Finance Update - July 2023
Welcome to the latest Finance Update for 2023. Remember the purpose of these updates is to keep encouraging our core values around our church and personal finances:
Back in March we produced a slightly longer update via video, where we let you know some of the challenges we had ahead of us for our church finances in 2023. If you missed that video or would like to review it now, here’s the link.
We recognise that these are challenging times. If you are struggling, please do chat to someone. Help is available through our Church Family Fund and the CAP Money Course.
Half Year Numbers
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Generosity
Back in March we produced a slightly longer update via video, where we let you know some of the challenges we had ahead of us for our church finances in 2023. If you missed that video or would like to review it now, here’s the link.
We recognise that these are challenging times. If you are struggling, please do chat to someone. Help is available through our Church Family Fund and the CAP Money Course.
Half Year Numbers
| Actual | Budget | |
| Income | £ 651,824 | £ 527,072 |
| Expenditure | £ 619,815 | £ 578,251 |
| Surplus / (Deficit) | £ 32,009 | (£ 51,179) |
At first glance these numbers are very encouraging, and we should be encouraged. We have seen a significant one off gift to the church and an increase in our core month by month giving of just under 7%.
THANK YOU
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Everyday Church. Giving of our finances is a key part of our worship. It brings glory to God and releases Kingdom ministry in our neighbourhoods, our nation, and the nations.
However, the healthy surplus in the table above does not take into account a number of factors that are going to impact our finances through the rest of this year and in our 2024 budget.
Staffing
We are still seeking to recruit key positions for our 0-18’s work. Existing staff and key volunteers are currently covering this work across all our Venues. They are doing an amazing work, but we want to invest more in the next generation and appointing staff to these positions is vital for us moving forwards.
Our hope and our prayer is that we will be able to fill these vacancies soon and obviously this will impact our expenditure. We have also been operating without a Wimbledon Administrator on staff in the first half of this year. Caroline Maton has been serving admirably as a volunteer and has recently been appointed to the staff team on a temporary part-time basis.
Buildings
Our buildings, both those we own and those we rent, are a huge blessing to us. However, they do cost us money. Cost for our rented space is being significantly impacted by inflation. Our own fuel costs are about to increase as our fixed rates (which have saved us significant amounts over the last 12 months) will soon come to an end.
We also have capital projects to pay for this year or early next year. We have had to replace the whole of the basement flooring in our Southfields building, we need to repair the spire on our Kingston building, and we need to carry out a number of smaller (though costly) projects on all three of our church buildings to ensure that they are watertight. Though we might rather delay these smaller projects, doing them now saves us money in the future.
Because of the generosity and wise stewardship of those who have gone before us we are incredibly blessed to have cash reserves to draw upon at this time. However, these projects will cost us up to £250,000 over the next 9 months and will mean that our accounts this year will show a significant deficit.
Special mention should be made of our Operations Team and Ben Gilson (Buildings Trustee) for all they are doing to make sure this work is being done as economically and as efficiently as possible.
Summary
It is easy to be concerned by the size of some of these numbers. But we must remember the power and the faithfulness of our God. Our values of transparency and accountability reflect the biblical principles of integrity and stewardship. We should always be looking to express these in how we handle our resources. But the value of generosity expresses the character of our heavenly Father. God is a generous God. He promises to do more than we could ask or imagine.
Let us keep playing our part by being generous in our giving, but rest assured, our God will always outgive us. I have no doubt that God will provide over the coming months and that we will have even more reason to be thankful as we seek the Kingdom together.
THANK YOU
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Everyday Church. Giving of our finances is a key part of our worship. It brings glory to God and releases Kingdom ministry in our neighbourhoods, our nation, and the nations.
However, the healthy surplus in the table above does not take into account a number of factors that are going to impact our finances through the rest of this year and in our 2024 budget.
Staffing
We are still seeking to recruit key positions for our 0-18’s work. Existing staff and key volunteers are currently covering this work across all our Venues. They are doing an amazing work, but we want to invest more in the next generation and appointing staff to these positions is vital for us moving forwards.
Our hope and our prayer is that we will be able to fill these vacancies soon and obviously this will impact our expenditure. We have also been operating without a Wimbledon Administrator on staff in the first half of this year. Caroline Maton has been serving admirably as a volunteer and has recently been appointed to the staff team on a temporary part-time basis.
Buildings
Our buildings, both those we own and those we rent, are a huge blessing to us. However, they do cost us money. Cost for our rented space is being significantly impacted by inflation. Our own fuel costs are about to increase as our fixed rates (which have saved us significant amounts over the last 12 months) will soon come to an end.
We also have capital projects to pay for this year or early next year. We have had to replace the whole of the basement flooring in our Southfields building, we need to repair the spire on our Kingston building, and we need to carry out a number of smaller (though costly) projects on all three of our church buildings to ensure that they are watertight. Though we might rather delay these smaller projects, doing them now saves us money in the future.
Because of the generosity and wise stewardship of those who have gone before us we are incredibly blessed to have cash reserves to draw upon at this time. However, these projects will cost us up to £250,000 over the next 9 months and will mean that our accounts this year will show a significant deficit.
Special mention should be made of our Operations Team and Ben Gilson (Buildings Trustee) for all they are doing to make sure this work is being done as economically and as efficiently as possible.
Summary
It is easy to be concerned by the size of some of these numbers. But we must remember the power and the faithfulness of our God. Our values of transparency and accountability reflect the biblical principles of integrity and stewardship. We should always be looking to express these in how we handle our resources. But the value of generosity expresses the character of our heavenly Father. God is a generous God. He promises to do more than we could ask or imagine.
Let us keep playing our part by being generous in our giving, but rest assured, our God will always outgive us. I have no doubt that God will provide over the coming months and that we will have even more reason to be thankful as we seek the Kingdom together.