What a “Pledge” to our church means.

Years ago I saw a posting on Facebook.  A woman was very sad that her 250 year old church was dissolving.  While this is sad news, I was saddened by one or two of the comments.  One woman suggested that the church have a bake sale.  Yes, a bake sale to save the church!

A congregational church can be funded from many streams of income, and a bake sale might be one small way.  Churches have fundraisers, suppers, endowments and usually a pledge campaign.  Our church is supported in large part by its members.  Either the members and friends of the church are planning and working the fundraisers, or they are contributing monetary gifts to the church (many are doing all of the above).

If you have never made a pledge to the church—this is how it works…

A church will host an annual pledge campaign.  They will ask each member and friend to make a monetary pledge to the church for the following year.   The member may wish to pledge $10 a week, so they might write on a pledge card $10 a week, or $520 for the year.   Throughout the following year, the member will make donations to complete the pledge.  Special envelopes are given so that each time you make a contribution it gets counted toward your pledge.

Every pledge matters.  Currently our church has 69 “pledging units” that range from $110 to $6000 a year.  Every church understands that life changes and sometimes it can be hard or impossible to fulfill a pledge.

Our pledge goal is $125,146.  This is a just about a 2% increase over last year.  This year, the Stewardship Committee is inviting people who have never pledged to consider making a pledge.  You are welcome to make a modest or an extravagant pledge.   We don’t tell you how much you should pledge—we want everyone to make a pledge that makes them feel really good.

If you have pledged before- could you consider even a small increase?   If you pledge $10 a week, would you consider increasing it to $12 a week?  If you pledge $20 a week, would you consider increasing it to $22 a week?   Healthy giving can lead to spiritually healthy living.   If most of our members and friends can begin or increase a modest pledge amount—we will far exceed our goal.

Our goal as a church is not to raise money but to raise the level of ministry and outreach into our community.  We seek to demonstrate God’s Spirit through worship, witness, and ministry to the needs of the people in the church and the community.   Stewardship helps to continue our legacy of witness and live into our mission and vision for the church.