The council and the elders in various configurations have met a few times over the past month to discuss the budget, stewardship and Mt. Zion’s overall financial picture. We are going to ask something very specific of you. We need you to consider increasing your offering by $20/week. More than consider, we believe that is necessary for good stewardship. The rest of this article is going to explain how we got to that request.
The Baseline budget is everything that it costs to run this place as it has been run for years. The numbers in there in order of magnitude are Pastor’s Salary and benefits, Mortgage Payment, Utilities, Musician Salary, Building Maintenance (including landscaping and janitorial), Office (including secretary). We have already decided for the foreseeable future that we will not be seeking a new church musician. We will be using the iPad Substitute Organist Service and the choir will be guided by Nicholas. Those changes move the new baseline to $256,000.
Now comes the more difficult part. Last year (2025), at the higher baseline, we closed the year in the black. We managed to close in the black due to some generous donations both mid-year and at the end of the year. What I have labeled Current Offerings Baseline represents the offerings Mt. Zion received excluding those exceptional donations. Our donations so far this year through August are fully in line with that baseline. And as you can see, our baseline offerings do not come close to covering the baseline budget. If we did nothing, before the end of 2027 we would have exhausted our savings cushion.
So, the council and elders considered the question “what else can be cut?” There are three available items, but each item comes with trade-offs. Doing without a church secretary would save roughly $8,000 for the year. Those 10 hours a week or the tasks they represent would be moved onto Pastor’s desk which would impact lots of other things. The second items also save $8,000 for the year. We do without janitorial and landscaping. The trade-off is that the church presentation deteriorates. We would be putting forward a much worse face to any visitors. The last thing looked at would be refinancing the mortgage. This has been done repeatedly in the past. This is why 25 years later Mt. Zion still owes quite a bit on it. If we refinanced the current balance over 30 years that would save us roughly $9,000 for the year. If we took all of those actions the new baseline would be $231,000. Even doing all of those actions we would still have quite a deficit.
I’m hoping that you can agree that this is not an expense problem. This is a stewardship problem.
We asked the counting team for a specific number. How many families or individuals gave at least $1,000 to Mt. Zion in the past year? The response was 55. And this is what shapes our request. Our current baseline deficit is round numbers $59,000. Doing simple math, asking each of those 55 contributors to increase their offering by roughly $1,000, which over 52 weeks turns out to be roughly $20/week, closes the deficit. So that becomes the request and challenge. If you are reading this you are probably part of that 55. Will you increase your offering by $20/week?
We recognize that since the number was pulled from those who donated at least $1000 in the previous year, we are asking some people to double their tithe. But we also decided that $20 is roughly one fast food meal a week. On a weekly basis we did not consider this onerous. Spiritually this is a request to look at what the LORD has provided you, and to return to the work of his Kingdom a larger percentage. I’d make the same encouragement as Malachi. “Bring in the full tithe (Malachi 3:10).” I’ve never met a full tither yet who if you get past reluctance to be seen bragging won’t tell you that God keeps his promises and “pours down blessings (Malachi 3:10).”
We also would encourage you to talk with your assigned elder about this. If you can happily do this, share the good news. If this request causes angst, talk with your elder. Those talks will serve a dual purpose. We – the leadership boards of Mt. Zion – really need to have some idea if this will happen. Because if it will not, much tougher decisions need to be made. But that talk would also be good for your spiritual health. There are people who in other contexts are keen to say that Jesus talks more about money than insert your favorite political cause. And they aren’t wrong. Jesus does talk about money quite a bit. How you spend your money – who you are rich with and where you skimp – is the surest sign of spiritual health. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19-20).”
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