At the conclusion of Sunday’s service, we will pause for a few minutes to take care of some important congregational business. We will meet to approve both our 2018 proposed budget and slate of nominees to serve on our Management Team. As Baptists, we are Congregationalists at heart. That means that the business of carrying out the business of the church belongs to our people. We select certain folks to make recommendations, and we call and trust pastors and staff to provide good leadership. But at the end of the day, the approval and the promise to respond belongs to the people of the church. A church our size cannot handle every decision by consensus from the floor. But we can and must learn what is being proposed and be prepared to share our support or respectful descent. It’s the Baptist way. Not the only way to do church, but one we have clung to for over 400 years.
This year’s proposed budget has been increased $100,000 to 1.35 million dollars. It is a spending plan that will call for us to step up from our current level of giving. It is also reasonable and reachable; a minimal expression of what it will take to carry out our ministry in the year ahead. You will find a link to it below to view online and a copy printed in your Worship Guide on Sunday. There have been two presentations with substantial Q & A sessions. This budget is the collective work of your pastor and staff, Finance Team, and Management Team, who will present the recommendation. It includes an extra percentage point for missions, provisions to update our sound system, and a full year’s budget for the positions we added in 2017. It is a lean budget, but one committed to ministry beyond these walls, care of the facility, and provisions for the welfare of your staff leadership. It’s a good budget that I encourage you to pass and support in the days ahead.
The other act of business will be the approval of the slate of nominees to serve three-year terms on the Management Team. You will find the pictures and bios of Jessica Brown, Roy Adams, Kay Fitchpatrick, and Jean Willingham in the same link below and in your Worship Guide this Sunday. This comes as a nomination from the Servant Team as required by our By-Laws. This group is charged with conducting the business affairs of the church and sharing with your pastor in the visioning process and strategic plans for our church. These are good folks doing good work, and I know you join me in offering them your prayerful support. I thank them for their service and you for your commitment to carrying forth the ministry of this church.
Blessings,
Glen