Hey Engage Community,
Every quarter the Engage Leadership Team has been updating you on the financial status of Engage Church. Engage has been blessed. From the beginning we have been on a three-year plan of receiving subsidy from our Brethren in Christ family of churches. Year one we received $50,000 dollars and this year (year two) we will receive $25,000 dollars. Year three, 2011, we will receive $10,000 dollars. For better or for worse we knew from the beginning that we were on a three-year plan to become financially self-sustaining as a church. Right now we are exactly in the middle of that time line. So let’s celebrate a bit.
Celebrating the present
One year ago, in August of 2009, our weekly budgeted need was $1,260. As we looked ahead last year, we saw that our weekly needs would increase in 2010 to $2,067; that was a 39% increase starting January 1, 2010. From January to June we sustained that 39% increase in giving, averaging $2,053.
Money, however, simply enables us to fulfill the mission and vision of Engage. Here are some noteworthy highlights of God’s activity from the last six months.
1. Of those who filled out a connect card, Engage has hosted over 110 unique first time visitors on Sundays since January 1, 2010. That’s over 100 people who have engaged with the message of Christ in safety without fear of judgment.
2. Of those 100 people, 28 (including children) now consider Engage their Christian community. A 25% retention rate is considered a B+ for church plants our size.
3. Due to the leadership of Kelly and John Chripczuk and Kevin Barr we saw 13 people graduate from Story Core after interacting with God’s story in the Bible and exploring faith in Jesus for eight weeks together.
4. We hired Kelly Chripczuk as part-time Associate of Spiritual Life. Kelly’s impact has already been significant on many levels at Engage.
5. Engage gave $5,500 to invest in church planting and compassion ministries through our BIC family of churches.
6. Engage raised over $2,200 for Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.
7. We baptized nine people as a public expression of faith in Jesus over the last six months.
8. Our church helped a young, pregnant mother in need by providing friendship, love, housing, transportation to work, emotional support, and financial help over the last four months. We hope and pray for more opportunities like this!!
9. We are a young church in age. The average age of attendance is 30 years old. Last fall we began praying that God would bring older, mature followers of Jesus as “missionaries” to Engage to use their gifts and passions here. In the last six months, we have seen God begin to answer this specific prayer.
10. Increased attendance. We celebrate this last because it’s simply one of many indicators that people are finding life with Jesus at Engage. In our first year, our highest attended Sunday morning was 137 people in April of 2009. In the first seven months of 2010 we hit attendance of 125-133 people four times, 134-142 people five times and 143-145 people two time. Overall, this trend indicates consistent attendance growth at Engage.
Envisioning the future
We have much to be thankful for. Today we stand in the same place we did one year ago. On January 1, 2011 our giving need will increase 40% over 2010. This is due to two factors. First, Engage is growing up. Part of growing up means you get off mom and dad’s dime and start supporting yourself. The same is true for Engage. We have been heavily subsidized by our family of churches to the tune of $75,000 for the first two years. Starting in 2011, we will be losing $15,000 in subsidy. The challenge of 2011 means we will be taking on the responsibility to be a church who will stand on our own. However, the goal is never simply to stand, it’s to walk and run in the direction God is calling Engage. We believe God is calling Engage to grow deep roots in Christ and grow outward in our focus.
When we first started Engage we said we don’t want to just be busy Christians who go to a church event on Sundays. Instead, we looked into the future and saw a community of people with gospel-shaped hearts. We saw a community of people relationally connected with Christ and deeply connected with each other. We saw people from Engage inviting unchurched neighbors and coworkers over for back yard barbecues showing we value them as people before inviting them to church. We looked into the future and saw democrats and republicans, believers and skeptics, gay and straight, and rich and poor sitting across the table from each other having conversations about faith in Jesus. We can see a church full of men mentoring young boys in our community. We can see a church full of women helping pregnant single moms find their way and support their child. We envision a church full of gospel-shaped relational missionaries sent out to embody the message of Jesus to those who are far from God and outside of faith in Jesus.
Not equal giving, equal sacrifice
In 2011, our weekly needs will be $2,926 per week or +40% above current giving levels.
Year three, 2011, will be our greatest financial challenge yet!! We are already half-way to financially standing on our own two feet as a church. Over the next five months we must increase our giving up to $859 per week to meet our approximate weekly need of $2,926 in 2011. Currently, Engage has giving partners whose giving varies from $1,350 to $25 per month.
Certainly, not everyone at Engage makes the same income. Therefore, we are calling you not to equal giving but equal sacrifice in your giving. We invite you to begin praying and asking God how you can increase your giving as we approach 2011. Do the math? What would your budget look like if you increased your giving by 5% in 2011?
Generosity always involves sacrifice and our Creator has never been afraid to call his people to sacrifice for His purposes in the world.
Proverbs 11:29 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Using the analogy of planting seeds Paul says, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
In the Bible, generosity is always first based on a God who gives himself generously to us in Jesus. God holds nothing back from what He knows we need the most. The invitation to generosity, then, is an invitation to trust God. For many of us, money is the very thing that gives us a sense of freedom or security. The call to generosity is the call to replace our trust in money with a trust in a loving God whose generosity and provision can never be depleted.
How do we get there from here?
We must step out in faith if we are to move in the direction God is calling us. We trust God to provide the resources we need to live the vision He has given to this church. If everyone gave, we would only need an additional $14 per “giving partner” per week or $56 per month to meet our goal. In other words, for the same price as dinner and a movie for two we can continue to turn this vision into a reality.
Thank you for your presence and partnership at Engage. You are a gift to this community of Christ. Thank you for investing the time to read this update. Please pray for the spiritual depth and financial growth of Engage.
Consider setting a goal to increase your trust in Christ by inviting Him to grow your generosity at Engage. Imagine setting a goal to increase your giving. What would that look like for you?
Sincerely,
The Leadership Team at Engage
info@engagecommunitychurch.com
