Detroit Church of Christ - Articles

Detroit Board of Directors Update:

Allan Aubert  11/30/2005

 

Greetings to the members of the Detroit Church!  2005 is rapidly drawing to an end, December is upon us. I wanted to send the church an update on the finances of the church. Normally we would do a financial presentation twice a year to keep you all up to date on the business of our “family” here in Detroit. Our next public review is coming up at the Jubilee, January 5 – 6, 2006, which will also be our 2006 “Annual Corporate Meeting”. Please be making plans now to come to this inspiring event to share where we were in 2005 and where we are going in 2006 and beyond! Rather than a presentation, let me share with you through this article where we have come financially this year as a church.

 

The Board is very grateful to Mike Dishaw, Jen Weatherston and our Treasurer, Wayne Wright for their careful and excellent handling of our finances and in producing our official financial statements. We are nearly complete in having our 2003 and 2004 financial statements reviewed by an outside accounting firm. This has given us great confidence in our accounting procedures and practices, and will make us able to get bank loans in the future, should such a thing be required. Mike and Jen just sent out the October month ending financial report. I wanted to share with you the good news from this statement.

 

God has incredibly blessed us in 2005!! He has taken 5 loaves and two small fish and multiplied it by faith in our hands. I know in my heart that we haven't DONE anything to make this happen - but God is blessing our faith.

 

1)  For the first time this year our cash position is AHEAD of where we started the year!   We started Jan 1, 2005 with a balance of $71,800 in our operating account, and we ended October with $74,500!! Although we have not quite met our total year giving goals, we have been frugal in our spending, and are now ahead for the year.

 

2)  Our Special Missions Contributions through October came out at $97,249  for a goal of raising $100,000. However, God has given us $2,874 in interest through the year, resulting in an increase in our account of $100,123! With God making up our difference, we have made it! When was the last time the Detroit church made their missions contribution goal? According to “old timers” I have spoken with, missions contribution was frequently a discouragement because we would be zealous in setting a goal, but we went many years without hitting it. God has blessed this year’s "Missions Celebration" on August 31, where we celebrated our victory by faith, with prayers and a potluck midweek service in advance, while still needed over $25,000 to make our goal!  We sent $80K to India, $10K to PNG, and our account balance for missions has grown by $10,123!!  We are sitting with a balance of $125,645 designated for missions!!!

 

3)  In addition to this, the church has been able to give almost $58,000 from it’s Sunday morning poor contribution to the needy in Michigan (38%), and the rest (62%) to the poor through HOPE worldwide, mostly in Papua New Guinea.

 

I know that we, on the Board, didn’t DO anything to make this happen. However, you, the members of the church are to be commended for your heart to give this year!  Thank you for your faith and heart for God!  I also want to thank the paid staff as well. I am very thankful for their sacrifice, when, back in the darker days of the summer, we were facing a low cash position despite wanting to hire the Lewises and Collin and Beth Sherrill in August. At that time, the paid staff agreed to postpone their yearly cost-of-living increase in order to insure that we could afford the new hirings. God has blessed that faith.

 

We are facing a new year with new plans under way to strengthen the church in Grand Rapids, and to prepare for a church planting in Flint / Saginaw, and to spread the gospel locally, regionally and internationally. Please make plans now to come to our Jubilee in January 2006 to share this vision for 2006 and beyond!