Welcome to
First Christian Church
Somewhere Awesome,
USA
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EXPECTED RECEIPTS:
Pledges
Non-pledge giving
Other receipts
Total receipts
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252,650
34,000
12,000
298,650
PROPOSED BUDGET:
Property Expenses:
Utilities
23,500
Phone
2,000
Insurance
11,500
Building & grounds maintenance
18,500
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Custodian & plant service
Total Property
6,500
62,000
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Personnel Expenses:
Salaries/Housing Allowance
Health Insurance
Pension
FICA/Medicaire
Total Personnel
132,100
24,500
9,000
4,500
170,100
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Administrative Expenses:
Travel
Professional Expenses
Office equipment & supplies
Software
Postage
Christian Education
Kitchen Supplies
Altar Flowers
Communion supplies
Music supplies
Worship supplies
Miscellaneous
Total Administrative
3,000
3,500
12,050
700
1,400
5,300
1,700
500
500
1,200
1,000
1,435
32,285
Mission Expenses:
DMF
Local missions
Other
Total Mission
29,865
3,000
1,400
34,265
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TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET
298,650
What does a first glance at this line
item budget tell you about FCC?
• Who do they serve?
• Why are they here?
• How do they envision their
community in the future?
According to their website, this is the Mission
of FCC Any Town:
~To embody the love of Christ by telling our
faith story and serving those in need;
~To reflect the grace of God by welcoming
all to our table;
~To share the abundance of the Spirit
through a culture of generosity and a joyful
worship life
Now, to fill in the gaps…
How do we translate the
mission statement into a
functional story of generosity?
The Narrative Budget, Introduction
In the Midwest, fall is a time of harvest, abundance,
and thanksgiving. As people of faith, we are called to
practice gratitude in all seasons; reflecting God’s
generosity to us by giving back to the community.
At First Christian Any Town, our shared gifts enable
us to live out our mission to
~embody the love of Christ
~reflect the grace of God
~and share the abundance of the Spirit.
Our narrative budget offers a brief glimpse of how
your generosity helped us answer that calling in the
past year; and how your continued support will help
shape us into the church that God wants us to be.
Read on…
Embody the love of Christ…
God has blessed most of us with more than we could ever need. And yet,
right here on our corner of Any Town, many of our neighbors struggle to
meet their basic needs. In the apartment complex across the street from FCC,
children who receive free lunches during the school year often go hungry
during the summer months. Several years ago, our church family committed
to provide a free lunch to those children 3 days a week. With your help, that
ministry has grown its capacity, and last summer, we served lunch 5 days a
week through the summer months. Our goal for next year is to also send the
children home with ‘snack packs’ for the weekend; and to share our admin
space during the week as a site for SNAP benefit registration.
We also place a high priority on expanding our capacity for faith formation.
This year, we hope to send even more youth to camp, engage more young
adults in Bible study, and add a weeknight ‘spiritual practices’ group for
adults of all ages.
Total for this ministry area: $54,275*
*combine portion of building/maintenance costs, portion of pastors’ salaries,
‘local missions’ line item, and ‘christian education’ line item
Reflect the Grace of God
At FCC, we seek to welcome others as God has welcomed us—
that means inviting our neighbors to worship through outdoor
signage, social media, and innovative web design. It also means
being good stewards of our property, caring for our facilities, and
sharing our space with neighborhood groups like AA, Scouts, and
ESLA class.
With your support, we will also send some of our leaders to a
diversity training event this year. They will return better equipped
to lead us through faithful conversations about what it means to
welcome all of our neighbors, regardless of their family make up,
racial ethnic background, or faith story thus far.
Total for this ministry area: $132,034*
*combine portion of building/maintenance costs, staff salaries,
office and admin expenses, continuing ed, kitchen supplies, etc4
Share the Abundance of the Spirit
We continue our commitment to be a ‘tithing’ congregation, designating
at least 10% of our budget to Disciples Mission Fund. Our giving helps
support Christ’s Church at the local, national, and global levels, and
connects us to the good news, “from our doorsteps to the ends of the
earth.” As our ministry budget increases, so too does our capacity to
share.
Our worship life fuels the spiritual growth of our members, challenges us
to live our faith in our every day lives, and provides us the opportunity to
engage new disciples in the life of faith. In combining our two worship
services, we have freed up some resources to add an extra musician to
the staff this year. We are also in discernment about adding a mid-week,
alternative worship experience in the year to come, providing a space for
those we may not reach during the traditional weekend service.
Total for this ministry area $112,321*
*add portion of building/maintenance costs, staff salaries, office and
admin expenses; plus worship and music supplies, and DMF giving
God is at work in our midst at FCC Any Town.
Lives are changed through connection to
community, empowering worship, and the
purpose found in serving others. Your
generosity enables our family of faith to be a
part of what God is doing in our community
and world. Thank you in advance for your
continued support, and for sharing the good
news of Christ’s love in all that you do.
Total projected ministry Budget for 2014
$298,650*
*Total of all areas
• What kind of story does this budget tell?
• Who might be interested in reading this?
• How might church leaders utilize this
document throughout the year, and not
just during stewardship season?
• Name some reasons that a congregation
might resist moving to this model…
• How might leaders address those
concerns?
Where can I find this stuff?
• http://www.centerforfaithandgiving.org/
Thank you for visiting us
at First Christian Church
For your convenience, gifts may be
shared online. All gifts to our ministry
are tax-deductible, and will be
received with gratitude….