A Season of Discernment - Update 4

On Sunday, October 25, 2026, we continued our season of discernment with another Town Hall conversation. A large part of our time together was spent looking honestly at our finances (see slide deck HERE): where we have been, where we are today, and what it will take to be sustainable moving forward.

We began by looking back. Since we started in June 2018, our first four years were years of building. Giving was steady, and during COVID our spending dropped to about half of what it had been in 2019. Together, those years built about $95,000 in reserves, and by the end of 2022 our reserves had grown to roughly $107,000.

Beginning in 2023, we chose to spend more than we received, using those reserves to expand our missional engagement giving. Spending peaked in 2024 at about $76,000 and then came down by about $20,000 in 2025 as we shifted towards greater sustainability. Just as it has across all sectors, giving has decreased as well. It was about $80,000 at its peak in 2019 and about $43,000 in 2025, a drop of nearly half.

As of September 30, 2026, we have about $50,000 in our General Fund, roughly half of what we had at our peak. Through September, we have received $24,947 in giving, which is 58% of our $43,000 budget, with 75% of the year behind us. We have spent $36,987, which is 78% of our $47,186 budget. Compared with the same nine months last year, giving is down about 14% and spending is up about 14%. On average, we are spending about $1,300 more each month than we receive.

We also looked at where our resources go. About four of every five dollars we spend currently support staff and missional engagement. 

Incredibly, since 2018, we have given over $106,000 to community partners, including $10,000 so far this year to Bethel Shelters, CBF and Janee Angel, The Off Ramp, and Family Promise. That is one of the primary ways that we have lived out our call as a community to love our neighbors.

We closed with three questions we are holding together. Which ministry commitments are most essential to sustain in this season? How can our giving and spending better reflect our commitments and shared vision? And what financial reporting tools would best help our community stay informed and engaged?

This conversation was another helpful step in our discernment. We are not trying to hide the numbers or let them frighten us. We are trying to look at them together, with trust, so that the decisions we make are shaped by real people, real giving, and real capacity. And together, we are continuing to ask how God may be inviting us to be good stewards of what we have been given.

You can view a recording of the discussion HERE

Thank you for being a part of this community and continuing to help us discern together where God is leading The Welcome Table.