Impacting the local church

Our current financial mess is having a significant impact on the local church, and our ability to give. We are struggling financially to meet all of our obligations which is creating an added stress to marriages and families. Some current financial trends are:

•Record bankruptcies and foreclosures are having an impact on our ability to effectively give to the Church.
•We have a problem in the United States managing our money according to Biblical principles. This causes our church and our witness to suffer when we do not manage our resources effectively.
•U.S. churchgoers donated $21.5 billion, but if these churchgoers had donated 10% of their income, they would have given $134 billion.
•Money issues are the leading cause of divorce in the United States.
•Kids are impacted by the financial choices of their parents. Moving schools, stress, and learned behaviors.

There are some ways that we can manage our money more effectively. These include:

1.Learn to want less (Matthew 5)
2.Manage your debt, stop making excuses
3.Plan your spending (create a budget)
4.Invest wisely and often
5.Your money is your testimony
6.Talk about $ with your spouse and kids
7.Be passionate about what you do
8.It is okay to be different
9.Take action today to be proavtive in managing your finances!