Dear Ministry Partners of Narara Valley Baptist Church,
We are writing to follow up on the finance update given in our services last Sunday.
Lots to Celebrate Together
As partners and family here at NVBC we have much to celebrate and be thankful for! We see God continually working in wonderful ways through our Kids and Youth ministry, Sunday Services, Connect Groups, Pastoral Team and Volunteers, Practical and Prayer ministries and through our community ministries such as Fitness, Playgroup, Friendship Group and OSHC.
We are excited too, for the ways God has been growing our church and for the opportunities ahead: hosting our community for the election, launching our ‘Cru-Coast’ Holiday Day Camp, The Gathering, Community carols and more.
However, all of these ministries require finances, and even whilst we are thriving in so many ways, at the moment NVBC is struggling in this area.
We as the Eldership are bringing the reality of this issue to you as Ministry Partners of NVBC because it requires the full attention of all of us.
Our Current Financial Situation
Here are a few basic facts, as Dave Kenny outlined for us on Sunday:
Our average weekly giving has been below required for quite some time.
In fact, year to date we have accumulated a $50,000 deficit in our giving.
The majority of NVBC income (87%) comes from our giving
(we do not receive any external funding from grants or the Baptist Association. The small remainder is generated from OSHC and Facility Hire).
The above combined income flow must cover all our mission and ministry costs
(such as: Salaries, Building Loan repayments, Rates & electricity, Insurances, ministry resources, missionary support, Cleaning & Maintenance plus incidentals that enable us to function)
In July we had to skip our Loan Repayment and defer our mission commitment to Zoe Ministries in Thailand to manage operational cash flow. This is our current reality and it is not sustainable.
Our numbers of committed Direct Deposit givers did dip this year, but we celebrate a recent significant increase once again... perhaps in response to the sermon series on being “Grateful & Generous”.
We acknowledge the financial pressures upon our households with crippling Interest Rates and Cost of Living increases impacting many.
We remain excited to see how God can use His church in Narara for His Kingdom purposes, on the Central Coast and beyond – but to do these things and to go where He is calling us, will require greater financial resources than we are currently seeing.
Where to From here?
As Elders we want to remind all of us of some truths that can so easily be overshadowed if we begin to worry about money. If we truly believe God and trust Him, it will impact how we use our money, build our faith and honour God.
God often speaks to his people about money, with over 2,000 verses in the Bible. Why does it appear God places significant emphasis on money? Does God need our money? Not at all, He owns it all anyway! Jesus spoke openly about money so much because He knew that our ATTITUDE about money was often a heart issue.
When we put God first, even over our money, He will make sure we have everything we need. This is not a promise of riches, but of God knowing what we need, and supplying it.
How much should I give? That is between you and God. There are many people in our church, including the Elders, who have personal stories to demonstrate God’s faithfulness in our finances.
“Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
We encourage each of us to prayerfully consider our current giving to the work of God through NVBC (find out how to at nvbc.info/give). May God richly bless you as you consider these things and grow in your walk of faith.
Your Elders in Christ at NVBC,
Bryan Solomons, Jenny Learmonth, Dan Copland, and Brad Jones
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