WITH CHRIST AT THE CENTER
DECEMBER 2023
CONNECTIONS PROVIDENCE MEMBERS PACKAGED OVER 15,000 MEALS TO FIGHT HUNGER AROUND THE GLOBE THROUGH RISE AGAINST HUNGER!
From the Senior Pastor The Restore & Renew campaign launch is behind us. If you haven’t yet joined this effort, I hope you’ll soon do so. Let’s also continue to pray that God will restore and renew our hearts throughout Advent. When Jesus arrives, may he find a suitable home among Providence people who are ready to welcome him. That said, there’s another “re” word for us to consider as we move toward the end of one year and the beginning of another: Realign.
Nevertheless, we ended 2022 with a deficit because revenue didn’t meet expectations. Right now, we have a significant hole to climb out of to avoid a similar outcome for 2023. Reserve funds have allowed us to absorb these deficits thus far. This is not a sustainable path for us. The responsible next step, then, is to realign our Financial Plan to bring both sides of the ledger—expected revenue and expected ministry costs—into better balance.
Our annual Financial Plans for Missions and Ministry have, for several years now, been overly optimistic in projecting revenue from giving, CDC tuition, and other sources of income. Thankfully, the Providence staff has done heroic work managing our shared resources and keeping ministry costs significantly under budget. I am impressed by their careful stewardship. You should be, too.
Taking this responsibility seriously, our Finance Committee has put together a plan for 2024 that more closely aligns next year’s expected revenue with what Providence received this year. Expected ministry costs in every area are adjusted downward to match. For a while now, we’ve been asking our staff to do more with less. We all need to understand that this necessary realignment will accelerate and amplify that expectation.
This proposed Financial Plan for 2024 will be available for review by December 3. We will vote on it December 17. On Tuesday, December 12, at 7 p.m. there will be a “walk-through” presentation of the plan via Zoom so that our finance advisor, Nathan Edwards from Missional Business Services, can join us. The link for this event will be included in the December 11 churchwide email. With each of us doing our part and giving to our capacity, I believe that God has provided us with more than enough to do what God asks of us. We’re not there yet, though. We’re not all giving, and we’re not all giving to our capacity. Just because we’re not, doesn’t mean that we can’t. After all, as the angel Gabriel tells Mary in Luke 1:37, “nothing is impossible for God.” May the peace of Christ be with you!