Have you ever noticed that some of the most awkward conversations are about money? Those conversations become super awkward when they involve church and money. It does not have to be that way, though. Not if we have a better understanding of what church is and what part money plays in the work of the church.
Our Bold Faithfulness conversations resulted in some initiatives that guide us as we seek to be church. You can remind yourself what those initiatives are by following these links:
https://fbcaiken.org/about/bold-faithfulness/.
https://fbcaiken.org/about/mts/
In summary, we have decided that we want to radically pursue loving like Jesus and we want to be church More than Sunday
In the past year we have begun in earnest to reshape our facilities to allow us to move forward with these initiatives. We are steadily progressing in renovating the preschool, church offices, and sanctuary. All of this has been funded through your generous contributions to the More than Sunday capital fund.
The discussion is much larger than a renovated facility, though. We are aiming much higher than a pretty campus. We want to be church (the presence of God) on our campus, and in our city, and in our state, and really around the world. That means that we must attend to some funding needs.
Our ministry efforts are funded through your contributions to the regular budget, which are separate from the pledge you may have made to the More than Sunday campaign. At Aiken’s First Baptist, we call our budget a Ministry Action Plan (MAP) because we see that all of our work is designed to generate ministry.
We are about to enter the 4th quarter of the current budget year and find that our income is lagging behind our expenses for the year. As we move toward the fall season and Thanksgiving and Advent, this is the perfect time to remember the important work that happens all year through your generosity. As you consider your support for the current MAP, you might keep in mind the faithful service of so many throughout the years. Not only do we have the opportunity to do good work now, but we also can honor the centuries of ministry that has happened before us. A financial contribution in memory of or in honor of someone is a great way to add some context to your giving.
The Finance Committee has been working over the summer to assemble the MAP for 2027. Of all the MAPs that we have assembled over the years this one is maybe the most important. It will offer us a first step into the future as we seek to be the church that our Bold Faithfulness demands.
The MAP will be sent to the Deacons for their input and then it will go to the Church Council before it is presented to the congregation for discussion at the Quarterly Conference on November 4th. It will then be presented for a congregational vote on November 8th.
In the meantime, we would like to invite you to prayerfully consider how you can support our ministry efforts. To help you do this we are going to provide you the opportunity to make a pledge to the 2027 Ministry Action Plan. A pledge card will be mailed to you in November. We will then have a commitment Sunday on December 6th when we all will turn in our pledge cards and commit together to radically pursue loving like Jesus with our financial resources.
Some words that might be helpful to you as you pray/plan/dream that will make this conversation less awkward are:
- Ministry– how can I help minister in our community?
- Relationship– how does my relationship with money reflect my relationship with Jesus?
- Conversion– does my use of money have a say in furthering my conversion into the life of Jesus?
Our Ministry Action Plan is a picture of what a fully funded mission of the Aiken’s First Baptist Church looks like. Thank you for being open to finding your place in that picture that is the presence of God in this world.
AFBC Finance Committee
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