You Can Tell A Lot…

You can tell a lot about any group by how it responds to hard situations. You can especially tell a lot about a congregation by how it responds to adversity. I remind us of that truth because I have been gratified by how First United Methodist Church of Austin has responded to the deepening financial crisis that has certainly grabbed the attention of us all.
A small bit of history, and I apologize to those who have already heard this. We built our budget for 2009 over the summer of 2008. As it was being pulled together, our finances were in pretty sound shape, but August, September, and October were brutal for us financially as anxiety began to spread. We got an uptick with a financially strong November giving us some hope, but those hopes were not realized. We ended the year with a $90,000 deficit. Fortunately we could tap reserves in order to complete all of our commitments, but we entered 2009 with fewer reserve resources than we had counted on.
Our initial pledge reports for 2009 indicated a significant decrease in support, and we were faced with a possible shortfall of some $370,000. Bad news you would think, and of course it was not news that any of us wanted to hear. But here is the good news. The leadership of the congregation has looked at the problem and decided to attempt to remain faithful to our calling as a major congregation in downtown Austin. Obviously some cutbacks were necessary. Program costs were cut 10% across the board and salaries were maintained at 2008 levels rather than including the 2.5% raises that had been projected. In total some $90,000 in cuts were made which still left a significant gap. But other sources were being identified or were identifying themselves. Groups using our facilities made larger contributions. The Mission Team identified special mission emphases giving attention to some of the missional parts of our Ministry Plan with the hope that additional support will be forthcoming. Individuals and groups have been in prayer concerning our ministries and how we might be faithful in these times.
It would have been easy to panic or to give up hope, but this congregation understands itself to be a significant source of spiritual growth and mission in the heart of downtown Austin, and pledges have been made or remade, ideas have been shared, and new ideas have been explored.
There is no question that this is a hard time, but you can tell a lot about a congregation in the midst of adversity. I have been grateful and moved by your faithfulness. Are we there yet? No, indeed, there is a lot of work in front of us over the next few months, but the spirit is there, as is the desire to continue to be faithful to our calling especially in these hard times.