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© 2009 Clear Lake Presbyterian Church
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Stewardship[Now Finish the Work Phase2] [2009 Commitment] [Budget] [Mortgage Balance] [Questions often asked about Finances & the Christian Faith] [Now Finish the Work] [Innovative Ideas to make the most out of your Giving] [A Biblical Reorientation to Money] [New Christian Education Building] [Service Opportunities] [2008 Financial Report] [Link your Kroger card]Now Finish the Work - Phase 2
Phase 2 of Now Finish the Work is just around the corner! Many of you have given sacrificially, and it has been paying off. In April, we were able to make an additional $24,000 payment towards our total mortgage elimination. We have continued to aggressively reduce our mortgage amount that is saving thousands of dollars in interest. The current "Now Finish the Work" pledges were through June 2009. So, it is almost time to get new pledges to help us understand the income that we will have to continue to reduce the mortgage. Two basic concepts to this pledging campaign are:
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"If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life." |
Stewardship is a life long journey of many steps - 2009 Commitment
As we experience unsettling change in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we are mindful of God's unwavering love and God's everlasting gift of grace. As we reflect and assess where we are, our hearts fill with gratitude for all the gifts God continues to give us. The theme for the stewardship campaign a few years ago was "Living in Grace and Gratitude" ... never has that been more true than now.Our central message remains the same. Stewardship is a life long journey of many steps. All of us are at different stages of that journey.
- For some it is deciding to give to the church at all
- For others it is developing the discipline to give regularly
- For some it is making a pledge as a commitment and as a declaration of their faith For others it is moving from a pledge of a fixed amount to a percent of their income The biblical goal is to move to a 10%, tithe, and some have made that commitment ... and Jesus challenges us to go even beyond!
Your commitment last year was exceptional. The breadth and depth of our pledged commitment to the work of God touched many lives in our congregation, in our community and in the world. Our unified commitment was important to all of us, especially as we transitioned to a new pastor ... the message was not lost on Steve either. The enclosure gives some facts and figures.
Our goal is that each of us makes a thoughtful, intentional commitment about giving. The decision is about dollars and cents, but it is equally about challenge, courage, and trust as we strive to be both bold and wise. The decision is about money, the commitment is about faith. We encourage you to prayerfully decide and then declare your commitment by filling out a pledge card.
Link to the full letter from the Pledge Committee
Link to Pastor Steve's Letter
2009 pledge card
Pastor Steve's mini sermon series on Stewardship from the Sermon on the Mount- Nov 2008
Pastor Tim's sermon series: "The Price of Money" Fall 2007
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34 |
Budget
The pie chart below shows the allocations of our Clear Lake Presbyterian Church annual budget. Our current ministry budget in round figures is $1,717,000.
At CLPC we desire to be excellent and faithful stewards of the resources God entrusts to our care. For this reason, we are committed to utilizing money in ways that
- Honor God,
- Nourish God’s people for service, and
- Serve our world with joy.
In addition to the specific ministry areas reflected in the budget, significant building and staffing allocations represent our commitment to staffing to nurture and equip God’s people for the variety of ministries to which we’re called, and to maintaining an excellent facility for learning, fellowship, and service to our community.
Mortgage Balance
Balance as of 9/30/2009: $3,070,930. This is $97,654 less than last month!Based on your generous giving this quarter, we were able to make an extra payment of $86,000 towards principal in September.
The Bible encourages us to become debt free: Romans 13:8.
Your generous contributions to the "Now Finish the Work" Capital Campaign will help accelerate the payoff of this mortgage. By paying off the mortgage early, we can save millions of dollars in interest and free up a huge amount of money to devote towards mission and other ministries. Check back each month to watch the balance go down and see how you are making a difference! Thank you.
Four Questions Often Asked About Finances and the Christian Faith
1. Why did Jesus link our spiritual lives so closely to financial matters?
Throughout the Bible, two actions are consistently portrayed as the primary sins of humans; idolatry and greed. Because the love of money is often central to both behaviors, Jesus regularly spoke of the relationship between our pocketbooks and the spiritual vitality of our hearts.In our present-day culture, the issue of finances remains a key to our spiritual lives with many individuals, families, organizations and businesses experiencing serious financial problems caused by idolatry and greed.
2. Why should a Christian be financially generous?
First, Christian generosity is rooted in an understanding that all we are and have belongs to God, the Creator (Psalms 24:1). He is the owner. We are God's managers commissioned to follow his guidelines for living. As owner, God has made it clear that he desires faithful managers to be generous.Secondly, we are grateful for God's grace and forgiveness expressed through Christ's sacrificial death (I Corinthians 6:20). Our gratitude is expressed through our faithful obedience to God's design for living which prescribes a generous heart and pocketbook.
In the Bible, generosity is also linked to:
| Growing Spiritually | Matthew 6:19-24 |
| Our Need to Give | Mark 8:35 |
| Worshipping God | Exodus 35:4-5 |
| The Needs of Our Neighbor | Matthew 25:31-40 |
| Our Resulting Satisfaction | II Corinthians 9:11-12 |
3. According to the Bible, how am I to give?
The Bible details that our generosity is to be:| Regular | 1 Corinthians 16:2 |
| Proportional | II Corinthians 8:12 |
| Sacrificial | Mark 12: 43-44 |
4. How much should I give?
The teaching of the New Testament encourages giving in proportion to the material blessing one has received with special attention and commendation for sacrificial giving. CLPC recognizes the tithe (10% of one's gross earnings) as the Biblical standard for giving.Additionally, in response to Christ's abundant giving to us, we should increasingly seek to submit our personal resources to his Lordship, displaying a spirit of generosity and cheerfulness.
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Matthew 6:19-21 & 33,
Matthew 23:23,
Luke 6:38,
Luke 21:14,
Malachi 3:8-10,
II Corinthians 8 & 9,
Proverbs 3:9 & 10
Innovative Ideas for making the most out of your Giving
1. Donate Appreciated Stock
Rather than selling the stock, paying the capital gains tax and then donating what's left, donate the appreciated stock to CLPC. You pay no capital gains tax and the basis for your charatable deduction is what CLPC realizes when we sell it. Consider making a gift of apreciated stock towards paying down the CLPC Mortgage. CLPC Gift Acceptance Policy & Stock Donation Form2. Charitable Donations from your IRA.
Recent legislation offers a new opportunity for you if you are 70 1/2 or older, own an IRA, and regularly make charitable contributions. Read the article from the Nov/Dec 2006 New Covenenant Connections.3. Consider including CLPC in your Will
Consider giving a tithe of your estate to pay off the mortgage or towards one of the many designated memorial funds.4. Link your Kroger Plus card to CLPC.
Print the Customer Letter and take it along with your Kroger Plus card the next time you go to the store to link them for 2009. Kroger then donates a percentage of your eligible purchaces to CLPC. If you linked your Kroger Plus card in 2008, please re-link it to CLPC after June 2009 for the 2009-2010 program.
Notice- The U.S. tax advice above is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax penalities. Each taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
Psalm 50:10
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A Biblical Reorientation to Money
by George Barna, used with permission by The Barna Group www.barnagroup.orgPersonal Responsibility
Most adults within the church acknowledge that they have some degree of responsibility for the financial needs of the church.
They assume, however, that the Bible does not prescribe a level of giving or a theology related to that responsibility. Consequently,
their giving becomes random and emotional. Imagine what a difference it might make if most of the congregation both understood
and believed that God expects each of us to fund the church generously, that He accepts no excuses for stinginess and that our
lives are materially affected by our generosity.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving as Worship
Stewardship is an act of worship; thus we should recognize that God is the owner of all things and all that we do should be done
by keeping His objectives, best interests and glorification in mind. When we give a gift to ministry efforts, it is our way of
thanking Him for His love and generosity shown to us. Because we are called to worship Him by using every breath and every ounce
of energy we possess- that is, to live our lives as a worship performance- the act of giving should be just another avenue for
expressing our humility and love for Him.
Scriptural Perspective
God First
Most Christians believe that their first responsibility is to tend to their personal needs, then to give God a slice of the leftovers.
The Bible, of course, provides an entirely different perspective. We are told in no uncertain terms that we are to give Him the
first share of what we receive, and then to live off the rest.
Scriptural Perspective
Trusting God
One of the reasons God asks us to be stewards is to test our willingness to truly trust Him. He does not need 10 percent or
20 percent or even 100 percent of His resources to be returned by us: He can get the job done with or without us, through us or
in spite of us. He was able to create the resources we oversee for Him in the forst place, and He is abundantly capable of
creating them anew or creating other means of having His plans accomplished. By entrusting resources to us, and giving us free
reign in managingthem, though, the priorities of our heart emege clearly. His desire is that we will consistently demonstrate
unbridled obedience and trust, and tgus recognize our place in creation.
Scriptural Perspective
Attitude and Behavior
Christian Development is largely a matter of refining our character, and stewardship plays a large role in that development.
To become the kind of people who honor and reflect Christ, we must embrace some basic perspectives. For instance, we must
realize we are stewards, entrusted with His goods, for His purposes, but with the freedom to squander His wealth. We are
charged with giving His wealth generously to those who need it and those who, through their spiritual position and faithfulness,
have earned it. We should distribute His resources joyously, even when we give sacrificially--this should be a habit!
Part of our determination to give relentlessly, selflessly and generously is to set an example for all who have been blessed by Him. We should do this so that they, too, may enter into the joy, the privilege and the responsibility of sharing His resources with those in need and with those who have earned a share by serving as vocational ministers of the gospel.
We Are Stewards
The American way of thinking is that we are self-sufficient and that we are responsible for all that we possess. The Bible
provides a different perspective, of course: that we are merely overseers of God's earthly domain, responsible for taking care of
His resources until Jesus returns.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving Generously
One of God's expectations of His people is that we will reflect His generous blessings of us in the ways in which we seek to
bless others. The model He provides to us is one of a loving Father who withholds nothing good from His childeren; He always
takes care of their needs sufficiently. In like manner, we are to be generous in how we give His resources to address the needs
of others.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving Secretly
An effective steward of God is one who gives without expecting to be canonized for that giving. One of the disciplines of a mature
Christian is to receive joy from giving without being publicly recognized for that giving. The Bible tells us that the only
One who needs to know what we give is God--and He will know and will respond in an appropriate manner.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving Strategically
We are not to be passive, unintelligent keepers of the King's treasury. We have a responsibility to utilize the wealth entrusted to us in ways that would parallel how God Himself might use those resources if He were investing those resources. This requires that we have a sense of God's priorities, His values and His ways of responding to conditions. He expects us to use these resources in a strategic manner, to facilitate His pleasure and to glorify Him.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving Sacrificially
One could argue that it is impossible for us to give sacrificially because none of what we are giving away is ours to start with! However, the Bible indicates that as we utilize the Lord's resources, we are to at least bear in mind that He looks to us to give sacrificially as we encounter the needs of the saints.
Scriptural Perspective
Giving Happily
Achieving joy through giving requires a change of heart regarding the act of giving. If we perceive giving to be a process of losing a share of what is rightfully ours, and which therefore prevents us from getting more of what the world has to offer, we will never find joy through giving. However, if we understand that one of the great blessings from God is to have enough material wealth to be able to share it with others who have need, and to therefore mirror the heart of our loving Father, then we may experience the pleasure of giving. Contributing to the well-being of others is a privilege, not a hardship or a chore.
Scriptural Perspective
Setting an Example
People learn best by watching what others do. Children watch their parents. Adults watch their neighbors and work associates. Nonbelievers watch Christians to see what difference Christianity makes in their lives. One way we can positively influence the world is by giving generously, sacrificially and without fanfare: allowing the world to see that we understand where our wealth comes from and how to use it in a godly manner. We are not to take our giving cues from the world; instead, the Bible calls us to set the standard of generosity in giving.
Scriptural Perspective
Investing in the Future
Our perspective ought to reflect God's-that is, the long view. When we contribute money to a ministry, we are not simply donating for institutional survival, but for the eternal purposes of God that are carried out by His people on earth. We ought to consider our giving an investment, not a giveaway. The return on that investment may be withheld until we enter God's eternal presence, but we have a responsibility to invest His treasure wisely.
Scriptural Perspective
Tithing
Some debate remains in the Church whether tithing is an Old Testament concept that is not applicable to modern life or if it is a fundamental biblical principle for which God's people will be held accountable. Those who reject tithing say that Christ's death and resurrection freed us from the tyranny of
the Law, but that we retain a deep responsibility (and debt) to God. Although we may not have to produce a tithe, we should desire in our hearts to be at least that generous, without any sense of legalistic compulsion. A majority of
today's pastors, however, maintain that tithing is still a pertinent concept, one that Jesus Himself supported during His earthly ministry.
Our research has discovered, however, that just one-third of all born-again Christians who attend a church (35 percent) and one-fifth of nonChristians who attend a Christian church (22 percent) believe that the Bible teaches us to tithe. Two out of three adults believe the Bible offers suggestions about giving, but leaves the final choice totally up to us.
Whichever side of the controversy you choose to endorse, the common ground is this: God expects us to be generous givers and to provide a generous share of our firstfruits for His work.
Scriptural Perspective
Defeating Materialism and Selfishness
Part of the difficulty many people face is that they have become enslaved to money and possessions. The Scriptures warn of being caught up in "stuff" and encourage us to be sure to focus on what is important (i.e., that which is eternal, heavenly and significant). The Bible provides many stories of people who worked hard, achieved big and emerged desperately poor in spirit. Proper priorities are a key to success; those priorities rely not upon acquisition and achievement, but upon obedience and richness of spirit.
Scriptural Perspective
God's Perspective
Jesus was clear in His perspective on wealth and the use of wealth. In short, He believed that those who give to others actually receive more than do those who are the recipients of such giving. Similarly, Jesus promised His followers that no good deed goes unnoticed. We also read that some day, in heaven, we will receive our repayment for the acts of righteousness performed here.
Scriptural Perspective
God's Response
When people show their full faith in God, He responds. Often we face financial challenges; often those challenges are tests of our will and behavior. God is always looking for an excuse to bless us; when we give Him a reasonable chance, He invariably outblesses us.
Scriptural Perspective
The Church's Response
Churches have a duty to take people's investment in the ministry seriously. They can demonstrate that attitude by using the gifts provided by donors efficiently and efficaciously to advance the ministry priorities of the congregation. The church is called to provide a balance between satisfying the needs of the church body and those of people outside the church.
Scriptural Perspective
"Now Finish the Work" Capital Campaign
Now Finish the Work is our 3-year campaign to pay off the remaining debt on our wonderful facilities.
Our theme is "Now Finish the Work" from 2 Cor 8:10-12. Please prayerfully consider how God wants you to participate.
"And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." (2Cor 8: 10-12)
Now Finish the Work Letter from Task Force- May 2006
Now Finish the Work Pledge Card
Now Finish the Work Powerpoint Presentation May 2006
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Letter from Pastor Sam- May 17, 2006
May 20, 2006 sermon "Now Finish the Work" - Dr. Sam Henderson
CLPC Gift Acceptance Policy & Stock Donation Form
Now Finish the Work Thank You Letter from Task Force- June 2006
2008 Annual Financial Report Summary
2008 was a good financial year for Clear Lake Presbyterian Church!We closed 2008 with contributions to the General Ministry Fund of $1,735,781 (up 4% from last year) plus other income of $17,132 amounting to a total available financial resource of $1,752,913. Our expenses were $1,701,784 (up 13.9% from last year - primarily additional amounts allocated for mortgage payments and additional outreach giving). This gave us a positive cash flow of $51,129.
In February, Session approved allocating $29,500 of the positive cash flow as follows:
- Increasing our General Ministry allocation to the mortgage payments by $24,000. This brought our total contributions from this fund to approximately equal to the amount of interest we will be paying in 2009, and
- $5,500 for additional outreach.
The following is a summary comparison of the 2008 actual expenses with the 2009 budgeted expenses for the respective CLPC Ministry areas. We have balanced these expenses against anticipated contributions for 2009 based on the recent pledging campaign results and expected growth of CLPC membership.
As you know, we took out a mortgage in September 2005 of $4,400,000. Since that time, in addition to using the General Ministry Fund to help with the mortgage payments, the Capital Fund contributions (totaling $347,650 in 2008), and reduction in interest rates, have enable us to have a steady agressive reduction in the loan balance. In 2008, we reduced our mortgage balance from $3,770,058 to $3,391,734 or a little over a $378,000 reduction in 2008. This is over $1,000,000 reduction in a little over 3 years! This year, all of the capital fund contributions are expected to be applied to mortgage balance reduction!
We want to thank all that contributed to the financial success this past year! For 2009, we have more General Ministry Fund pledged money than we have ever had and more than we anticipated. Through prayer and God’s guidance, we are prepared to have an even better Financial Year.
Respectfully Submitted: Finance Committee
2008 Annual Report
All Financial slides from 2007 Annual Meeting
All Financial slides from 2006 Annual Meeting
All Financial slides from 2005 Annual Meeting
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Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-43
1511 El Dorado Blvd, Houston, TX 77062
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