If you’ve had a chance to review the proposed Spending Plan, you may have noticed that the Church Board is recommending that $20,000 be set aside for the Deacons to provide financial assistance to those in our church and community.  While that may seem like a significant figure, it’s actually a reduction of $16,000 from 2023 and so we want to provide you with the rationale for this change.
 
Background:  The Finance Committee and ultimately the Church Board believe they have the responsibility to recommend a Spending Plan figure to the congregation that is responsible and attainable.  There are two specific categories in the Spending Plan that prove most challenging. The first category is Buildings and Grounds.  The cost of overall maintenance and utilities has risen significantly over the past few years which directly impacts the Spending Plan.  The second category is Employee Expenses.  The Church Board has access to pastoral wage figures for similar churches in our region, and the goal of the Board is to pay our pastors at the 50% figure, not at the high or low end of the salary scale but right in the middle.  For years the Board has been aware that wages for the pastoral staff have been on the low end and are committed to increasing wages in order to bring these closer to the 50% figure.
 
Taking into account increases in these two categories, the original Spending Plan figure exceeded what the Finance Committee and Church Board felt would be a responsible number to recommend to the congregation.  Looking at what adjustments could be made to lower the Spending Plan figure, the Deacon Fund line item was identified as the one that could be adjusted while providing an additional avenue for funding to this important ministry. 
 
The Church Board has approved a Finance Committee recommendation to take a special offering at some point in 2024, most likely the week of Easter, where the funds received would go to the Deacon Fund as well as the Food Pantry, another important outreach ministry of the church.  This would not be a first for Five Forks Church.  Years ago, special offerings would be taken every Easter Sunday and the contributions received would go towards a benevolent cause.  Our congregation has historically responded in a very generous way when made aware of a specific need.
 
It’s also important to note that both of these ministries are recipients of designated contributions coming from individuals in our church and community throughout the year.  So, in addition to the funding proposed in the 2024 Spending Plan for the Deacons ($20,000) and the Food Pantry ($12,000), each began 2024 with the following funds in place:  Deacons ($26,606) and Food Pantry ($13,482).   
 
Considering these three streams of revenue (the Spending Plan, Designated Contributions, and a Special Easter Offering), we believe that this provides us with a viable way to present an attainable and responsible Spending Plan figure for 2024 while ensuring that our Deacon and Food Pantry ministries have funds available to continue serving our congregation and community.
 
We hope this has been helpful, and if you have any additional questions regarding this or any other part of the Annual Council Report, please email Pastor Bill (bill@ffbic.org) so that he along with other staff can address and answer your questions.