Still......
... All In for Jesus Trinity Church 2022 Narrative Budget 1
Pastoral Letter Dear Friends in Christ, What an incredibly exciting year we have ahead of us here at Trinity Church, as we are “Still…All in for Jesus!” God is fulfilling the ongoing promise, “Behold, I make all things new!” We have new beginnings and fresh starts; as well as ongoing ministries, programs, and opportunities. We anticipate a new Lead Pastor to shepherd us forward together in mutually affirming ministries. We will continue tried and true ministries that have consistently helped others, near and far, and also continue to help us grow in grace, deepening our spiritual understandings, and living lives in the love of Jesus. In our participation and support of these ministries, we are embodying Jesus’ prayer: “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Times are changing. God is faithful. And, in response: yes, we are “Still… All in for Jesus!” Your help and your participation are needed—even more now than ever—to be a healthy, positive, fully functioning “us!” See how we anticipate being good stewards in the coming year by offering opportunities for spiritual nurture and growth, as well as God-empowered outreach and service through so many venues identified in this narrative budget. Remember, stewardship is not only about funding programs as one slice of what we do together to make things happen through the church. Stewardship is a way of life. It is the very center of our lives in Christ, affecting each “slice” of our being, both individually and collectively. Our hope and our prayers are that you will immerse yourself in the goodness of God’s grace. Recognize the many gifts and talents you have been given. Share your time. Offer your talents. Give generously of your treasures. “For it is in giving that we receive.” Please don’t limit yourself by being “just a little” in. Don’t cheat yourself by being “just a token” in. Don’t sell yourself short by being “just what I can get by with” in. Please, make wise choices for yourself, for the church, and for the Kingdom of God. Please, be… “Still… All in for Jesus!” Faithfully, Tanya and Charlie Interim Co-Lead Pastors 2
For the purpose of illustration, the narrative budget reports expenses broken down by ministry areas. This should paint a clearer picture of what your gifts to Trinity Church support. The graphic above shows our operating budget, which is funded by your gifts and donations from third parties. It does not include funds that are donated for a specific purpose. The Finance Ministry team, under the direction of the Administrative Board will continue to review our spending and giving, ensuring that we are good stewards of all of the resources with which we are blessed. Blessings! Pastor Deb
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Trinity Worship At Trinity we gather to worship as a celebration of God’s goodness and presence in our lives. We share our faith, our joy, and our
DID YOU KNOW?? •
friendship as we grow together. Trinity is a special place where we lift up our voices in word and song as we give Thanks and Praise!
We are called to give praise and thanksgiving to God ...and we do this through Worship.
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Worship enables us to hear the Word of God.
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Worship connects us. We share a loving church community where families can grow in faith and stewardship.
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Spiritual Formation Spiritual formation is provided for all ages and stages in our faith journey.
Children’s Ministry What can we do to reach children during the critical window of faith formation between the ages of four and fourteen? DID YOU KNOW?? •
Did you know that most children form their moral compass by the time they are eight?
How can we help equip parents, the most important influencers of a child's faith? At Trinity we know that we build bridges. Together we can help create the superior support system - building the bridge with a foundation of faith that will lead to a lifelong journey with Jesus.
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VBS VBS continues to be one of our most cherished spiritual formation events!
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VBS attracts families not only from our own congregation, but other churches/denominations and communities.
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Even with the uncertainty of the past 2 summers, one thing was for sure…VBS at Trinity still happened (this year...in a new and “different” way that included families!) We need to continue to provide this important ministry to Trinity’s congregation, Hackettstown, and surrounding communities. VBS is not just for the participants, it provides a week of fellowship and friendship building amongst the volunteers as well. It is a safe space for all to express themselves while celebrating God’s love for each and every one of them!
Some grandparents have their grandkids stay with them for VBS week just so they can participate at Trinity
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VBS is sometimes the one week that some children are able to participate in a children’s ministry at Trinity gathering kids of all ages
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Student Ministry At Trinity, we highly value our youth and actively integrate them into the life of the church. Through our Student Ministry (grades 6-12), our young people become Disciples of Christ and set their roots as lifelong Christians. In order to implement this ministry, we offer bible lessons, activities, small groups, and fellowship. These weekly ministries are extended to mission work (such as volunteering at the Thrift Shop, Food Pantry, Donation Barn and participating in other various available missions) to positively transform our community. In addition, we invite students to participate in media and music ministries to be connected with older generations. Through our stewardship investments, Student Ministry runs weekly programs and quarterly events that provide a quality curriculum including resources for parents and volunteers! We are reaching more families with care packages and upgrading software and hardware in worship spaces. We hope that the Trinity Family will continue to pray and support the spiritual formation of all students!
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Confirmation
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Confirmation is about planting the seeds of faith. Each student
Confirmation is a yearlong experience that culminates in a public declaration of a student's faith and their intention to become a member of the church. During this experience, the seeds of faith are planted, beginning a lifelong faith journey. Students meet for weekly Sunday class and participate in additional worship, service, and small group experiences. Past Trinity Confirmation students have gone on to teach church school, volunteer in missions, serve as peer leaders, and more...they are the future of the church!
will grow in their faith at a different rate, and this growth will continue throughout their lifetime. Trinity members have an opportunity to nurture this growth, through their support, prayers, and example.
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The mission statement of Trinity Church reads, "We are a Fellowship seeking to share the love and word of Jesus Christ with all." Confirmation welcomes students to make a commitment to this fellowship, growing their own understanding of Jesus as they share it with others.
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Small Groups Small groups is a large part of spiritual formation.
DID YOU KNOW??
Jesus formed the first small group with his disciples?
We are in our 26th year of small group ministry! Small groups are an integral part of our culture here at Trinity Church. Small Groups provide spiritual growth and fellowship opportunities for members of the church. Participants range from our youth through senior citizens. The goal of small groups is to deepen our relationships with God and other Christians as well as to enhance our journey in becoming better disciples of Jesus. The groups include Bible and topical studies, fellowship gatherings, prayer gatherings, retreats, healing services, opportunities to share our gifts with others (prayer shawls, Sew & Sews, gardening), and opportunities to share meals together. Small groups help people to get connected and form lifelong friendships as they deepen their commitment to God, others, and the world.
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Missions Mission is one of the primary roles of our Church:
DID YOU KNOW?? Our Missions Team : •
Has a desire to identify new areas of opportunity for missions?
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Mission ministry is near and dear to the hearts of our Trinity family. A core tenant of our church prioritizes outreach and service to our community and world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus! We are called to be good stewards and to seek Christ-like mission work for others. Whether it be repairing homes in Appalachia, investing a few hours each week at the thrift shop, or helping out with the interfaith hospitality, we at Trinity seek to serve. Our ongoing commitment to the Caravan of Hope brings hundreds of us together for a common goal... and in the process we spread God’s love to thousands!
Is committed to prayerful evaluation, and need
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Is always open to impactful new ways to serve God through our church!
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Music Ministry
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Our Music Ministry at Trinity inspires, praises and enriches our worship of God
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Worship music shares the
Music is vital to Trinity for so many reasons. As we come together to worship, we hear the message, we rejoice in music and sing aloud! Singing, listening, and meditating through music reinforces our love for Jesus Christ, and our faith in God. Music helps us in so many ways. Our music program is an immense blessing to our church and we are especially blessed with so many talented and selfless musicians who span every generation and genre. We believe that music is a liberating gift that is a vital part of worship. When we sing and when we listen, we share a special connection. Music lifts our spirits. Singing together connects us through praise and God’s amazing grace!
gospel through song.
"Psalms 98:4 - Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth make a loud noise, and rejoice and sing praise"
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Thrift Shop
GOOD STEWARDS: (...AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU)
We exercise good stewardship through our work to creatively recycle and repurpose the bountiful gifts God has entrusted to us.
We invite you to volunteer even
The Trinity Thrift shop is entering it's 49th year! The gift of thrift? We change lives as we serve! Both those we serve, and those who do the serving. This coming year we are looking forward to serving even more people than we have in the past through our two phenomenal retail shops, our donation barn, and our e-Commerce sites. Volunteering is a great way to make a difference in our community. We partner with local schools and colleges by providing opportunities for students to do Community Service hours for coursework, clubs and societies and introducing them to the work of service and repurposing goods. We also have a diverse team of volunteers from both Trinity Church and the local population, and are always open to more, who share in the work of Creation Care and work to make the world a greener, more habitable place for all through the principles of reduce, recycle, reuse. Let's make the world a better place for all God's children.
small segments of time to help us with this effort!
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Lord’s Pantry
DID YOU KNOW?? •
There are at least 100 verses in the Bible that speak about feeding the hungry?
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The Lord’s Pantry is a ministry that serves our community by helping to fight food insecurity. We provide food to any and all who ask for help, without discrimination or judgment. Our volunteers give their time and talents to work at the Pantry, and our donors give their treasure to purchase food. Service is an action, and our volunteers and church community certainly live that motto. We are a 100% volunteer-run mission, and we operate solely on donations of food and funds.
Our volunteers share their time and talents, and our donors share their treasure.! These gifts enable us to continue this valuable mission!
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We always welcome (and need) new Volunteers!!
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Operations A significant portion of your annual contributions is used in the general fund which supports the running of the church as well as many of the missions we have highlighted. Our normal operating budget is over $1.4 million dollars. This money pays all of our utility bills, salaries for pastors and lay personnel, operating expenses (such as printing, copier machines, office supplies, telephones, internet, postage, technology, vehicle expenses, etc.) From this fund we also support program expenses for all of our children, choirs for all of our music, small groups, worship ministry and much more. From this general fund we also support missions beyond Trinity Church such as Appalachian Service Project, Unto, and many more. We also support the annual conference with our portion of shared ministries which helps the conference function and allows us to participate as part of the annual conference in supporting other state, national and global missions. We are blessed by every penny you pledge and in turn we are able to serve and bless many others.
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Operating Budget FAQs: Q: How do we develop our Operating Budget? A: Our proposed budget is based on past expenditures and future plans. Ministry leaders are asked to submit a budget request in August. This is reviewed and modified, if necessary, and approved by the Finance Committee and the Administration Board. Q: How is our operating budget funded? A: Our operating budget is primarily funded by your pledges. During commitment weekend you submit your pledge for the coming year and those pledges are the base funding for our budget. In addition to the pledges we use a formula derived from trending of years past to estimate cash that is placed in the offering plate. We are blessed to also receive gifts and donations from other donors throughout the year. Q: Are my gifts tax deductible? A: Yes, your gifts are tax deductible, and the church office issues quarterly statements as well as an annual statement at the end of the calendar year. Q: How can I give to Trinity Church? A: You can give by cash or check at our worship services or by mail. You can also give electronically. To give electronically: • You can set up electronic one-time or recurring donations here: https://www.catchthespirit.org/onlinegiving/ • You can give make one-time or recurring donations via text by sending a text message to 855-622-4534 and following the prompts. • You can also set up one-time or recurring donations via our Facebook Page by going to https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCatchTheSpirit clicking the Donate button and following the prompts.
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Dedication: Rev. Dr. Frank Lincoln Fowler III We dedicate this year's edition of the narrative budget to Reverend Dr. Frank Lincoln Fowler III, in honor of his inspiring life and tireless stewardship to the people and missions of Trinity Church. We ask you to prayerfully reflect upon how your personal stewardship will make a meaningful difference in the future of Trinity Church and our mission in 2022 and beyond. You are respectfully invited to contribute to the ongoing mission of Trinity Church in tangible ways through your ongoing commitment of time, talent, and treasure.
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