April 24, 2025
Dear Central Church,
“He is risen, indeed!” I love hearing that declaration of resurrection hope from the people of God. My prayer is that you have been living victoriously in the light of this hope. The Apostle Peter knew what that hope was about and said it like this:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)
We are seeing evidence of this living hope in so many ways at Central Church. In addition to the stories of transformation that you heard on Easter Sunday, I’d love to share some numbers with you may find encouraging. Our fiscal year runs from June-May, and here’s what God has been up to through your local church:
26 People have been baptized into the Christian faith
43 People have joined our church family as a “profession of faith.”
1,346 People heard the Good News of Jesus on Resurrection Sunday
Those numbers tell a story: God is working at Central Church!
As we close our current fiscal year, our leadership team also has an important task before them: to establish a ministry budget for 2025-26. Here’s where we are currently at in that process:
Received through March in Tithes and Offerings: $1,480,000.
Projected through the end of the current fiscal year: $1,758,000. This is $92,000 under our projected budget of $1,850,000.
The majority of our budget dollars are spent on salaries and ministry programming, and the reality of a reduced budget is less resources for those items. Would you consider helping us close this gap? Over the next few weeks, I’m praying that we would see an outpouring of generosity that enables our leaders to set a robust and aggressive budget for the next fiscal year. Perhaps God is leading you to do one of the following:
If you’ve never been a regular financial supporter, take the leap of faith to begin this spiritual discipline. A recurring gift to the church is the best way to do this consistently, and you can do so by clicking here.
Making a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA or a gift of non-cash assets like stock or other securities. Pastor Raymond Moore is an expert in this area and is ready to assist you: raymond@centralchurchonline.com.
Giving a tithe on a recent bonus, tax refund, or other windfall “blessing” that has come your way.
Over the next 5 weeks, could we close this $92,000 deficit with an outpouring of generosity? With the Lord’s help, anything is possible! Let’s be faithful and do what God has called us to do!
In Resurrection Hope,
Pastor Mark