Good morning! For those who don't know me, my name is Johnny Park, and I serve on our church council. My wife Lisa and I, and our 4 children, have been part of this church family for 25 years. You've prayed with us and for us through joys and through hardships. So, thank you for being our church family.

This morning I want to share a brief update on our church finances. As I prayed about today, the Lord brought to mind Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25.

As you know, Jesus tells his disciples a story of a master who entrusts three servants with his money—five talents to one, two to another, and one to the third—each according to their ability. The first two servants put it to work and double it; the third, afraid, hides his in the ground.

When the master returns, he says to the first two—"Well done, good and faithful servants"—not because they had the most, but because they were faithful with what they were given.

He then rebukes the third servant who buried the gift.

This parable tells us the heart of stewardship. God entrusts us with time, talent and treasure, our enthusiasm, creativity, energy. All of them are God's gifts, and he calls us not to hold back or keep it to ourselves, but to put them to work, improve it, and most importantly distribute and use it, for His purposes, to serve His mission and to serve others in need.

Back in June, we, together as a congregation, approved a budget that's about 8% above last year's actual giving. We made that decision intentionally and prayerfully, because we believe in the ministry God's called us to.

We've shared that 8% works out to an additional $56/month per giving household. In other words, if each giving household gave roughly $56 a month more than what they gave last year, we’d be on pace to meet the budget.

Where are we today? As of the end of August (2 months into our fiscal year), our year-to-date giving is about 84% of budget—roughly $25,000 behind.

If that pace didn't change, it would point to a year-end shortfall of about $150,000.

That is not to alarm you. Historically, our giving strengthens November through February as many make year-end gifts. I'm sharing this for clarity, so we can pray and respond together. As Pastor Stacey said, “we need all of us to contribute our piece to the puzzle.”

Not all of us can increase our giving by $56 per month; some can do less, some more.

There are several ways to give. You can give traditionally by dropping your offering in one of the boxes in the lobby, or you can give online in several ways - through our web site, or in our church app.

An easy option is the QR code on the back of the bulletin or on the pews. When you scan it, it takes you to our giving page. There you can choose a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift. Enter the amount, if it's a recurring gift, you can set the frequency and the start date. Then choose a payment method that works for you—bank account, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Venmo.

In closing, I want to thank you again for being part of this church family.

Matthew 25 reminds us that God is the owner, and we are His stewards. He entrusts His resources to us, and He’s calling us to be faithful and generous with what He’s placed in our hands—for His purposes, His mission, and for people in need.

In fact, the fifth distinctive of our church's Rule of Life is GENEROSITY, by which we mean, "We steward faithfully over our financial resources and commit to the discipline of intentional, thoughtful giving to our church community and to generosity in all our relationships."

Church family, thank you for your faithfulness and generosity. May our gracious Father—the Creator, Owner, and Provider of all good things—help us continue to be faithful, diligent, and generous, so that one day we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”