Where Should Church Money Go In 2021?
Last month during my meeting with the governing body of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church (The Joint Board), I asked them to think about what ministry could look like for our church in 2021. The experience of this pandemic has drastically changed ministries everywhere. So much of what church used to be is no more, but God is the same and exciting new possibilities are emerging.
For this exercise, I asked Joint Board members to imagine that money wasn't an issue. I asked them to unleash their full creativity and imagination to brainstorm what our church could do next year to be even more responsive to the opportunities and the challenges that we collectively face in this pandemic.
Here are some of their ideas for our church:
Continue mental health sessions
Medicaid and medicare info workshops
Parking lot services
Field trips
Intergenerational sessions between seniors and youth/young adults
Life skills classes (debt management, cooking tutorials, etc.)
Partnership with local Black-owned Pharmacy around health initiatives
In addition to these ideas from the Joint Board of the church, the board of the Pleasant Hope Community Development Corporation (PHCDC) also has ideas. They are exploring the idea of a public health program targeting seniors and the PHCDC Board President, Dr. Kimberly Arnold, has a dream of having a Black-led/owned Health System anchored by Black Churches.
What are your ideas around how our church can pivot and reconfigure in service to God, our community, and our congregation? Imagine for a minute that money doesn't exist and who cares if you've never seen a church do your idea before. Share it! We've never been in a pandemic before either and it just might be time for the church to be something that we've never seen before.
Share your thoughts with me as we're putting plans together for our church for next year. The 2021 church budget is being drafted now and your voice can help shape where church money goes. Let's be bold together!
Email me at pastor[at]pleasanthope.org with your ideas for how our church can faithfully embrace a pandemic-sized pivot!
