Some people have noticed that our weekly financial reports indicate our 2022 year-to-date income is less than what we received in 2021. For example, in today’s First Things, we are reporting that $654,448 has been collected so far this year, compared to $692,717 in 2021. Here are a few details our Finance Committee wants to make sure you know:

First, we are actually doing well financially this year. With 42% of the year completed at the end of May, FUMCOR has received 46% of our expected “estimates of giving” and 40% of our expected “non-pledged giving.” To translate, this means we are slightly ahead of where we expected to be at this time of year. 

"Since 2017, in an effort to stay ahead of that curve, we have reduced our budget by 13%. Our goal is to continue to reduce the budget by 2% every year until we reach that new level of stability." Click To Tweet

Our expenses thru the end of May total are at 50% of our budget. That would normally worry us a little since we have only completed 40% of the year. However, keep in mind that our Trustees had an unexpectedly large repair expense, a $97,000 chiller to keep our air conditioning running throughout the summer. That large expenditure is what pushed our expense figure up to 50%. Without it, we would be right on track. We used some of our Trustees’ contingency funds to offset that unexpected outlay. So, all in all, that higher-than-expected expense line should not worry us too much. 

"So, while our income is slightly behind last year’s, our Finance Committee and Church Council have been working to make sure we remain financially stable and looking ahead to the future."  Click To Tweet

Finally, there is a piece of our finance puzzle that is easy to forget. Church leaders around the nation have known for several years that younger generations (usually saddled with large debt) do not give financially the same percentage of their income that our oldest generations (often without significant debt) give. FUMCOR is going through a season when a number of our first-generation members are passing away. Therefore, while many younger families are joining our congregation, we have been expecting our overall income to decline over the next five years until we reach a new level of stability. In anticipation of this financial transition, we have been reducing the budget each year. Since 2017, in an effort to stay ahead of that curve, we have reduced our budget by 13%. Our goal is to continue to reduce the budget by 2% every year until we reach that new level of stability. So, while our income is slightly behind last year’s, our Finance Committee and Church Council have been working to make sure we remain financially stable and looking ahead to the future.