1. 2018 Stewardship Presentation

2. Agenda
Thank you for being here today. We’re excited about the upcoming year and the possibilities it brings. This morning we will share with you our Goals and Dreams and how we can achieve them. We invite you to share your Goals and Dreams with us as well.
We will also present the parish financial data so far this year.
Finally, we ask for your feedback about anything presented today. Remember, we are all partners in this process

3. 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
We increased our Front Office Team from 1.5 to 2 full-time employees;
We have met our goal for greater financial self-sufficiency and have increased our cash reserve goal;
We successfully navigated the transition of Fr. John Taylor becoming Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and welcoming Fr. Christopher Potter as our new vicar;
We have seen an increase in the number of people coming to St. John’s. We are aware that this is by God’s grace and we acknowledge that by living according to the Gospel of Jesus, we are in a better position now to do greater work than we had imagined. We’ve worked hard to “spread the word” about our services and have seen an increase in the number of new friends and families attending St. John’s on a regular basis.

4. 2017 Year Financial Summary

5. 2017 Historical Pledge Breakdown

6. 2018 Goals and Dreams:
1. Have 100% pledge participation; a. Build a greater spiritual dependence on God by learning to live with “enough”, giving to God a portion of my income and trusting God’s grace to sustain me; b. Committing to others my desire to keep St. John’s community viable and significant; c. To acknowledge that we are working together to continue the ministry of reconciliation of God to the world; 2. Increase clergy to 2; a. Two clergy will be more available to support the church’s ministries; B. Two clergy will be more available to meet members’ needs;

7. 2018 Goals and Dreams- continued
c. Deepen parish’s theological/pastoral/spiritual experience by adding another voice in clerical leadership; 3. Project Reserve Fund; a. Establish a Project Reserve fund for future needs of the Church building; 4. Establish a Legacy Program for St. John’s, providing investment opportunities and an endowment for the future growth of the ministries of the community.

8. Your 2018 commitment to St. John’s
THE POSSIBILITIES:
1. Just think: if we had 100% pledge participation from everyone who contributes to St. John’s regularly, we would have 200 pledges to build our budget on for next year. If the AVERAGE PLEDGE was $2,700 for the year, this would fund our ongoing operating expenses PLUS enable us to add a second, full-time clergy position and fund our Project Reserve Fund at $50,000!
2. Consider making a Spiritual Pledge; chose a percentage of your income and give that back to God in a pledge. See your pledge as a statement of faith—as a stretch on your economic comfort. Learn how to live with “enough” and see how God’s blessings multiply in such a system.

9. Questions
Does anyone have any questions?

10. Final Thoughts
We sincerely appreciate your time and interest this morning;
We encourage you to spend time in prayer about this. This is a change in how we practice stewardship and the nature of our gratitude to God.
Could you have your 2018 pledge ready by December 15? This will enable us to have enough time to prepare next year’s budget.