Pastor’s Corner November 2010

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

When the sanctuary was completed in 2007 I shared my prayer that we would pay off our total debt in 5-7 years. The challenging economic climate over the past two years in particular has seemed to slow this progress, but certainly God can provide the resources as He has done faithfully since our church’s earliest days. To this end, Redeemer leadership engaged a third party firm this past summer to help assess our church’s readiness to conduct a capital campaign aimed at reducing or eliminating our remaining debt.

We are currently running an annual deficit of $70,000 on a budget that is close to $1 million. Your elders and deacons have worked diligently to hone our budget to make it lean, yet still effective for maintaining and strengthening existing ministries. The leadership consensus about the next best step is to pay down or pay off our debt. The money we are currently spending to service debt would more than make up our current budget shortfall.

Redeemer is a community of Christians who love to worship their God, study His Word, and proclaim His Gospel to the world. We strive, by God’s grace, to be a center for the worship of God in our community and a training ground for disciples of Jesus Christ.
Of all the responses gathered from the congregation on the survey, the three that encouraged your leaders the most were these:
1. 94% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that Redeemer is meeting their spiritual needs.
2. 89% of the study participants feel the church is providing effective opportunities for community/fellowship.
3. 87% of the respondents have a high level of confidence in the pastors, church staff and volunteer leaders to make wise decisions regarding the future of the church.

The most common concern voiced by the congregation was the lack of regular communication about our financial state and plans. We have heard that concern loud and clear and before moving to a capital campaign of any sort, the elders and deacons decided to conduct our own financial communication effort to bring every member into full awareness.

The 2011 Redeemer budget is online for every member to review (or a hard copy can be received by calling the church office). We will provide two identical informational meetings that will lay out the financial picture of the church and outline the plan for addressing the challenge. I request every member to do their best to be at one of the two meetings provided. The first is on November 7 during the Sunday School hour (10am) in the sanctuary. The second is on November 14 at 6pm, also in the sanctuary.

God has been exceedingly gracious to Redeemer. I have full confidence the Redeemer family will once again join together in answering an important call.

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich