First Assembly of God Newsletter                                                                                                     September 2010

As we have new families coming into our church, I am often asked about the different Sundays that have been designated in the bulletin for a particular ministry , and what do they represent. So I decided to try to answer any questions that you may have about Missions, Building, Benevolence, and Debt Retirement funds.

• The first Sunday of the month is "Missions Fund Sunday." We presently support over 80 different missionaries both foreign and U.S. and several local ministries here in Harrisonburg and the surrounding area. There is a list posted on the bulletin board by the sound booth that shows the ministries that we support on a monthly basis. Missions Sunday is when we ask everyone who can to participate in giving to missions by giving an offering (in addition to your tithe) to help support these ministries. No amount is too small, and you will be blessed and be a blessing to others as we work together in reaching our world with the Gospel message. Last year we gave 19% of tithes and offerings to missions.
  

• The second Sunday of the month is "Building Fund Sunday." Our goal as a church is to build a new sanctuary when we have filled our present building. We moved into our new addition on August 17, 2003 and we have been blessed to have a building that is very functional. This is Phase I of a two-phase project, and we are striving to accumulate funds, so that when the need arises to build, we will have money on hand to offset the amount we need to borrow. We have just over $80,000 in our Building Fund account to date.

• The third Sunday is "Benevolence Fund Sunday." As a church, we constantly receive calls for assistance with rent, electric, food , fuel, medicine, etc. We do our best to help everyone at least once, if the need is legitimate, and give first priority to people in our congregation. Last year we gave over $11,000 to individuals in need.

• The fourth Sunday is "Debt Retirement Sunday." We still have a mortgage of over $400,000 on our new addition. When you consider we originally borrowed 1.2 million dollars back in October of 2002, you can see that we are making progress in paying the mortgage off. Our goal is to have the entire amount paid off in three years or less. If everyone will give something on a monthly basis toward debt retirement, I believe we can be debt free very soon.

• On the occasional fifth Sunday that happens every three months, we have "Van Ministry Sunday." This goes toward helping with van maintenance and gas.

As your pastor, I want to thank each of you for your faithful giving. We have truly been blessed with generous people, and I know as we continue to work together, our community will be impacted in a positive way.

—Pastor Jeff

Several months ago I, and over 1000 others, participated in two surveys entitled “The State of the Plate” and “The View from the Pew.” These surveys, conducted by Brian Kluth, were designed to identify the effects of the current economy on the local church and on Christian families. The State of the Plate survey found that the poor economy is hurting a growing number of churches. Churches reporting a decline in giving from the previous year increased from 29% to 38%. Only 36% of churches reported an increase in giving while 26% stayed about the same. At First Assembly we had a modest 4.6% increase in giving from 2008 to 2009. We thank all of you who give for your faithfulness in supporting God’s work.

Mr. Kluth summarized the findings of “The View from the Pew” survey as follows: “This research indicates that Christian families are learning how to stretch their resources in a difficult economy and job market, eliminate or avoid debt, and remain faithful in their giving.” No longer is it a given that families will enjoy rising incomes year after year. The survey indicated that 23% of Christian households saw their incomes increase over the previous year, while 44% stayed the same and 33% saw a decrease. Now, more than ever, we need to be exercising sound Biblical principles in managing our personal finances.

An encouraging note is that the majority of Christian families have everything paid off except their house. The primary debt for 64% of the families surveyed is a home mortgage. Only 35% of the households have car payments, and 70% routinely pay off their credit cards every month. These are sound financial management practices that indicate God’s people are learning to actively eliminate and avoid debt.

The survey found that for people of faith, tithing and generosity starts at a young age and becomes a lifelong practice, even in hard times. Of those surveyed, 78% indicated that they give 10%, or more, of their income. The majority (60%) of these people said that they started tithing before the age of 30. I would encourage the parents of children and teens to instill the practice of tithing in them at an early age so that they can reap God’s benefits for the remainder of their lives (Malachi 3:10).

The final survey finding is very interesting. It shows a direct correlation between how often people read the Bible and how much they give, and the amount of debt they carry. Eighty-five percent of the Christians who read the Bible 4-7 times per week give 10% or more of their income, while only 40% of those who do not read the Bible are likely to do so. For those who read the Bible daily, 50% have mortgage payments, 31% have car payments, and 24% have credit card bills beyond 30 days old. These percentages are much higher in non-Bible readers with 80% having mortgage payments, 53% having car payments, and 53% having credit card bills over 30 days old. Who says it doesn’t pay to read the Bible?

—Steve Parsons