First fruits for 2025!
Author: Pastor Mitch Williams
January 31, 2025
On Monday of this week, your church held a business meeting to discuss and ultimately approve the 2025 “Church Family Budget.” Every household ideally operates from a budget, and the same is true for our church. Every household and every church must ensure that expenses do not exceed income. Unfortunately, in 2024, we fell short of our annual budget by approximately $27,000. This means we had to pull from our savings to cover the deficit.
The income of our church is supported exclusively by your freewill offerings. Tithes are an entirely different donation that go exclusively to support the employees of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The offering called the “Church Family Budget” is dedicated purely to the financial needs of The Hill. Without your support, there would be no ministries, no outreach, and no employees like our janitor, Walter, or our administrative assistant, Teresita.
This year, our monthly budget is set at $30,528. You may wonder: what specifically does such a large budget cover? The Church Family Budget supports every ministry offered at The Hill, such as hospitality, potlucks, children and youth ministries, subsidies for Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy, Sabbath School teaching materials, AV, the Food Pantry, the Shower Trailer Outreach, evangelism programs, and much more!
The Bible tells us to “honor God … with the first of your increase.” We are to give God the first dollar, to give Him our first payment, when we receive our wages, profit, bonus, gift, or any other increase. Yet, when I was younger, I would bargain with God: “Lord, wait, let me make all my other payments, and then I’ll see if there is anything left for You.” But God says, give me the first payment: first a tithe and then an offering. Make those your first priority. When I finally understood that command, I also received God’s blessings and overflow!
This year, please remember our Church Family Budget with your monthly, systematic giving! If everyone contributes from their increase, the Lord will bless us as a church and bless you as a giver! May His offerings bring spiritual growth to our community for the cause of Christ! Thanks for your financial partnership in 2025!
“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
– Proverbs 3:9-10
BACK