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Thank you for taking the time to review our 2024-25 Financial Packet. Please submit your questions by filling out the form below.
Thank you for taking the time to review our 2024-25 Financial Packet. Please submit your questions by filling out the form below.
Allowing us to answer your questions this week will enable us to use our time wisely during the Annual Celebration & Vision Meeting. Hearing your questions in advance might also serve to help us know what matters can be more thoroughly addressed in the meeting.
Take a look at some questions that have already been answered.
Other forms of income—like interest—flow into the General Fund, too. So, if total General Fund income (offerings plus additional revenue) ends up above total General Fund expenses, you still see a net increase. While offerings alone were below expenses, the extra revenue sources closed the gap.
Great question! Doing so provides us flexibility to support efforts or ministries in addition to missions or missionaries. For example, some years ago the New Generations Boys Home in Tijuana Mexico was one of the recipients of the Gifts for Jesus offering.
Please be aware that the General Fund total presented in the chart is different from the General Fund operating budget vision mentioned on page 18. This difference arises from the inclusion of anticipated expenses from the General Fund Reserve as part of our comprehensive 2025 Financial Vision. More information about this extra allocation from the General Fund Reserve can be found in the first footnote on page 22.
Yes. As a matter of fact, here’s a breakdown of what our average attendance has looked like since 2016:
Lord willing, we expect our average attendance to continue climbing back towards pre-pandemic levels.
The housing allowance for ministers is designed to cover housing expenses without creating church-state entanglement. It originated in 1921 and was expanded in 1954 to equalize treatment for ministers, whether provided a home by the church or owning one. A portion of a ministers gross salary can be designated as housing allowance as so much as it aligns with costs relating to their housing.
Quoting from “Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance,” by Elaine L. Sommerville,
“Under IRC Section 107(1), a minister may be provided a parsonage for his […] use. Under IRC Section 107(2), the minister may request a portion of his […] compensation package to be designated as a housing allowance.
Either the parsonage or the housing allowance is desirable because of the beneficial tax provisions.
Federal Income Tax. The housing allowance, subject to certain limitations, is excluded from federal income tax. Additionally, even though mortgage interest and taxes may be paid with the housing allowance, a minister may still claim these items as itemized deductions on Schedule A of his or her Form 1040. The ability to pay these items with tax-free dollars and still claim them as a deduction is commonly referred to as the ‘double deduction.’The annual fair rental value of a church-provided parsonage is excluded from federal income tax…(Sommerville, 2021)”
Sommerville, E. L. (2021). In Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance (2nd ed., pp. 156–156). Book, Christianity Today International.
Total expenditures include not only the General Fund but also various designated funds (e.g., Missions, Agape, Pastoral Intern, etc.). General Fund spending is just one portion of overall expenses. When these designated funds incur expenses, the total naturally rises above the General Fund alone.
Submit your 2024-25 Financial Packet questions BELOW: