It has been our normal practice to provide a quarterly update of the church’s finances, in order to provide transparency and partnership together in seeing the mission of the church continue to go forth in the city, and in the world.

As of today, nearing the end of the first quarter of our fiscal year, we have an operating deficit of $40,780.84.

As an organization, we depend on the giving of those who are a part of the church to operate and carry out our mission.

Some of you that were with us in June when we unveiled the budget for this fiscal year, remember how in June, we were significantly in the black, and had ended last fiscal year with a surplus. So you may be asking: “What happened? I thought liberti was doing well financially?”

Briefly, let me try to explain some of the dynamics involved:

We are about 3 months into a new budget year, in which our expenses have grown dramatically as we’ve had to change facilities and add staff to accommodate growth.

Our giving has usually been low in the summer time, as many are away from Philadelphia and don’t give while not physically present. Additionally, we’ve had several folks who were faithful financial supporters of liberti church move away over the summer months.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, in July, we gave financially to a liberti foreign missionary, and a liberti supported church planter, who were both in unexpected financial need. This was budgeted giving, but we gave monies in the beginning of the fiscal year from accounts projected to accumulate over the course of a year. We chose to be helpful to partners in mission, even though it was a sacrificial choice for us to make.

As we have provided financial updates over the past year, the running theme has been that our budget was in the black, and we were running a surplus. This dynamic may have motivated some to direct their giving elsewhere.

Although we have been generous to others outside of our church at the beginning of the fiscal year with monies that our projected to accumulate over the course of a year, in every other area of expenditures in the budget we have been right on track or under what is budgeted. So, as we have evaluated the deficit with our finance team, we recognized that our primary challenge to the budget is the giving of those who are part of the church.

We work hard to manage the funds given to the church responsibly, but for the reasons just stated we find ourselves significantly behind as we head into the fall. Our finance team has been gathering, and will continue to provide wise oversight and counsel for the use of the church’s finances.

How should we respond?

First, Pray. Pray with us, with expectant, bold faith that God would continue to provide for what he’s doing at liberti. Pray that this would be an opportunity for our church to grow in our stewardship of the resources God’s given us. Consider fasting to pray for liberti in a concentrated fashion. And pray that God uses us as an agent of great generosity to the city and the world!

Second, prioritize giving as we enter into the fall. It’s crucial, as we are kicking off ministry this fall, that all of us who are a part of liberti prioritize giving regularly, generously, and sacrificially as a response to God’s generosity to us in Christ.

By way of reminder, your giving at liberti is tax-deductible, and we have three different giving options:

Giving during a worship service

Giving through online banking

Giving through our brokerage account

Third, pray and consider how you can help liberti eliminate our operating deficit. Consider how you can help wipe out our shortfall, no matter what your income level. If we all work together, we can immediately address our deficit. If, in addition to our regular giving, we each give as we can, we’d be back on track and positioned to continue to boldly minister to the city and the world this fall.

Consider God’s work among us...

Think with me for a moment at how God has provided, sustained and enabled us to be a church for this place in a matter of just over 2 years. He has morphed us from a small living room of strangers to several hundred people, connected in neighborhood-based groups all across the greater downtown. He has allowed us to send a missionary to Uganda, to give substantial help to local partners in compassionate ministry for those in great need, and he has enabled us to assist in starting a counseling center.

This fall, we’re in the midst of praying and planning to launch a new liberti campus in the  western suburbs of the city, and a number of you are working together to start a school. We expect to multiply and start a number of new home meetings in order to connect people to Jesus and his church.

We often ask the question, what could God do this year? this month? He never ceases to amaze us. All that God has in store for us as a community will only be possible with his grace, and the committed partnership of all who participate in the life of this church.

If you have questions, or would like to further understand the church’s financial landscape, you can email the admin email account (admin@libertichurchcentercity.org), and we will connect you with someone on the finance team who can be of assistance to you.