Good morning!
I apologize in advance for the length of this week’s update. A couple of Sunday’s ago I shared a brief update on some of the things that have been happening behind the scenes at the Bridge. Unfortunately, the recording of that update was not usable, so here is a recap of what was shared:
Financial Update – Six months into the fiscal year, the church finances remain in great shape thanks to the generosity of our congregation and the grace of God. As we hit the halfway mark of the year giving is at 51.7% of the budget and expenses are at 48.7% of the budget. Now those of you that work with budgets know that there is always at least a little bit of “wiggle room” when we look at a budget. Giving isn’t always steady throughout the year. Some bills come only once a year and we’ve paid them and others come once a year and we haven’t had to pay them yet. BUT, overall we are doing well, especially considering the number of facility and maintenance projects we’ve done in the first half the year. Our net income for the year is $4,918.08.
Senior High Youth – As we look to the 23/24 school year, there are a couple of different realities that we have to consider1
- Although we did post the position at LBC again for the upcoming school year, we have not found anyone interested in it at this point.
- If things continue as they have been going, the Senior High Sunday School class will not have enough teens attending to run a viable class in the fall.
- We have started gaining some momentum with the Senior High Group, which will grow in number starting in the fall. So we definitely want to continue it!
In light of these three realities, we believe that it is best to handle Senior High youth “in-house” for the upcoming school year. We will be looking to hire a youth pastor for the 24/25 school year, when even more of the Junior Highers move up. So…what’s the plan?
Well, unless someone from the church steps up to help lead the youth group, here is what we are proposing: We are going to ask the senior high parents (or church members) to sign up to organize/host a youth group gathering once in the fall and once in the spring, either at their home or at the church (the kids love the schoolhouse). It would involve preparing a snack and a fellowship activity (game) or planning and helping to lead a service project either at the church, in the community, or at a local ministry. I’ll lead the devotional/discussion time.
If each family takes one night in the fall and one night in the spring (and maybe a few other folks from the church take a turn), I think we can have a fun and meaningful year of ministry. Again, our hope is that God provides the resources and the students so that we can have a staffed Sunday School class and youth group ministry in 24/25. This is what we are thinking now, but as always I am open to feedback and/questions.
2023 Goals – I briefly went through our ministry goals that we set for 2023 back in January. Many of these goals we’ve already accomplished and some we are still working on. We’ll continue to work on them in the second half of the year.
Facility Assessment – This was the largest portion of the update. As you may recall, back in February we had the ministry leaders of the Bridge gather at the church for an evening of discussion regarding our facility needs. A long list of projects were proposed. Over the first half of the year the elders and I have been evaluating and prioritizing these projects. I handed out the list of what we’ve already done (THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE WORKED ON THEM), and what we hope to do in the next couple of years to increase the impact of our ministries. That list is available in the lobby for you to look over, and I’ve included it in this email.
At the conclusion of all of that work, it became clear that in order to accomplish all that we’d like to do a building expansion of some sort will be needed. Doing so will allow some more people to join us at the Bridge, but just as importantly will allow us to more effectively minister to the ones that are already here.
Because of deed restrictions, any expansion will be similar to (but perhaps not exactly like) the plans that were proposed back in 2017. We will be looking to launch a formal building campaign sometime this fall.
At this point you are probably wondering how we plan to pay for all of this. It’s a fair question, and although I don’t have all the answers, here is what I can share.
We are on track to have a net income for 2023 and we will continue to budget conservatively and responsibly so that the ongoing ministry needs of the church are met. Right now we have $25,000 in our “rainy day” savings account to meet any unexpected major building project. These funds were originally designated to be used for our building and could be used for a building project, but we have kept them in reserve for now.
We currently have $79,000 in our building fund that was started a number of years ago. We also have $82,000 in undesignated funds. This is money that is sitting in our checking account that is not designated for any future expenses or projects. So we have $161,000 as foundation for a future building project(s) before even considering the savings account funds.
Now, of course, that likely isn’t enough…and some of those funds will be needed to pay for the maintenance projects. So unless a big donor steps to the plate we are looking at a capital campaign of some sort before we would break ground on an expansion. As I mentioned, our goal is to come to the congregation with a more definitive plan sometime this fall.
So, once again here is what I am asking from each of you. To pray for our church and for God to give clarity for where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do. Ask God to reveal to you where you can plug into here. Look over the projects and see where your skills and resources match what is needed (again, THANK YOU to all who continue to do this – it’s amazing what’s been accomplished in six months). And ask God to grant wisdom to the elders and the ministry leaders here. As always, feel free to see myself or one of the elders with any thoughts or questions you may have.
Here’s what’s happening:
- This Sunday we will be baptizing two of our congregation at the conclusion of the service. Please plan to stay a few extra minutes this week, and again next week.
- VBS Week has arrived! 7/24 – 7/28 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm each night. Adult Class on blended families and grandparenting each night in the sanctuary from 7:15 -8:15 pm.
- We have our quarterly fellowship meal after the baptism service next Sunday (7/30). Please bring a hot and a cold dish to share if you are able.
- We are having a time of coffee and fellowship starting at 9:30 am each Sunday in July and August!
- Men’s Breakfast is next Saturday (7/29) at Hometown Kitchen at 8 am.
This Sunday we are looking at the spiritual discipline of worship. For some Christians their definition of worship is the music that happens at the church on a Sunday morning. Worship is much more than that. We’ll be looking at what Jesus told the woman at the well about worship, how we can worship even when music isn’t our “thing” and what pursuing worship does for our faith. It is going to be an exciting morning at the Bridge! Invite someone to join you!
Scott