Special Notice

Mill-Green UMC Financial Shortfall

Wednesday February 27, 2013

Hi Folks,

I am sending this email to update you on the financial situation the church presently finds itself. January and February are traditionally lower giving months for the church, yet due to the extremely cold winter and unexpected expenses we find ourselves in a significant short fall in our general treasury. At this point in the year we are experiencing a $1,316 deficit in our income. On top of this deficit we have outstanding heating oil bills of $4,900.00. We have paid nothing on our Annual Conference Shares in Ministry for the first two months of 2013. In the near future we will receive a bill for approximately $800 for our yearly paper order and a $900 bill for repairs to the boiler in the parsonage. This is a great concern to me since we need to care for our financial responsibilites in a timely manner. It is not a good witness to the community when our church is not meeting its financial obligations. I am very concerned about the heating oil bill since this carries over from last year and it is not right that we leave this outstanding any longer. As far as I know Leighow’s Heating Oil has not tried to collect anything on this bill and they really need to be paid.

Our theme for this year is, “A Journey of Faith…. Trust, Commitment, Submission, and Service”. As we are in the first quarter of the year we are focusing on the concept of “Trust”. I am trusting that God is going to provide the income we need through each one of us. I know that if every person in the church is trusting God we would all be at least tithing (tithe means a tenth or 10 %) and we would have more than enough offerings to cover our expenses. This is the reality of the economy of God. I may have shared this story with you before but I want to share it again. “A priest once asked one of his parishioners to serve as financial chairman of the parish. The man, manager of a local grain elevator, agreed on two conditions: No report would be due for a year, and no one would ask any questions during the year. At the end of the church year he made his report. He had paid off the church debt of $200,000. He had redecorated the church. He has sent $1000 to missions. He had $5,000 in the bank. “How did you do all this?, asked the priest and the shocked congregation. Quietly he answered, “You people bring grain to my elevator. As you did business with me, I simply withheld 10% and gave it to the church. You never missed it. 1 Now I do not endorse this type of church fundraising, but the message is clear. Give to God what is God’s. He only asks for 10 % and you keep 90%

We keep 90% of our income and God gets 10%. So if I make $500 dollars a month I give $50, but if I make $5,000 a month I give $500. This allows for each of us to give in according to God’s desire and his blessings upon our lives. I know that tithing can be a great challenge to us and we might need to work up to this percentage of giving. So if you find that you are now giving 1% make a promise to God to increase that giving until you are able to give the full 10%. You will soon discover that you are being blessed by God and will have all you need to sustain your personal life.

I am asking that each of you consider your giving and make any adjustments that you can. If you are not tithing pray about it, and ask God to help you move to tithing. If you are tithing pray and ask God if you are to give a one time offering over your tithe to help offset the debt. We have a lot of kingdom work to do, and that work will need resources to keep us moving ahead.

Be encouraged and keep up the good and faithful work to, “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world”   God is still in control and wants to use each of us to communicate His  love.

May the God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless us all ,

Pastor Bob


1 Stan Toler & Eler Town, Developing a Giving Church, Beacon Hills press of Kansas City MI, 1999,p183