Dear HLPC family,
Last night the Elders and Deacons met for their monthly meeting. A major business item was the approval of the 2023 budget. In November of last year, the decision was made to move from a calendar year budget to a March through February budget year to better account for December giving. Not surprisingly, December often is a month with larger than normal gifts to the church.
As you probably know, in God’s gracious providence, we paid off the church mortgage. Alleviating the financial burden of the monthly mortgage gives us more room to pursue other ministry opportunities. The HLPC leadership thought it wise to true up the investment into our current ministries in a “phase 1” budget, while also addressing some overdue maintenance items around the church. Our leadership desires to involve the church body at large in considering future endeavors. For this reason, the phase 1 budget we passed last night was one that we plan to amend in the months ahead taking your feedback into consideration. We don’t want to feel unnecessarily rushed in making important ministry decisions, so we felt this was the wisest approach to managing our cashflow.
Soon, we will plan a budget presentation for the church during our School of Discipleship. Also, we will be working to organize ways to hear from you about future ministry. We won’t be able to pursue every suggestion, but we realize that wisdom and insight can be gained by hearing from the entire church family. Thanks again for your generous contributions last year. We remain encouraged and inspired by your generosity.
Your Pastor,
Paul