Budget in the home budget in the church.

This week end is the church Big Budget Meeting. This is when the trustees sit down and work through the church budgets for the financial year 2012\13. It is an epic meeting which can take up to 5 hours as we diligently plough through each ministry area and scrutinise the budget applied for in the light of current and forcasted financial trends. Much the same principal applies to the home budget - we look at the income against the expenditure and make adjustments accordingly. In brief, as stewards of the resources God gives to us, at home, or in the church, can we afford it?
In recent months the finances of the church have been a challenge - as they have been with many households: pay for some church members has been frozen or in some cases reduced, whilst others have lost their jobs. This impacts the family purse and the church purse. From a church perspective we need to receive about £26k per month in order to cover all the church costs and break even. Added to this is the challenge of paying off the remaining debt of the building, our desire to add to the church staff and wanting to meet the unexpected needs of the poor when they arise. So big financial challenges ahead - at home and in the church.
Let's thank God for the resources He gives us - they are amazing, let's be good and faithful stewards of those resources and let's sow with joy into His purposes.