Church Business: Finances, Associate Pastor Search and COVID-19

So far this year our giving is a lot lower than we budgeted for. We could speculate all day about why, but I think it is best to simply act based on what is. When we went online in December in response to COVID-19 our monthly giving dropped by about 33% and remained there through February. Coming back to in-person services seems to have inspired more giving, and we have managed to keep our expenses down alongside it. This chart displays it quite well…



If you have more questions I would love to help explain anything I can. But in a nutshell, giving is lower than we planned for, and we are working hard to keep our expenses down while not neglecting the work God has called us to do. I am a firm believer that we serve a God of abundance, and as long as we use his resources honorably and we stay faithful to his mission, he will provide everything we need.

Valley Chapel has been a church with two pastors for a long time, but we have recently gone through a significant season of change. We hunkered down and focused our energy on our online services, communication systems, and hospitality, but the BOA, staff,  Pastor’s Cabinet and Ministry Leaders are in agreement that hiring an associate pastor would be a great step in the direction God is leading us. The roadblock right now is that based on our recent giving, the budget does not have space for another full-time pastor’s Salary.

Guided by what I believe is divine wisdom, we have decided to begin the search for a new associate pastor with full financial transparency to the candidates. The search and hiring process is done by the Pastor’s cabinet when hiring staff members (like an Associate Pastor). That team is currently reviewing applications and preparing to interview applicants. Please keep them in prayer for wisdom in the interview process, and pray for the BOA as they discern our financial preparedness for actually hiring someone when the time comes.

With more people getting vaccinated and positive test numbers declining, a lot of us are getting more comfortable in public spaces, myself included. That being said, we are not ready to start opening up our safety policies at church. The BOA and Ministry Leaders each meet monthly and will consistently re-assess our procedures and we will let you know when things change. For now, we will keep our masks on our mouths and noses at all times and maintain 6’ distancing while visiting the church facilities (on Sunday or during the week). This rule continues to apply for everyone whether you are vaccinated or not. This is a blanket rule for everyone because we will not check vaccination cards at the door and our leaders should not need to decide whether masks are required on a case-by-case basis.