Emmaus Road Church: Budget Handout Overview
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We’re making it a ‘tradition’ to have a Road Crew budget update sometime in the last two months of the year before we head into the Christmas/holiday break and start a new year together. This memo provides that update, and we’ll discuss it at our December 2 Road Crew meeting this Sunday at around 11:30am, immediately following the service.
If you only have enough time to read this intro, the key takeaway is that while we’re not yet in dire financial straits, our giving has not kept up with our expenses this year. As we noted in our March and June Road Crew meetings, giving has been lower by approximately $1400 per month in 2012. To be clear: If the current trend continues, our bank account will reach a critical level where we will operate ‘month to month’ sometime in the second half of 2013 (as early as Summer 2013, likely Fall 2013). We can turn this trend around as a church – please pray for the continued financial sustainability of our church, and consider your own family’s ability to give to sustain our church financially. Importantly, thank God for sustaining our church in so many ways.
Expenses This Year
The chart to the right shows our church’s actual monthly expenses for the year. Actual expenses came in very close to budget for the year, when all expenses are taken into account (including our church tithe).
Through November, we’ve averaged $8,900 in expenses, not including some of the annual one-time expenses we incur for December tithing each year (see Acts 6 fund mentioned later in this document).
Giving has averaged $7,500 per month in 2012. As the chart to the right shows, giving levels fluctuate month to month, with many Road Crew members giving quarterly, while others give monthly. The challenge for our church is that giving is significantly below our monthly expenses. If we are unable to collectively bring our giving up, we will need to look for ways to cut expenses in order to remain financially solvent and sustainable as a church going forward.
Cash Reserves
The chart to the right shows the average amount in our church bank account for the last two years. We’ve seen a steady decline in our bank account this past year to the point where currently we dip below our goal of three months’ expenses.
Having three months’ expenses is important because it allows our church to handle the sometimes large quarterly and annual payments that arise each year. It also allows us the freedom to give back to our community through the Acts 6 fund.
As was discussed in the overview at the start of this document, giving has been lower than expenses by approximately $1400 each month in 2012. If we don’t change that trend, our cash reserves (the blue line in the above chart) will reach a critical level where we will begin to operate ‘month to month’ sometime in the second half of 2013 (as early as June or July 2013).Proposed Budget
Our proposed 2013 monthly budget is depicted in the table and pie chart. The table outlines each of the major monthly budget items for our church, while the pie chart shows what percent of our total budget each major expense represents. Our 2013 budget is very similar to our 2012 budget. The budget includes annual cost of living increases for our pastor Eric, increased health care costs for the Likkels, and increased monthly rent for use of the New Horizons Mission on Sundays. We also budgeted a cost of living increase for our Sunday School instructor and Sunday setup/takedown workers (each of which have not had a pay increase in over two years). As we discussed in our June Road Crew meeting, increases in the cost of living are not something we control, but are something we need to recognize in our budget so that our pastor and those that work for Emmaus Road Church can remain financially sustainable.
As a reminder, the Acts 6 fund was created to formalize our annual tithe as a church. We regularly support several worthy organizations and people. For example, we give regularly to support Asabe in Nigeria and HCI (Wycliffe). Part of our tithe goes to pay our classical shares – this pays for our Christian Reformed Church denomination activities such as world missions. Finally at the end of each calendar year, during Christmas time, Emmaus Road Church tithes to various partner organizations that we pray for on a regular basis. These can include Union Gospel Mission, New Horizons Mission, Acres of Diamonds, Roots Church, and Storytellers Church. Last year, and in our proposed budget this year, we budgeted to give 10% of annual church giving levels through the Acts 6 fund.
What You Should Do Road Crew
Please read this handout prior to next week’s Road Crew meeting on December 2, following the service. Be prepared to discuss this at the Road Crew meeting. Send any questions you have to the stewardship team at the email addresses below. Finally, thank and praise God that our church has been able to remain financially sustainable this year. Please pray for continued abundance for our church that we can meet our expenses and continue to do God’s work in Belltown and Seattle. Stewardship team email addresses:
- Ryan Engel at: rengel@gmail.com
- Mike Elenbaas at: mchllnbs@yahoo.com
- David Anema at: heyitsdavida@comcast.net
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