CEFC Family,
This past Sunday we had our first ever CEFC family meeting,
and the turnout was tremendous. Thank you to all who took the time to
attend. I’d like to give you a quick
synopsis of what was shared by the elders.
Jim Ridderhoff, our head elder, started off the meeting by
sharing some distressing news. For about a year the
offerings to the General fund have not been enough to cover our expenses. The deficit got to the point this fall that we
inadvertently spent funds from the building fund to pay general fund expenses.
Fortunately, the end of the year giving was very good and we have been able to
repay the money borrowed from the Building Fund. We have worked hard to
scrutinize our spending and make wise cuts so that we no longer exceed our
income. As of January, we no longer have the senior pastor’s salary to pay. We also had
to eliminate one full time office position, and put a freeze on all
discretionary spending. We feel these
cuts will allow our current spending to be in line with the income we have
experienced over the last year.
There are several
reasons for the shortfall that we have experienced. For one, the economic
conditions of the past few years have put a strain on all of us. Also, it seems that the Building Fund giving has taken funds out of the General Fund. Basically, over the last year we have traded a $100,000+ surplus in the General Fund for a
$100,000+ balance in the Building fund. The elders feel that this is God
leading us to put a hold on the building project for now. So Jim asked that
anyone who feels led should designate their Building Fund offering to the
General Fund.
One other item that was shared was a need that we have for a
staff position for a full time student ministries pastor. Jim pointed out the excellent job the pastors are doing as they
bring practical and relevant messages on Sundays. So our biggest need at this time is for a
Student Ministries Pastor not a senior pastor. We have been talking to a candidate who is highly qualified to take over our senior high ministry. As we see God providing
through His people we will then take the next steps to adding this much needed position.
The meeting ended with some great questions. I know we were
not able to answer everyone’s questions because of time. And I understand that not everyone feels
comfortable standing up and asking a question in that large group setting but we truly want to answer all your questions. Please feel free to call me or any of
the pastors at 610-488-1243. You can also talk to a pastor or elder on a Sunday morning. Or email
any of us your questions and we will be
happy talk with you. Our emails are Pastor Jon Didden, jon@christefc.net; Pastor Dave Ross, dave@christefc.net; Pastor Mike Measley, mike@christefc.net; Pastor Matt Saxinger, matt@christefc.net; Pastor Bob Kensinger
Jr., bobjr@christefc.net. Please
contact us. We want to answer your
questions and address concerns.
God is working in powerful ways at CEFC. He is using us to
reach people in our community who are far from God. He is working through our
pastors, teachers, and others to help us grow toward full devotion to God. We
look forward to what God will be doing in the future as we follow Him.
Thank you for being part of the faith community at CEFC.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jon Didden
Executive/ children’s pastor
