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NSBC FY2011 Budget

Dear Church Family;

It is that time of year to consider North Side’s operating budget for the coming year. As we conclude fiscal year 2010, it will, as was 2009, be remembered as a financially challenging year that the Lord has brought us through in a remarkable way. In the midst of a national recession, He has continued to bless North Side.

We will conclude FY2010 about 1 to 1.5% below budget in contributions. However, contributions are running above the previous year levels. Additionally, expenses will come in around 98% of the budget.  Our Staff, Elders and Finance Committee continue to follow the conservative spending plan adopted last year and will continue under this plan until our economy recovers.

As a result, the recommended budget for FY2011 will remain the same at $2,194,010.00 as it was for FY2010.  A few brief comments:

  • We will continue to reduce administrative expenses to fund ministry and missions.
  • Debt retirement contribution to our loan payment will increase by approximately $8,000 per month beginning in December.
  • Contribution to the Cooperative Program will continue at 10% (a tithe) of undesignated contributions.
  • We continue to watch ministry related expenses and have made some reductions in the budget accordingly.
  • Children’s Ministry expenses dropped significantly as we moved Nursery Workers expense to Personnel category.
  • Personnel budget based on not filling three part time positions, salary adjustments and incorporating nursery workers and estimating an increase in health care costs.

Our Elders and Finance Committee members will be available for questions on Sunday, September 12th from 4:30PM to 5:30PM in the Green Room. We will have a congregational vote of affirmation on Sunday, September 26th in all three adult services.

Thank you for continuing to support the work the Lord is doing through North Side.

Your Elders:  Jeff Lethco, Mike Turner, Eric Bryant, Jerry Rentz, Jason Allen, Ken Petrus, Martin Ridgeway, Jamie Parler, Travis Agnew, Bill Horvath, Scott Davis, Mike Dawkins, Michael George, John McFadden

Finance Committee:  George West, Bryan McCall, Brian Whitaker, Wayne Behrendt

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Busyness…even in ministry.

Yes, even in ministry we can get too busy with the tasks that surround us. As I woke up this morning, these were some of the tasks that I needed to tackle:

  • Check on current health insurance rates,
  • Check with Janet on some payroll stuff,
  • Check with Ben on some monitors for FLC,
  • Follow up with vendor on sound panels for Worship Center,
  • Check with John on results of Chapel sound tests last night,
  • Make decision on health insurance,
  • Finish up budget presentation,
  • Approve this week’s checks,
  • Review my responsibilities in One Initiative,
  • Begin close out of August financial period,
  • Review year end spending needs,
  • Talk to Travis about One Initiative,
  • Talk to Jeff about Elders and Deacons,
  • Talk to Jamie about PLACE,
  • Talk to Cynthia about a Shelby report,
  • Talk to Janet about a couple of financial matters,
  • etc…

…and the list goes on and on. This is how I wake up each morning…with a long list of “to do’s”. I get some accomplished in the course of the day, some are pushed out till tomorrow and others are added to the list. It is more or less a continuous list.

However, today, instead of going to the office…

  • I had breakfast with an old friend and reconnected with him Checked on him to see how he was doing.
  • I went down to the hospital to spend some time with Rachel who was waiting during her husband’s surgery.
  • I went out to Piedmont Agency on Aging and shared a message with some dear friends on…loving God and loving people.
  • I took my friend David down to his house in South Greenwood to get his Bible.

Now it’s just past lunch time…how will I spend the rest of the day?

Tasks must be done…things must be placed in order…Paul told Titus that very thing. However, we can never loose sight of letting the busyness of life get in the way of loving God and loving people.

In Matthew 22, Jesus replied to the lawyer who was questioning Him on the greatest commandment…

Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt 22:37-39 (NKJV)

Hopefully, today…I can continue to be a little less busy with my task list.

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Another Job Seeker’s Prayer…

Another Job Seeker’s Prayer…

Dear God, I place my humble needs before you:
My need to meet my responsibilities in the world and with You.
My need to use my God-given talents and abilities.
My need to fulfill my place here on earth.
…I pray for Your guidance now to show me the way
To the perfect opportunity to do what I love,
To do what I can do well, and what will fulfill
My needs mentally, spiritually, and financially.
Help me to walk in faith as You show me the way!
Thank You, Lord. Amen!

By: Ada Velez

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A Job Seeker’s Prayer…

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come before you, Dear Lord, at a time of trial in my life.  I am seeking honest work so that I may feed myself and my family and continue to meet my commitments to my church and those whom I may owe.

I earnestly pray that you will bless my efforts . . .

That you will give me the strength to continue when my effort seems futile,

That you will guide me in how I spend my time and my energies,

That my idle time will be spent productively, and as a time to come closer to you, Lord, and not a time for temptation to seep into my thoughts and deeds.

That each resume I send out, each phone call I make, each interview I have will be blessed by you.  That you will be by my side and direct my hand, my words, and my actions.

I pray that you will place godly people in my path that can help me, encourage me, and direct my path.

I pray that when I am blessed with choices in the workplace, I will make them in ways that will please you.  And when you provide the job that I so earnestly seek, I will work to the best of the abilities you have given me, so as to glorify you, dear Lord.

I pray that you will not let me suffer financial harm as I seek your will, and I pray that you will bless the efforts of others in similar situations that also look for work.  Help me, I pray, to be a good steward of what you have given me, spending wisely and sparingly in this season of my life.

I know that you have plans for me, not of harm but of peace, and I trust in you O’ Lord.  You are the source of my strength and all blessings.  I ask that you guide me now, in your will.

In Jesus holy name I pray. Amen

By: Ron Damer

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Church Budgets…interesting times…

Church Budgets…interesting times…

Boy oh boy…these sure are interesting times in our economy and trying to put a church budget together in the midst of so much economic uncertainty can really be interesting. Our staff, here at North Side, have been working through the details of our budget for several weeks. In fact, several weeks ago, we had a “budget work day”… fun stuff for me…not necessarily for the rest of the staff. It was interesting though and I might add…very productive!

As we looked towards next year at North Side, we realized that we had to look at the budget through several “lens”. We have:

  • Obligations – Things we are obligated to do.
  • Needs – Things we need to do.
  • Wants – Things we want to do.

We have a very large obligation here at North Side with the new Worship Center…which, by the way, is now three years old. We are moving to build our loan payment into our budget year by year as we end our current capital campaign. In 2012, we will fully fund our loan payments through our operating budget…much like a home mortgage payment.

We also have needs…things that we need to do for the ministries of North Side. It encompasses everything form office supplies… to ministry tools…to supporting local and international missions.

Finally, we also have wants…the things that would be nice to have…things that would be nice to do…all that, no doubt, are valid wants to enhance the ministries of North Side.

Well, I am pleased to say…we are almost there. What at one time looked like an insurmountable task is coming together rather nicely.

We will be proposing a budget that remains the same as last year and the prior year. After much prayer and discussion, it just doesn’t seem to make sense to increase the budget next year…more on that in an upcoming blog post.

We use a zero based budgeting approach here at North Side, so each person responsible for a portion of the budget starts at zero. The budget is built on obligations and needs. Wants are handled separately. Each line item is reviewed by the ministry leader and the department head and a budget request is submitted. When we all get in the room for our budget work day, we work through the entire budget…in essence, we all get on the same page. We add and we subtract. We give and we take. The result…a unified budget that the entire staff understands and supports.

You might ask how we handle the wants…we create a unified “wishlist” of those items. The we prioritize them as a staff. If funds become available, we then address the wishlist.

This stuff isn’t rocket science. It is God at work in His church. Several months ago, as we were heading into the budgeting process, I was a bit apprehensive…next year the same as this year and the same as last year? As I told Jeff a few minutes ago, sometimes, we need to just get out of the way…His way.

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Preparing for a Job Interview…

Here is a great article on preparing for a job interview…

Pre-Meeting Prep: The Five Types of Interviewers

By: NewGradLife

When interviewing for a job, remember that employers often utilize a variety of interviewing styles, and you should be prepared to address any of them. Check out the following link for a summary of the five most common interviewing styles: http://bit.ly/dsIsCb

Here are the five different styles:

1. The Non-stop Talker

2. The Drill Sergeant

3. The Traditionalist

4. The Newbie

5. The Inappropriate Interviewer

Great tips for your next job interview…hope this helps you be prepared.

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My $10 Bicycle…

My $10 Bicycle…here it is…yup, I bought a bicycle for $10. The idea was to spend the least amount of money to get the most amount of exercise (besides the obvious free method of jogging or walking).

The bike had a few deficiencies…no chain, no chain guard, nor fenders…but it looked solid, rolled straight, had reasonable tires that were inflated…and a new paint job. So, I bought it…took it home and proceeded to look for a chain. Ever try to find a used bicycle chain? Almost impossible. I ended up buying a new chain…cost me $12.95…now I more than doubled the cost of the bicycle. But, I easily rationalized that it was OK because the chain is obviously the most important part of the bike and spending a little more on the chain was OK. Made sense to me. Well, now I have it installed and everything is working fine on my $23.95 bicycle.

Only now as I think about it….

  • I can only ride it during warm months wearing shorts…long pants would get caught in the rain.
  • I can only ride in daylight hours…no reflectors or lights…can’t spare the additional cost for these accessories.
  • I can only ride on dry days…no fenders to reflect any surface water.
  • I can only ride it in my neighborhood…I don’t really have the confidence in it to take it on the highway.

As I look at my bicycle now, I think maybe that $88.00 bicycle on special at Wal-Mart wasn’t such an extravagant purchase as initially thought.

It’s a silly story, but isn’t this so true of life? We look at something, see it and want it without weighing the total cost…we rationalize our purchase or commitment…then before you know it…you are committed and invested way over our head…can’t turn back now. This not only applies to out monetary purchases but also our time commitments as well.

Oh well, I hope that you got  a kick out of this little story about me and my $23.95 bicycle. Hopefully, it provided  just a little food for thought for you.

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Looking for a Job?

Looking for a job? Let Our Career Care Ministry help you…

Are you unemployed? Been downsized? Maybe just looking for a career change? Let us see if we can help you.

Each Monday morning, we gather in the Green room in a casual setting to help people find meaningful employment. Here are some of the resources available…

Come join us and let us see if we can help you.

Career Care is a ministry of North Side Baptist Church in Greenwood, SC.  We meet each Monday morning at 8:00am in the Green Room. Check out these and other helpful resources http://northsidebc.org/career-care/

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It Has Been Some Time…

It has been some time…since I posted something on this blog.

I haven’t posted anything recently because I have been spent the last several months listening to God and watching Him at work. I truly think a time of listening to God is very beneficial to our spiritual maturity. The last three to four months has been extremely hard on our son Eric, his wife Cheyanne and our entire family. However, as I look back on the time and the events that have transpired, I have seen the hand of God throughout the journey.

There are times…seasons… in our lives that we need to rest in God, watching and observing Him at work even in the midst of a storm. When we remove the busyness in our lives, we begin to see situations through His eyes rather than our own. The moments alone or with family become a more meaningful time with God. It is these times that he reveals His glory to us.

I am so thankful of the “fighting spirit” that the Lord put in my son Eric…he has fought battle after battle over the past nearly 9 years…never complaining…never giving up. I thank God for Eric’s faith. I also thank God for the life partner and caregiver, Cheyanne, that the Lord brought into Eric’s life. Her love for Eric, her patience and caring spirit is incredible. I thank God for a mother’s love that my wife Gail has towards Eric. A mother’s love is stronger than anything on this earth and Gail demonstrates that every day.

I also thank God for a community of believers that He has placed us in that has been praying for and interceding for Eric and our family

I thank the Lord for His love for me…in spite of all of my weaknesses, mess ups and human frailties. He loves me just the way I am. I thank Him that He is so patient with me, that He waits for me to be still for a season as He strengthens, encourages, matures, teaches and refines me.

So, there is where I have been the past several months. Today, my faith is stronger that it has ever been. How about yours?

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Wisdom from my son…

I received this from my son the other day. Pretty interesting perspective from a a young man that has been battling cancer and related health issues for over 8 1/2  years!

“The Will of God will never take you to a place where the Grace of God will not protect you.”

Tremendous wisdom from a young man that has been through so much.

Enough said.

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