Pastor Chuck’s Corner: October

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops (Proverbs 3:9)

It’s October and time for me to talk about one of my least favorite topics: church

finances. In a few weeks the Annual Pledge Cards will be mailed out. Your prompt

response is appreciated, as these pledges help us to form our next year’s budget.

At the very start, let me thank you, St. Mark’s. This is the most caring and giving

church community I have ever been blessed to be a part of. The title Christian and

the name Jesus Christ are honored by your on-going willingness to give of

yourselves for this church, our community and the world.

I would be remiss as your pastor however if I did not keep you informed with

regard to the church’s finances. Please understand that this is not a letter of

desperation or of doom and gloom. Rather, it is my sincere attempt to let you

know where we stand financially.

St. Mark’s is currently in a good place: Our bills are paid on time and we have

honest and hard working folks who stay on top of these things. We watch our

expenses and every dollar given is properly accounted for. Also, as many of you

know, we were given a large cash donation a few years ago. This money is also

handled with expertise. It was from these monies that the church was able to

complete a thorough update of our HVAC systems.

With this being said, it is also important for you to know that over all giving to the

church continues to trend downward. Over the long term, this is not sustainable.

Now please re-read the verse from Proverbs above. The key word there is

firstfruits. This is what is meant when we think of tithing. When we give to God,

we are to recognize that everything we have to give is from and because of God.

Said another way, we are to give to God off the top, not from our leftovers.

As you consider your pledge to St. Mark’s for 2025, I ask you to place God first in

all your prayers and discussions with regard to giving to the church. As you do, I

hope that you will discover the level of joy my wife and I have experienced in

giving to God first. The blessings we have received, though not always tangible,

have enriched our lives in countless ways.

Be blessed and be a blessing,

Pastor Chuck