2023 Mission Spending Plan

2022 is quickly drawing to a close, which means it is time to start making plans for the new year. Your SOJOY Leadership Team has been hard at work laying out a plan for 2023.

What is a “Mission Spending Plan”??

Sometimes, we can get bogged down in the line items and details and dollar figures. But the line items and budgets are more than just that.

• We don’t just have an electric bill. We have a preschool ministry, worship, recovery groups and more happen in the building when the lights are on and the AC is turned down.
• We don’t just pay salaries. We pay salaries that allow us to have Bible Studies and resources to grow in faith.
• We don’t just have expenses for electronics. We have a high-quality worship live stream that allows us to worship with people all around the world.
• We dont just have office supplies. We have 60+ children in this building learning every day about God and the world that God has made.

The language of Mission Spending reminds us that these funds aren’t just the bills we receive. They are the mission that we share in Jesus’ name.

Let’s get right to the point. Here is the 2023 Mission Spending Plan (budget).

Read on below for more reflections and details. If you would like to receive a line item breakdown of the budget please email Pastor David.

Comparing Apples and Elephants

Generally, when preparing a spending plan you look at the previous year or two and base your expectations for the year to come on those. You compare apples to apples.

But the last few years have been extraordinary in our ministry.

In March of 2020 we entered a global pandemic and moved our worship entirely online. Our preschool ministry was unable to have classes all Spring. Even in the Fall of 2020 we remained mostly online.

In 2020 we received a PPP loan which helped us to fund salaries for our preschool teachers and staff, even as our income significantly declined.

Just as we were ready to return to in-person gatherings the Winter Storm of February 2021 froze a pipe in our building, causing the flooding of 75% of the building. We had to remove much of the drywall and all of the flooring in the building. Once again, we were unable to gather for worship in-person. We had unusual income from renovation gifts from members and insurance payouts – and equivalent expenses.

That renovation project took a whole year, and it wasn’t until the Spring of 2022 that we were fully able to worship in person again. It took until the Fall of 2022 for us to really get back up to full speed with worship, faith formation, and preschool.

Now, as we head into 2023, our ministry is operating on all cylinders. Children of Joy! has opened up new classes and is running at capacity. In-person worship is growing every week. We have a Sunday School and Confirmation program running.

In the time since we have last been in the building full time, we have experienced unprecedented inflation in this country, which affects all of our regular bills and expenses – that we have not had to pay 100% of since 2019. For example, we are using as much electricity as we did in 2019 – more than the last three years when the building was partially empty – and the rate per kilowatt hour is much higher.

What we expect for 2023 looks nothing like what happened in 2020, 2021, or even 2022. We have looked back at previous years to help with our estimates, but we are not comparing apples to apples. We aren’t even comparing apples to oranges. We are comparing apples to elephants.

Income

The budgeted income number reflects our projected income for 2022. Please notice that this is a deficit budget – if our income estimate is correct, it will not be enough to cover our expenses.

As a Leadership Team, we know that a deficit budget is not sustainable.

• The congregation is currently growing. More in-person worship usually translates to higher giving. In addition, we didn’t really get back to full speed with worship and activities until the year was half over. We are hopeful that giving will increase in 2023, and the estimate is a conservative one.
• Our last capital campaign has run its three-year term, and the giving to our building / mortgage fund reflects that. Entering into 2023, we are tentatively planning on a new capital campaign toward our mortgage. With only $95,000 remaining on the mortgage, we are hopeful that we will be able to retire this debt very soon!

Expenses

Because of the refinancing of our mortgage, we have actually seen our total expenses decrease from 2019 ($325,000) to the 2023 budget ($305,000). Our non-mortgage related expenses have increased by about 10% over the same 4 year period.

Most of those increases in expenses have been facilities related expenses. Just like in our homes during that time, the church has seen increased cost of utilities, supplies, and insurance. Our expenses directly related to programs – what we pay for worship supplies and sunday school curriculum, etc – have all remained about the same.

We have changed our staffing arrangement over that time. Our new part-time office manager (Shannon Sanderson) is also a teacher at the school, and brings wonderful gifts to help keep things running smoothly. Our financial administration is now being handled by the same person (a trained accountant) who handles the preschool financials (Kristi Allen). Lori Shownes continues to serve as our Worship Leader, bringing wonderful musical gifts and energy to our Sunday worship.

The 2023 Budget reflects a cost of living increase for all of our staff (including Pastor David) to help adjust for inflation. We are grateful for all of our staff and the commitment they have to our work together!