Monthly Financial Update
August 2024
August was an important month at Riverside.
God continues to use the Legit series, which concludes September 1st. Our all-church spiritual journey starts September 8th (Fall Kick-Off Sunday!) called, Is God Real? This will be a fantastic series helpful for the everyone no matter where they are in their spiritual journey, as well as a terrific series to invite people you know who need to say 'YES!' to Jesus as Lord.
Thank you for being outward-focused as a church. I cannot emphasize enough how this makes such a difference in the life and health of any local church to keep the passion and priority of Jesus THE first priority of how it functions and ministers.
We continued to see guests every week and people saying 'YES!' to Jesus as Lord during the month, and we give the Lord the praise and glory for His grace and power. Our digital connection each Sunday helps people engage each week as well; as a reminder, if you and/or members of your household are traveling or not feeling well on a Sunday you can stay connected online.
We praise the Lord for everyone of you who give to the ministry of Riverside, and our financial position is okay. Your giving makes a difference in real people’s lives here and around the world every week.
Giving in August, the second month of our new fiscal year, was better than July and closer to our approved weekly budget for which we thank the Lord. But our very weak July giving is keeping us in a hole that we do need to dig out of as soon as possible. Obviously we have the cash reserves available to pay all our bills. That’s not the issue. We simply want to be able to meet out approved budget so we have all the funds we need to carry out our ministry and also to begin rebuilding our ministry fund balance once construction is complete with our new Buffalo campus.
With our 3rd campus in Buffalo now a reality (Grand Opening Sunday is September 8th!) and construction getting close to completion, we need to start a new trend in September of seeing our giving increase to our newly approved budget for 2024-25 for not just our Big Lake and Sauk Rapids campuses, but also for our Buffalo 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 here, and it is the main way people 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 than ever before making reoccurring digital gifts! Join many others at Riverside who are discovering how this makes such a difference in their spiritual journey. You can always give it a try - learn more HERE. We also 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. You can learn more HERE.
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 every week in significant ways. Your gifts help make that happen, both now and for eternity.
God bless you all!
Pastor Tom
Weekly Averages for August 2024:
- Average In-person Sunday Attendance: 1,496
- Average Online attendance: 420
- Fuel for Ministry Fund: $84,451
Our approved Big Lake/Sauk Rapids/Buffalo/Central weekly budget is $88,394 - Fuel for Global Ministries Fund: $7,074