Bobservations: Mid-Year Update 2018

The month of March marks the half-way point of our 2017-18 fiscal year. We want to pause and acknowledge all of the amazing ways God is working in and through Sunridge Church. On March 28, our lead pastor, Britt Sipe, sent the following email to share just a slice of what we see and hear.

I am so thrilled to be writing you today about how your consistent giving to Sunridge Community Church is making a real difference in our Valley. It’s your faithful generosity that resources us to be a church that is helping people find and follow Jesus. You probably can’t see the day-to-day impact like I can, but here are just a few ways God has been showing up for us recently:

• • We just baptized ten people from all walks of life: Adults and kids, new Christians, and a few finally getting around to it! Those changed lives were the direct result of the personal ministry by our staff and our volunteers. What a great team we have!
  • A couple of weeks ago, during the last song before the service close, a young adult walked all the way from the back of the auditorium to the front row, got right in front of me and said, “You don’t know me and I don’t normally go to church, but it seemed like you were talking right to me in your message. I’m so glad I came to this church today.” That person is now serving as one of our stage hands, is a part of 18-24, and always smiling!
  • Two hundred and seventy-five people participated in a Rooted group! One of our participants received Christ during our services and jumped right into a group just a few weeks after! Our Rooted group leaders have been so dedicated to providing this small group discipleship experience. You guys are awesome! We are so grateful to have Heather Fretz on our staff and the servant leadership she’s giving to Sunridge.
  • In January, we welcomed our new high school pastor, Joseph “Mojo” Lee. Our students and leaders have been so welcoming to Mojo, and if you’re a parent of a high schooler, you know how boundless Mojo’s love and energy is for them. By adding Mojo to our team, we were able to move Jed into an executive leadership role, developing our staff, and providing pastoral leadership to our worship team.
  • Almost one hundred and fifty women just returned from their annual mountain retreat. Pam has an amazing team of dedicated volunteer leaders who give so much time serving the women of Sunridge and assuring that they are thriving in their relationship with God and are well cared for.
  • In the last two months, we’ve held three memorial services on our campus; two were for dear and faithful men at our church. The most recent was for a young family in our community who tragically lost their high school son. Over eight hundred attended that memorial. Two years ago, we envisioned Sunridge being a church for the community by having a “memorial team” of volunteers who will serve these families in crisis. We have one of the few campuses in the Valley that can accommodate these services, and we have a team of people with hearts of compassion. When Sunridge shows love like this, we are most like Jesus! Thank you, memorial team, and Gigi and Bob who coordinate!
  • We are up to $95,000 in our renovate fund, with pending plans to repurpose and refresh our main hallway as our next project. There was a time we didn’t have that much in our whole checking account! Many of you continue to give to our Capital Improvement Fund (CIF) in addition to your regular offering. We are getting closer and closer to our estimated $130,000 to fund the renovation.

These are just a few of the stories I know about. I know many of you are touching people daily in addition to your financial support. Your consistency has been one the keys this year in our capacity to advance as a church. If you’d like to check your giving in this first quarter of 2018, just click on this link. Thank you for supporting what God is doing through Sunridge Community Church. I am so honored to be serving Our Lord alongside you.

We truly couldn’t do it without you!

Britt

When the 2017-18 fiscal year budget was crafted, it was known that just as operating a business, certain key performance indicators (KPI’s) would need to be identified and measured to monitor our progress and allow us to make wise decisions on spending and moving forward. Since we are at the half-way mark of this fiscal year, it is the perfect time to share a snapshot of two KPI’s.

CONSISTENCY GOAL: 25%

• There were 99 (18%) giving units that gave all 12 months. This is an increase from 89 (17%) from the August report.

GENEROSITY GOAL: $40.00

• The average weekly giving per person in this period is $40.22 ($38.21 without Renovate) as compared to $40.66 ($37.20) for FY 2016-17.

CONSISTENCY GOAL: 25%

• There were 160 (37%) giving units that gave all 5 months in this period.

GENEROSTIY GOAL: $40.00

• The average weekly giving per person in this period is $44.24 ($40.75 without Renovate)

While the 12-month snapshot reveals some minor progress made in these key areas measured, the 5-month snapshot provides a much better indicator of the healthy growth the church is experiencing. I believe that part of this healthy growth is related to the intentional focus to provide biblical teaching in areas of financial stewardship through multiple streams like Financial Peace University, Rooted, sermon messages, quarterly updates, and even the Bobservations. In the first half of this fiscal year we are seeing a positive, measurable shift in how the people of Sunridge are giving.

We are so thankful for your generous and consistent support of what God is doing through Sunridge!