February 1st marked the beginning of a new fiscal year for Franconia Conference. The new year brings additional financial challenges. As congregations continue to tighten their budgets, giving continues to decrease. Congregational giving is forecast to be $64,000 less than what was budgeted last fiscal year, an 11.4% decrease. Decreases in subsidies from properties owned by the conference will also contribute to another $100,000 decrease in revenue for the conference from last year’s budget. This has led to the conference tightening its belt as well; several staff persons who have left over the past year have not been replaced, their roles and tasks being spread over remaining staff.
However, we still believe God is doing great things in our conference and will continue to do so. Conference leadership is looking for a continued partnership between congregations, related ministries, and the conference staff, especially as we expand the LEAD oversight platform throughout the conference.
The budget, passed by the conference board in January, is summarized as follows:
Revenue (from all sources) $851,318
Expenses $815,368
Line of Credit payment $25,000
(repayments over a three-year period for conference center
renovations)
Net $10,950
For more information see http://stewardship.mosaicmennonites.org.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.