By Kevin Zemanek, Chairman, Leadership Board 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Each of us is called to be good stewards of what God has given us – our time, our talents, and our material resources.  This is a sacred responsibility, both individually and corporately. Within Calvary at the corporate level, the responsibility for stewarding material resources belongs to the Leadership Board.

2008 Budget Challenge

As everyone should be aware, in February of this year our 2008 budget was unanimously passed at the annual congregational meeting.  This budget represented a 5% increase over the 2007 budget, but because of the 2007 shortfall, it represented an 11% increase in income.  That is, general fund giving needs to increase by 11% in 2008 in order to cover the budget.  This is clearly a challenge and one that we cannot achieve in our own strength and without sacrifice. It has been encouraging and inspirational to see how the Lord has worked in the hearts of the people of Calvary to support this budget. Up through Sunday, May 11, the general fund income is up 8.8% over the same period in 2007 – praise God!  While this is less than what is needed to cover the budget, we should still rejoice in how God has responded through His people to this need.

Moving Forward

Calvary started the current fiscal year with $165,000 in our general fund.  This provides some “cushion” through which to ride out the ups and downs of giving throughout the year.  As the Leadership Board looked ahead through the rest of 2008, it became clear that eventually the general fund would draw down to $0 and we would be faced with an extremely difficult situation.  Through prayer and discussion, the Board looked at many options. (Side note: While I have been impressed with the unity of the Spirit demonstrated by the Calvary Leadership Board, that does not mean that we do not have spirited discussions – we do, and this was one of them).  The two largest portions of the Calvary budget are our payroll and our mortgage and thus are realistically the only areas where a change would be substantial enough to address the projected shortfall.  The solution chosen was to renegotiate our mortgage such that the minimum payment was reduced.

What This Means

To be clear, the Board did not change the approved budget.  What changed was the amount that Calvary is required to pay monthly on the mortgage, providing us with additional flexibility in dealing with our variance in income.  We are still committed to paying the entire budgeted amount by year end and God-willing we will be able to do so.  In support of that commitment, we are escrowing the difference between the budgeted and required mortgage payments in the property account and will not use it for general funds unless absolutely necessary.  Because of our good relationship with our mortgage holder, this change was made for us without any fees.  Also, because of the generous support of the people of Calvary, we continue to prepay our mortgage using all funds designated for the “Invest in People” capital campaign.

With our new fiscal year ending in September, we will soon have an opportunity to revisit our budget and determine how we as a church wish to proceed.  Thank you for your continued sacrificial giving!

Kevin Zemanek
Leadership Board Chairman