Treasurer’s Report

In 2022 we’ve come out of the pandemic and returned to full ministry, we’ve experienced significant staffing changes, and we’ve seen amazing growth in children’s and other ministries. The trustees are also very grateful for and encouraged by the generosity of the congregation since, as mentioned, November and December saw record donations.

We are very blessed to have ended the year with a small excess of revenue over expenses of $18,000. While offerings for 2022 were $2.26 million, about $78,000 short of the budget, there were also significant savings in the budget, leading to the excess. We are so grateful to end the year with a General Fund surplus of $495,000. The trustees are also very thankful for the wonderful staff who have worked extremely hard for God’s Kingdom through challenging times and have faithfully and effectively managed the resources given them to balance the budget.

It was a challenging year for our investments. It’s very rare that there is a sell-off in both the equities and bond markets at the same time, as we have experienced this past year. We’ve ended the year with an unrealized loss on investments of $355,000, which was partially offset by investment income of $115,000. The good news is, thanks to the investment gains over the prior years, the Bequest Fund is still positive. We have not lost any of the principal invested, and still have a 3% gain since the beginning of the investment fund.

Looking ahead, we pray that God will continue to bless and transform us as we follow His call to be a sending and receiving church. We look forward to supporting the King’s Cross church plant and pray that through them many in their community will come to know and love Jesus. We look forward to receiving and loving the Akhtari family as Jesus receives and loves us. You can financially support these Gospel initiatives by donating to the King’s Cross Church Plant and Refugee fund on the St. John’s website.

The 2023 operating budget will be a little lower than in 2022, primarily due to staffing changes related to the church plant. The budgeted offerings are $2.2 mil and the expense budget is $2.7 mil. The draw from the Bequest Fund will be $456,000, also slightly lower.

- Eli Sullivan