This past Sunday, we communicated to the congregation how we finished the year in our giving. It was great to be able to tell them that we exceeded our budgeted income by some $288,000! It was a celebration moment, to be sure, and when you have those moments you need to take advantage of them. It's a great time to affirm their generosity and connect them to the vision for the year ahead. David did a great job with that.
But especially when you exceed your budget by a significant margin, it's important to provide context. Exceeding your budget by big margins can have a negative backlash. People need to see the figures in the context of the broader picture of people and ministry--how you used what the Lord provided. The figure below shows how we placed our final figures in the bulletin to give people the big picture. I've heard from many in the congregation how helpful this information was to them.
