Reading Reports

I have been reading stacks of reports produced by our many AGMs. This is one quick way to learn about the church as most ministries would write two kinds of reports, one for the ministry carried out throughout the year and the other financial report. Multiplied by 5, I have 10 reports on my desk. Reading financial and budget reports can be illuminating to the state of the church, to say the least. Not that we can equate a spiritually healthy church as one that is wealthy and if that is the case 90% of Singaporean churches would be experiencing revivals at present. Reading Revelation tells us that Jesus praised two churches in Asia Minor and both happened to be poor and rebuked a rich church for being poor spiritually and wretched.
For a small town church I am impressed by the state of finances as at most there are 50 working adults that have can make contributions to the church. For them to engage me as their pastor is already an act of faith on their part since my salary takes up a significant part of the budget. As far as growth is concerned we have reached our limit due to space and 3 years ago they were already talking about renting a 3-unit shoplot but at the end it did not happen. As we are building a new church building adjacent to the pastor's house and as church finances are tied to the building project, there is little chance we will move to bigger premises in the next year or two. Hence, I will focus more on spiritual and not numerical growth and ministering to the 200 souls or more that come through the church's gates every Sunday.

Reading reports makes me realize that this little church has grown to what it is today because lay leaders and church members as a whole have played a vital part in all forms of ministry. As we face increasing challenges internally and externally, it is timely that the knowledge of God's Word increases among members. Further, there is this new generation of youths and children, the Gen Y and Z of today that needs to be taught the ways of the Lord and equipped for the work of the ministry.