evident in the next couple of months. An inside scoop on our facility activities per se.

In the next few weeks the Alpha Lobby restrooms will be renovated/redecorated. The bathrooms have served us fine over the years, but they smack of practicality. I love practicality myself, but I recognize it tends to neglect giving people a warm welcoming feeling. Similar to the decorations we've used in the Chapel and Elementary restrooms, our goal is to make the Alpha Lobby restrooms warm and nicely decorated.

For many years, the lower end of our parking lot served merely as an overflow, except for our large concerts. The lower lot was never fully paved, probably as a cost-deferment measure when the major addition was completed in 1990. They paved the base, but never laid down the top layer. With the attendance bump of recent years the full parking lot is now used each Sunday. Seeing this growth, we planned to finish off the lower lot if we were financially stable this year. God has really blessed us this year, so we are moving ahead with the plan and sometime this summer the lower lot should be completely repaved.

Help Wanted: Ushers

Based on the questions I field, there are many understandable, yet inaccurate assumptions about the usher ministry. I’m the paid staff person responsible for this vital ministry and since we always struggle to find enough ushers for our services, dispelling the inaccurate assumptions might help us recruit more. At least that’s my attempt through today’s entry.

Ushers only collect the offering – Though part of what they do, collecting the offering is just a small part of the ushers role. Ushers are some of the first who have the opportunity to greet church attenders. They have the opportunity to help them find a seat; make sure our guests know where the restroom is, when the nursery is located and their other needs during the worship service. They have the opportunity to make our guests feel welcome and comfortable.

Ushers have to wear a coat and tie – I hear this assumption more than any other. While I’m all for wearing your Sunday best, attire in our culture has changed. To adapt, I expect ushers to be in decent attire that reflects the attire of our congregation.

Only legal adult men are allowed to usher – I think ushering is a perfect ministry for men and women, legal adults and youth. If the role of an usher is to make our guests feel comfortable, the ushers should be a cross section of our congregation. As a safety precaution, I do require that the ratio of adults to youth/children ushers at each service is at least 1:1 so that in the event of an emergency there are plenty of adults to lead the response effort.

Here's what I'd like to see from each usher:

Time Requirement

• Ushers are organized into 2 teams for each service. Teams rotate, serving for 2 months and then off for 2 months.
• When serving, ushers should be in the Auditorium ready to begin greeting worshippers 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the service and remain at their posts until after the offering is collected or until 30 minutes after the service started (which ever is later).
• Always on call for the duration of the service. If an emergency should occur, they will need to assist with crowd control, evacuation, etc.
• General schedule – First service 8:45-9:30; Second service 10:30-11:15

Greeting – greeting people as they enter the Auditorium with a smile, an outstretched hand and a “Glad to have you with us!”, specifically seeking out those who appear to be new or unfamiliar.

Directing – helping worship attenders find the restrooms and other needs they may have while worshipping with us. This can include parking their wheelchair, accommodating their seating needs, assisting the elderly, etc.

Emergencies –

• Assuring the congregation to remain calm in an emergency
• Directing the congregation to the nearest exit in an evacuation emergency and assuring them that the children’s workers will do their best to get their family members to safety
• Assisting the elderly and handicapped out of the building in an evacuation
• Handling crowd control in non-evacuation emergencies (keeping the crowd at a distance so medical personnel have the space they need to assist the individuals injured and a clear path to transport the injured out of the building.
• Assisting the medical personnel as requested (calling 911, getting the emergency kit from the church office for the medical personnel)

Offering – receiving the morning offering

If you are interested in serving as an usher, know of someone who is or want to recommend someone as an usher, please contact me. The attendance in our services continues to rise and we need more ushers to meet the demand. Being an usher might be right for you!

NASCAR: Daytona 500

Plans are underway for a Daytona party at Grace, Sunday, February 19. I think this has outreach potential, but we'll see where it goes. Here's the plan...

1. If you feel inclined, wear your favorite driver's or NASCAR apparel to church.

2. Stick around in the Auditorium to watch the Daytona 500. The TV image will be projected on the screen(s) in the Auditorium.

3. Bring $2 per person if you want in on the pizza

4. Bring a snack and drink to share with others

5. If you prefer to sit on something other than the Auditorium seats, bring your own chairs.

It's time the Grace chapter of NASCAR Nation had an official meeting. As soon as the Fantasy Leagues get put up, I hope to sent up a group for Grace, open to anyone.

Paid In Full

On this date, January 27 in the year 2006 the Grace Brethren Church of Lititz (aka Grace Church) paid off their $2.8 million mortgage. Pictured below is Karen Gromis delivering the final check to the bank this morning.

Following the example of our nation's calendar, while today is the actual date that we've paid off the mortgage, we won't celebrate the accomplishment until April. That said, there are probably some neat stories or reflections worth sharing with the rest of the church and those of us who've only become a part of Grace during the last few years. You are welcome to post your memories and reflections as comments on this blog.

Walk Like a Chameleon

I reread Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson last night. It’s a book I came across about a year or so before Pastor Young retired and one that I shared with my staff in anticipation of the changes that would come through the leadership transition. I get a kick out of the metaphor and enjoy the short story, but the simplicity of the book stares in sharp contrast to the complexities of change.

Through my formal Organizational Leadership studies and my 10 years of experience in church leadership, I’ve discovered that being adaptable is a crucial, though underrated, character trait. We didn’t spend much time in class talking about how to be adaptable, or how to become adaptable. As we’ve encountered changes at the churches I’ve been a part of, we didn’t identify our need to adapt, it was assumed or it didn’t happen. If I could select my own character trait toolbox, I’d want adaptable in there, readily accessible. I’m not sure I’m good at a adapting, but I’ve identified several times in the past few years where I had to adapt.

When I accepted the position as Business Manager, I agreed to a lengthy and specific job description. I was excited with all the responsibility I was expected to carry, but I soon learned that what had been written on paper didn’t reflect the actual operation. In addition, it was clear that other forces were at play that would produce conflict should I attempt to assume all the responsibilities listed in my job description. For a moment, I surveyed the situation, assessed the pros and cons and asked myself if I could adapt to the way things actually were operating as opposed to the way they had been written down. I accepted it and did my best. In the end, I think it worked. That wasn’t the first time my job had ever changed and it wouldn’t be the last.

We had some staff changes in the midst of some financial stress at one stage and I was faced with another adaptable moment. With reduced staff, reduced cash, but the same production demand, could I adapt to make it work? I remember challenging myself as I assessed the circumstances, “Let’s see if I can excel with this makeup.” I became more involved in the day-to-day operations than normal, because that’s what we needed to keep up. When I identify an adaptable moment, I try to view it as a challenge to my ability to lead and manage. Am I up to this challenge? Am I good enough to adapt to the style needed to work in this situation?

With the leadership transition, my job has morphed again. Year 1 under Pastor Scott’s leadership, I spent a lot of time orienting Pastor Scott to the ways of Grace. In the past 6 months, that role has diminished and changed to becoming more of an advisor on the business issues of the church. These shifts have required more of my time, making me less available for the role and tasks I performed three, four years ago. It’s required me to delegate and manage more. As I look back, each phase is different from all the rest because I attempted to adapt to my read of what was needed at the time. Some of the snapshots are hilarious.

Me dressed in my normal work attire, dress shirt, tie, slacks, loafers, jumping up and down in the already-full dumpster to make more room for the influx of trash produced at school year’s end. We were between Facility Directors at the time. That’s my most favorite.

The survival of the fittest theory would indicate I’ve adapted well enough. I wonder what I’ll get to adapt to next?

Shredding money

I hope the Pastor Scott’s just completed Stewardship message series affected you as much as it did me. Hard as it may be to accept a Business Manager proclaim that we don’t want your money, I echo everything Pastor Scott had to say wholeheartedly. If you haven’t listened to the messages, check them out on the website.

If you were in church on Sunday, 1/15, you know that we didn’t physically collect an offering that morning, because we wanted to emphasize that it’s not about your money. But we wanted to provide a way to give for those who came to church intending to do so. So we placed a box in the lobby in which people could drop their gifts.

What you may not have known is that box was actually a paper shredder; well, not exactly. The week prior, I asked Elaine to setup the offering box, but I took time to explain what we were doing to her, Joan and Karen. During the discussion we identified that we really needed a drop box that was relatively secure. While we were having this conversation, I was sitting next to our paper shredder. It’s actually just a big lock box with a drop slot. When it’s full of paper to be shredded we call the shredder service, they send their truck, which is equipped with shredders out to our location, dump the box in the shredder-truck and give us the empty box back. We realized the box would be the perfect solution to collect the offering, but the concept is amusing.

When we say it’s not about your money, it’s about your life, we’re not kidding. We didn’t just not collect an offering that morning, what we did collect was placed in a shredder!

Finances: How is the church budget created?

Sometime between November and January, I initiate the budget creation process. It all starts by projecting how much the Church Treasurer and I think we will receive in church gifts for the upcoming year. We base our projection on the giving history dating back to the mid-1980s (that’s when the church started tracking the data, at least that we’ve been able to uncover). We also attempt to factor in the national and local economic trends. As financial planners, we have a conservative bent to begin with, so we are hesitant to push the envelope. That’s a good thing, but it needs to be balanced out with a God-centered awareness. A step of faith could be easily squashed by a fiscally conservative mindset – we spend a lot of time working through that one. As we look to the 2006-2007 budget, it will be interesting to see where our projections fall. We’ve experienced unprecedented growth over the past two years. We saw tremendous growth a year ago, but were hesitant to anticipate sustained growth through 2005-2006. We’ll be faced with the same question again this year.

The expense budget is built entirely around the projected income. We do not spend what we do not receive. With the income figure set, I sit down with Pastor Scott and ask him what areas he wants to emphasize in the coming year and what his goals are for the church. The budget, as a key tool for how our ministry gets carried out, has to be led by our Senior Pastor. He needs to set the tone and in general identify what will be the main emphasis of the coming year.

Pastor Scott then communicates to the ministry leaders the things he is looking to emphasize and asks the leaders to submit their ministry plans and how they’ll fit in with the overall direction of the church. From this information we work with the ministry leaders to project ministry expenses and categorize them.

I then take the detail of each ministry and consolidate the numbers into one and see where we end up. From there, we usually enter a refining phase, eliminating projects to reduce the expenses to be under the projected income.

The actual process is similar to having a completed puzzle, then disassembling it into minute pieces to see the detail and then reassembling it once again.

Whos been on staff the longest?

This weekend marks the anniversary date of when Joan joined the staff at Grace Church. She holds the distinction of having been on staff the longest of all active staff. Her role has transformed dramatically during her years of service – from running the mimeograph machine which evolved into an offset printing press to the digital photocopiers of today. Her early introductions to computers featured a blue screen (back when a blue screen was a good sign, unlike today’s blue screens of death) and multiple key strokes using function keys combined with SHIFT, ALT, and CTRL. Today she is versed in Microsoft Publisher and Word. With the church growth rate of the past year-and-a-half, most of Joan’s time during the week is invested in the church database: keeping address information up-to-date and tracking Sunday and Wednesday night attendance. It’s easy to capsulate in a sentence, but when you’re managing over 1,300 people (when you include children), there’s a lot of information to manage.

What amazes me most about Joan is her intuitive knowledge about the families in our church. Want to know the family tree of a family, Joan’s likely to know the family connections. She and I actually make a good team, Joan remembers the family connections, and I have the unmarketable skill of remembering what vehicles they drive.

Joan is a huge asset to our staff and to the entire church. I congratulate and thank her for her years of service.