Hello to our FGCC Congregations – The Gathering, North Site, and Attridge,
Since March, we have been anticipating a financial deficit and Council has been discerning and wrestling with how to move forward in this very difficult season. Our overall operating budget deficit for 2021-22 is estimated at $112,164 in our pre-audited numbers.
Looking at our recent history, we have exceeded our projected budget income only once in the last seven years; we continue to ask staff to reduce their ministry spending, we have been unable to update our buildings the way we would like, it has been difficult to give COLA increases to staff, and we have seen a decline in the number of people giving.
In addition, our 2022-23 non-donation income will be slightly reduced by around $60,000 due to the loss of the Grace Christian School rental and the COVID-19 income subsidies we’ve received in the last couple years.
In June, we heard from our congregations the need to reduce the budget. Council is responsible to the church for making good financial decisions with people’s giving.
For all these reasons, Council has made the decision to reduce the budget to $1.5M, with 50% of this amount for staff remuneration. We are hopeful that we can successfully meet or exceed that amount. Council is balancing our staffing needs, our building needs, and our ministry expenses through this season.
This has been a difficult decision for Council and we want to communicate that this will require further staffing reductions on top of the 3 full-time positions that have been eliminated through the resignations of Spencer, Nathan, and Jodi. Council is reviewing our staff structure and will have more information after the August 30th Council meeting on this restructuring.
Council is meeting tonight (Tuesday, August 30) to make some important decisions. We invite you to join us in prayer for God’s wisdom and direction for this important meeting. The spontaneous prayer time on Sunday night was encouraging as we prayed for Council and Staff. Thanks for those who came to pray on short notice. We asked God to provide strength and direction in this season. If you have questions or comments please share them with council using this link. We are planning to have a Congregations Meeting on Sunday, September 18 to approve the budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The meeting will be held at Attridge at 7:00 p.m.
On behalf of Council,
Erica Fraser (Moderator), Janice Block, Joel Dyck, Gil Klassen, Ken Willms, Anna Robinson.