Greatness Code FAQs
Why are we making a change to the Estimate of Giving Card this year?
In previous years the Estimate of Giving Card has been called the “Commitment Card.” We believe a better way to express this is as an “estimated gift.” We invite you to estimate your gift for 2025 after you have prayed and asked for God’s discernment and direction on what you can give next year.
Why should I turn in an Estimate of Giving Card if you have already prepared a budget for next year?
The Finance team has diligently prepared this draft budget for 2025 based on historical giving numbers over the last several years. Your Estimate of Giving card will help them determine if we are on the right track or if we need to adjust the proposed budget. It will also help us determine when we can begin to implement the 2025 Power of One initiatives, based on your pledges to the Ministry Development Fund. We believe these initiatives will help the church grow and are ready to get to work! More importantly, taking the time to pray and seek God’s guidance on how God is leading you toward generosity next year and then responding by completing and turning in an Estimate of Giving Card is an act of discipleship and a way to follow God’s leading.
Why are “Heart burst Ministries” not listed on the Estimate of Giving Card?
This year we are asking you to commit to supporting the Essential budget areas of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church which includes all our ministry, administrative and facility needs and to give above-and-beyond to our Elevated budget through the Ministry Development Fund which is dedicated to our Power of One initiatives focusing on Evangelism, Discipleship and Family Ministry. We have not listed Heart Burst ministry areas for two reasons:
- First, keeping track of pledges to numerous ministry areas from one giver is inefficient, adds work to our Finance team and increases potential mistakes in our accounting system. For example, a $1,000 recurring gift that is designated to the general fund plus six different Heart Burst gifts has to be manually debited and credited across different accounts to balance against the member’s intended gift allocation.
- Second, and more importantly, the church must allocate funds where they are most essential to fulfill the all needs of the church.
What is a “Heart Burst ministry”?
A Heart Burst ministry is a specific area of ministry in which donors could previously choose to make a giving commitment each year. These separate commitments are no longer necessary as those that remain active elements of our church are included in the Essential budget.
Will my Heart Burst ministry still be funded by the church? How?
Lovers Lane UMC will continue to do great ministry! As we intentionally focus our resources on our vision, we will continue to be the church. This includes providing excellent worship, engaging in missions and outreach, and caring for the congregation. Funds will be directed to the Heart Burst ministry areas through our Essential budget based on past giving, current needs, and current activity levels.
In the past, we have asked Heart Burst ministry leaders to help raise their own ministry funds. Often, this resulted in a shortfall in the designated fund budget which meant the general fund budget had to cover designated shortfalls. We believe combining the two into an Essential Fund bucket will help us with accounting, budget management and transparency. It will also free ministry leaders to focus on ministry.
Will the elimination of commitments to Heart Bursts change how we give to the current Foundation Funds?
No, all Foundation Funds and giving will remain the same, ensuring the continuity of these vital initiatives that make a difference.
What role does the Foundation play?
The Foundation is committed to helping the church more and in better ways. The Foundation has formed a special Power of One Foundation Committee and is working on recommendations on ways the Foundation can better serve our church in the future.
What is Power of One?
Power of One is a five-year visioning strategy that has been led by a lay team. Through the course of congregational feedback, surveys, and lay committee work, we have determined that God is calling us toward a vision of growth by focusing on the areas of Evangelism, Discipleship and Family Ministry.
- Evangelism encompasses sharing the good news of Jesus with all people through various means. This includes outreach to new people, the guest experience, hospitality, and our online presence and strategy.
- Discipleship is how we grow as followers of Jesus. This includes how people come together in various group and class experiences to grow and do life together.
- Family Ministry meets the needs of kids and students from birth through young adults and supports their parents in raising children to be followers of Christ.
What is the Ministry Development Fund?
The Ministry Development Fund (MDF) was established in 2024 to assume the present and ongoing work of developing vision-driven ministry through Power of One teams. The MDF provides an established source of revenue to implement plans for new ministry proposed by the Power of One that will come with a cost and a budget. These ministries will eventually be funded by the larger General Fund. Short-term Power of One projects, with a timely start and end, will not require additional funding. The MDF is operated with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and has a committee that oversees the distribution of funds.
If the MDF goal of $300,000 in revenue is exceeded, the excess funds will be considered by the MOU committee for use of other Power of One related expenses that have been built into the 2025 Essential Budget as incremental increases to Power of One identified initiatives: Family Ministry, Evangelism, and Discipleship. If the essential budget has been met, the MDF committee would evaluate what additional Power of One initiatives could be fulfilled with the funds.
What happens to the current recurring gift I have set up?
We are so glad you asked, and we are so thankful for your gift! We are currently transitioning to online giving through TouchPoint, which is the system we currently use to manage other member and visitor information. This move will allow our Finance Office to streamline online giving into one portal, rather than using multiple vendors. This will also help save money because it is included in our annual subscription to TouchPoint.
All current recurring gifts will remain active through the end of 2024. However, before the end of the year anyone with a current recurring gift will need to set up a new one in Touchpoint. You can set up a 2025 recurring gift in October, and it will go into effect after January 1, 2025. Instructions will be available at llumc.org/2025. Anyone with a recurring gift that has not been updated to the new system by the end of October will be contacted directly to help make that change.
What happens if we do not receive the revenue the Finance Committee projects we will need for the Essential or Elevated Budgets for 2025?
In this case, the Finance Committee and Executive Staff will make more cuts to the budget in the areas of programs and staffing.
What is the plan for Debt Retirement?
The church currently has $4.9 million is debt, which means we pay $400,000 a year in interest expense which is accounted for in our Essential Budget. To free this money for ministry, our Finance Committee, along with a Power of One Finance and Foundation Committee are developing several creative options for leveraging our assets, and reducing and retiring as much of the debt as possible.
How will the congregation be informed of the budget adopted and progress throughout the year?
The budget will be adopted by the Finance Committee following the Generosity Campaign, Year End Giving, and will share this information with the congregation in January via newsletter. We will also include information about where current financial status in our mailed statements and email newsletters.
What is the current state of the Finance Office?
We are excited to introduce Jenny Schaefer to you as our new Finance Controller. She comes to us after serving as the Controller for Gladney Center for Adoption for five years. She previously served at a large church in Houston, which had a $15 million budget, five campuses, and a finance staff of three that she oversaw. Her background is in accounting and human resources and she believes in the mission of Lovers Lane.
Since January of 2024, Jacob Tofa has been a consultant for LLUMC in the CFO Chair. Under his leadership, the Finance office has been working toward getting itself back to fully functional, and we are pleased with the progress. We have also worked to get the right staff in the right seats in the Finance office, and are developing better systems, processes, and reporting moving forward. We recognize several years with an unhealthy Finance office has led to frustration for the staff and congregation. We believe we have the right people in place to manage the team into the future.
Our Finance Committee, ably led by Dan Strother, has been instrumental in helping to restructure the Finance office and to increase our levels of reporting to the congregation with good information.