Do you receive the newsletter each Thursday? Do you read most of the articles, but scroll past the finance report each month? It tends to be the case that when things are going well, people just trust and don’t ask questions, but when things aren’t going so well, suddenly they want more information and more regular updates. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you trust myself and the board, but can I ask that you don’t do so blindly.

Proverbs 21:5 says ‘The plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty’. Now, let me just be clear here that this passage is not promising that anyone who plans diligently will make lots of money. However, it IS reminding us of the value of planning and paying attention to this sort of thing.Obviously we have lots of checks and controls in place and I report regularly to the board, in a lot more detail, but please take the time to look at the finance report each month when it comes out. And pray about it:
– Praise God for providing for us in such abundant ways
– Ask him to continue changing our hearts to be a generous church
– Pray for his guidance so that we would steward his resources well.

Now, in terms of the update, we are currently 33% above budget for giving and 3% below budget for expenses. We are in this position because of some big one-off gifts. These gifts are normally set aside for special projects, rather than day to day running costs. Either way, this is a great position to be in and we are continuing to look at ways we can enhance our ministries with any surplus we might have.

If you’re not getting the newsletter or you’d like more information on any of the finances, talk to someone at the Next Steps Desk on a Sunday or contact me in the office – 3398 4333 or accounts@livingchurch.org.au

Janet Sutton
Finance Manager