2011 Year-End Update

2011 Year-End Update

2012 is here and moving fast! Let's take a quick look back at 2011 and the many things our church accomplished in the midst of a difficult year. If you'd like to hear John's State of the Church sermon, go to: www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/state. We also have a video link if you were unable to be here and would like to watch: http://www.truthcasting.com/player.aspx#showSermon=43490.

We finished the year in a budget deficit of approximately $130,000. Many, many thanks to those who completed their pledge and also to those who stepped up and gave an "extra-mile" gift to help close the gap. Fortunately, the church had enough in reserves to cover the gap for cash flow purposes, but because of this, our reserves are not in a position to sustain another year of losses. Thanks for your consideration of this with your attention to your 2012 pledges. We are $250,000 over 2011 pledges at the same time last year! Thank you! If you have not pledged, you can still complete the online form at www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/giving or fill out and turn in one of the pledge cards in the pew backs! 

The piece of information that was so heartwarming to all of the staff and finance committee was the amount our church has given to mission projects! Just cash giving totals approximately $750,000!! That does not include the gift cards, Angel Tree gifts, school supplies, casseroles, gas to take people to appointments, or any of the thousand "little" things each of you do to help those in need. If we could put a tally on all those, I know it would reach $1,000,000!! Now that's something of which to be proud! It also shows what a commitment this church has to helping others in our community and around the world. Thank you!!

Many of you have asked about our mortgage debt and where we are on it. As of mid-January, our balance at Texas Methodist Foundation is $3,098,841.94. We pay $26,000 each month from our operating budget and we are now in the position to have more of the payment going to principal than interest! We have also been blessed with continued gifts toward debt reduction from many of our members, which go directly to principal. Another blessing is that our interest rate over the past 3 years has been 4.5%. Our rate will adjust again in June 2012 and our prayer is that it does not increase for a while longer!

We had our beautiful additions of stained glass windows in 2011 that have added beauty and reverence to our worship space! Thank you to the families who gave these beautiful windows in memory or honor of their loved ones. What a legacy!  We also added lovely banners that bring color and warmth to the sanctuary. Thank you to our decorating team for finding such awesome additions! Many of you have asked, "What's next?" for our sanctuary. We have had a Pipe Organ fund in place for six years. This fund is a savings account for pipes for our organ. Many of you may not know that the balcony that we use for our Christmas trees was designed to hold pipes for an organ. When funds were raised for our organ, the purchase was made with the thought in mind that we would add pipes at a later date. We have approximately $30,000 in the fund. The current cost of pipes is approximately $110,000, so we have a way to go.  If you would like more information about this, please contact Trudy Hughes ( ) or Melburn Sibley ( ).

In closing, the 2011 Finance Committee along with our staff, would like to thank each and every one of you for your support during our difficult 2011. The loss of our much-loved Ken was hard for all of us. It was hard to move forward. But we know he wouldn't want us to sit still, and so we continue to move. We are blessed with a Bishop and District Superintendent who know us and our direction. They searched for a pastor who would not only help us through the grief and fog, but would continue to lead us on to bigger opportunities to serve our Lord. They found that person in John. So we give thanks for our Bishop and conference leaders and our wonderful church family. Most of all, we give thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who walks with us every day in every area of our lives.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!


2011 Finance Committee
 
Bill Barnard
Jeff Edgren
Trudy Hughes
Kary Lippe
David McCarley
Walt Milner
Hal O'Brien
Brian Randolph
Rob Rhoades
Elaine Roberson
Mark Shumaker
Tana Thomas