Money on Mission
I have not done any research on this, but I have to assume that many churches have been forced to tighten their belts due to all the upheaval over the past year. To be honest, I have tried to internally prepare myself for lean financial times should that be the case at Evergreen. Incredibly, the Treasurer’s report at the annual meeting last month revealed that God’s grace in our finances has been even stronger than usual. It is truly amazing!
However, while this news is encouraging, the Leadership Team is keenly aware that God always provides funds for the purpose of advancing his mission, not as a security blanket. Our financial philosophy is to keep three month’s operating expenses in savings (what we call our ‘Buffer Fund’) and to invest anything above that into his mission work as he directs us. Sometimes that means taking time to save up for a larger mission project, such as when we built our current facility. Other times it means responding more quickly to needs and opportunities that arise. Today I want to let you know about a collection of projects in the latter category.
Our Buffer Fund has carried a surplus that over the last few years has been steadily growing. A year ago, we thought God was leading us to develop the rest of our property to the west. Then the coronavirus hit, causing us to put that idea on hold, and we are not sure if God will have us pursue it or not. Meanwhile, the surplus in our Buffer Fund keeps growing. Some of these funds have been used to meet the increased financial needs in the church family due to Covid-19, and we expect those needs to continue. But God has prompted us to invest some of this surplus in special projects some of our missionaries are involved with.
There are seven specific projects that were compiled by our Mission Team and approved by the Leadership Team that focus on some of the international missions we partner with. You can read the details of each proposal here. The total amount of the combined proposal is $81,700. Off-budget expenditures this large require approval by the members of Evergreen, so the Leadership Team will work to determine when and how to take a vote.
In the meantime, we are asking our Evergreen family to prayerfully consider these projects. I must tell you, prepare to be excited! I trust that reading about these mission projects will have a similar effect on your heart as it did on mine. What a privilege it is to be a conduit of God’s blessing to bring his grace to a broken and hurting world.
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection