Greetings at the beginning of a new church year. Let me update you on some important information that you need to know as we look beyond the summer.
First, your Church Council has been working all summer on the information you input into the congregational planning process this past spring during CONVERGE. These fine church leaders have been steady in their efforts of interpreting and collating various perspectives into related areas of focus. You can expect them to present some Vision Ministry Goals to deacons and the congregation in September and October. These Vision Ministry Goals are being developed using a SMART Goals rubric: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Second, your Finance Resource Team has been refining plans for our 2025 Annual Budget which is our Financial Ministry Plan for the year. Since we have emerged from the pandemic, we have been trying to determine the realistic level for annual income as we plan for St. John’s future. Last year, for the first time in my pastoral tenure, we finished the year in the red; our expenses surpassed our income. Through the first half of this year, we are running $26,000 behind; $580,000 expenses compared to $554,000 income. Please consider catching up on your giving if you have gotten a bit behind in your giving this summer. We are trying to get a good understanding of how to budget for our vision for 2025. Thank you for your prayerful consideration and faithful financial stewardship.
Third, you are making commitments to teach, serve, collaborate, invest, and care. Thank you. Our Leadership Council is just about finished enlisting people for roles of leadership. We will begin our new church year on September 1 and ordain new deacons on Sunday, September 8th. Thank you for your willingness to make the church strong and healthy.
Fourth, we have some important dates to place on our calendars in the coming weeks.
The next two Sundays, I will offer messages in our series, The Kind of Church Our World Needs. This Sunday’s sermon is entitled, “A Church that Moves the World Forward.” In the afternoon, several of us will be walking in the PRIDE Parade proclaiming, “God Loves Everyone!” This is a message all people need to hear from God’s people. On Sunday, August 25th, as we focus on our children and youth returning to school and our blessing of the backpacks, my sermon is entitled, “A Church that Shapes a People for God.”
In September, some of our adults are going to Hendersonville for a day of fellowship to view ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ Our young families will be gathering for fellowship. On Sunday, September 15th, we welcome Dr. Todd Still to the St. John’s Pulpit. Todd is Dean of the
George Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. On Sunday, September 29th, we will have a grand day of touching the lives of hungry people with our ecumenical and interracial missional day through Rise Against Hunger, as we pack 20,000 meals. On Sunday, October 6th, we will celebrate the children of our church in worship and we will participate in CROP Walk in the afternoon.
I am very excited about this coming year. I hope you are also. Let us pray for God to empower us as we work together to nurture our congregational culture of compassion, peace, justice, mercy, humility, spiritual renewal, and missional initiative as we continue to interpret, transition, structure, and envision. Shalom!
