From time to time I will be sending you an email to share with you an update on our ministries, opportunities and challenges at FFMC. In this first update I would like to discuss four items:
- 'By the Numbers' (which will be a regular component)
- Visioning Process
- Sanctuary Upgrade
- 'The Ask' (which will be a regular component)
'By the Numbers'
Attendance: May Avg. 523 May 2010 Avg. 509
June Avg. 444 June 2010 Avg. 433
Giving:
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Year-to-Date 2011
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2010 Comparable YTD
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Receipts
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$473,738
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$457,082
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Budgeted Need
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$522,172
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$575,027
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Above (below) need
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$(48,734)
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$(117,945)
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We are doing well in both giving and expenses when compared to last year. Last year however was one of our most difficult years financially. While our regular giving tends to fluctuate throughout the year, particularly at year end, we are in a deficit at the midpoint in our fiscal year.
Vision Process
The Visioning Group has met five times and we have given considerable attention to what will be our core values as a church which will act as a sort of rudder for our future direction. We have spent time considering our present values, the historic values of Free Methodism, the values of the Early Church in the Book of Acts and, in my mind most importantly, the values that seem to have driven Jesus' life and ministry. We look forward to sharing these findings, as well as the implications for ministry priorities for the coming months, with all of you at our next Town Hall meeting after the worship service on August 14th.
Sanctuary Upgrade
We have been working hard to develop a plan to upgrade our sanctuary on numerous fronts.
- A new video projector since our current one is wearing out and is no longer bright enough;
- Relocation of the screen so as to not detract from the beauty and functionality of our sanctuary;
- Shades for the skylights which will be needed to accommodate the new screen location;
- New Pew Bibles
- Sound system improvement (in-ear monitors) in order to make our sanctuary space conducive for both traditional and contemporary worship styles which would benefit our Encounter service, SPU chapel and other users.
Some of these improvements will benefit all of us. Some will benefit the ministry of the contemporary service which we hope to bring into the sanctuary as of this fall. Some will benefit unchurched folks who have yet to trust in Christ and make FFMC their church home. Some will benefit SPU ministries that use our sanctuary space.
These improvements will not be without significant cost; however, we have a beautiful worship space and we want to both maintain the beauty of this space and at the same time make it as effective an environment as possible for assisting people (all people - young and old, believer and seeker, students and neighbors) to encounter our Heavenly Father and worship Him.
We plan to present the details of the plan at the August Town Hall meeting as well and to have the upgrades completed this fall. In the meantime, please be patient with us as we seek to use our present technology as sensitively and effectively as possible.
The 'Ask'
I want to close by asking you to do three things. First, be patient and encouraging. Your words to staff, to one another and to those outside our church are powerful. Your words are powerful and once they are out there, you can't take them back. Let's speak the truth in love. Second, pray. Pray for me. Pray for our finances. Pray for our services. Pray, pray and pray. Nothing of Kingdom importance or eternal value will be accomplished without our serious commitment to pray. Finally, assess where you are at in your giving. We are running a deficit. It is hard to dream God-size dreams and make plans for future growth when we are not current with our basic commitments. We are in a unique moment in the life of First Church. There is momentum building and emerging hopes and dreams for the future. We need every person who values the work of this church to give sacrificially and consistently so that we can be all that God wants us to be.
Grace and Truth,
Rev. Dr. Blake Wood
Lead Pastor, Seattle First Free Methodist Church
