The Character of Faith by David McEntire

The Character of Faith: 2022 Budget

This month you will receive an abbreviated copy of the proposed 2022 Church Budget, along with a pledge card. As is our custom, we send a proposed budget to each family in the church and ask that you return your 2022 Pledge Card on Sunday, November 21 (or mail it in if you are unable to bring it to church). This is immensely helpful in determining our budget for 2022.

The budget was built on several principles, including our core values of Worship +3 (Invite, Grow, Serve). These values represent our love of God, inviting others to know God’s love, growing in our understanding of God’s love and serving as an expression of God’s love. When we give, it is also an outward expression of our character, revealing the attributes which point to our relationship with God. Jesus calls this fruit, that which Paul calls the Fruit of the Spirit.

In November, we will be looking at three of the nine attributes, (from Paul’s listing of the Fruit of the Spirit) which are clear expressions of our faith. We will begin with Faithfulness, then turn to Generosity and conclude with Love. When we give, we are expressing our faith, keeping to the scriptural reminder that it is a blessing to give. When we give generously, we remove giving as an obligation or duty and giving then becomes a thankful response. When we give as an expression of love lives are changed, both for the giver and for those blessed by the gift.

My wife and I have joined you in 14 previous stewardship campaigns, making our pledge toward the well thought out and prayerfully considered ministries and mission of our church. For us, giving is an expression of our faith and the character of our faith. I pray you will join us in taking that step once again as we move into another year of faithful, generous and loving giving.

Peace and Grace, W. David McEntire

The purpose of First United Methodist is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We strive to accomplish this by being a worship plus three church.

Worship plus three is how we define our ministries. We believe worship is of prime importance and is our foundation. In addition, we are to invite others into a relationship with God, grow in our own relationship with God and our neighbor and serve others as a continued sign of God’s work in our lives.