Diana Panther, a member of our church’s Finance Committee, explains the budget process at our church and how we all fit into it. “It’s humbling to hear what’s in the hearts and minds of our ministry leaders when they are planning how we will serve God next year.”
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Read what Diana said
I have some great news for you! You are all participating in the budget process for 2016! Don’t remember volunteering? I’ll get to that.
I have been involved with the budget process at St. Martin’s for the past five years. So have many of you. I would like to take a minute to explain how this process works, and where you come in.
Besides the normal day in, day out expenses such as utilities, payroll, office supplies, wine and wafers, each of our ministries is responsible for completing a budget for the upcoming year. Always keeping St. Martin’s mission of “being Jesus Christ’s heart, hands, and feet to our neighbors” in the forefront, each committee will submit their request for funds. It is truly a humbling experience to be able to see what is in the hearts and minds of our volunteer leaders as they plan God’s work for the next year. Thoughtful requests are often presented with outlines of plans, hopes and concerns for our church and for our community. We, as a budget committee, are asked to prayerfully consider each request, as we begin our journey towards a balanced budget. Once all expense items are recorded, we arrive at our EXPENSE BUDGET.
Meanwhile, the Stewardship Committee is busy mailing and collecting Commitment Cards. This is where you shine! Your Commitments are received and tallied. Reminder calls are made and we await the final tally. This is our INCOME BUDGET.As we all know from our business and personal lives, if we don’t want to incur debt, INCOME must equal or surpass EXPENSE. If it does not, fund requests must be adjusted in order to deliver a balanced budget.
So no, you don’t need to show up at the budget meeting with your calculator and #2 pencils. Your part is relatively painless. Please complete and return your Commitment Card as soon as you can. You are a key component of the planning process and your participation is needed and appreciated.