Monthly Financial Update

February 2024

In February we saw guests come through our doors (and through the front door of our online engagement on Sundays) every week.  We saw people take NEXTSTEPS of signing up to serve for the first time as well as people who committed themselves to the Buffalo campus and connected in home meetings throughout the month. 

And all month long we saw people say 'YES!' to Jesus as Lord!

God is amazing!

Thank you for being outward-focused as a church.  I cannot emphasize enough how keeping the passion and priority of Jesus THE first priority of how it functions and ministers makes such a difference in the life and health of any local church. 

In person attendance trended up over last month and our digital connection each Sunday helped people engage every week as well. Remember, if you and/or members of your household are traveling or are not feeling well on a Sunday, you can stay connected online, too!  Or, if you are not available on Sunday, you can watch the service at your covenience at any time through the links on our website.

We praise the Lord for everyone of you who give to the ministry of Riverside, and our financial position remains good.  Your giving makes a difference in real people’s lives here and around the world every week. 

Giving in February was pretty good, and we continue to be ahead of giving in the Fuel for Ministry fund over this same time last year; this is a positive trend and one which is vital for us to continue to experience this fiscal year.  Because of a large estate gift a year ago, we are still slightly behind in our Fuel for Global Missions fund compared to a year ago, so we are praying for more people to take a new step of giving above and beyond their regular giving and also help fund our global partners.  We have the ability through our partnership with Orchard Alliance to help you organize a will, and/or figure out how to give stock gifts, property, or other special gifts if that is something you are interested in pursuing.

With a 3rd campus in Buffalo now a reality and construction continuing and expenses growing each week, we need to maintain giving at our approved budgeted levels for not just our Big Lake and Sauk Rapids campuses, but also our 3rd campus.  Please ask the Lord what He wants you to do when it comes to your engagement in giving, and let God challenge your hearts.  Pray for everyone who considers Riverside Church their spiritual home to practice the grace of giving, that generosity will simply be a “normal” response for our church (no matter what the economy is like) so we can reach more people for Jesus. 

Digital giving makes such a huge difference in so many people’s lives, and it is the main way Riversiders give.  It is a great tool that helps people develop the consistent practice of the grace of giving and putting God first in their finances.  On average, 73% of all our giving happens digitally, and we have more households making reoccurring digitals gifts than ever before! Join the growing number of people at Riverside who are discovering how this makes such a difference in their spiritual journey.  You can always give it a try!

Both the opportunities and obstacles we face are very real in these challenging days as we navigate our lives and ministries in a deeply divided and confused world.  This is true for any of God’s churches seeking to partner with Him in making a Kingdom impact.  Keep praying God will clearly lead, empower and care for us in all areas of ministry moving forward.

God is at work in and through Riverside, touching the lives of thousands of people in significant ways every week. Your gifts help make that happen, both now and for eternity.

God bless you all!

Pastor Tom

Weekly Averages for February 2024:

  • Average In-person Sunday Attendance: 1,772
  • Average Online attendance: 620
  • Fuel for Ministry Fund: $77,415
      Our approved Big Lake/Sauk Rapids/Buffalo/Central weekly budget is $92,274
  • Fuel for Global Ministries Fund: $9,045