This year alone, through the combined strength of the Association, we have been involved with such varied ministries as the Franklin Graham Festival, Leadership Training, Christian concerts, area-wide youth events, Music Camp, English as a Second Language to internationals living in the Bedford area, the River Rock church plant, disaster and hunger relief, VBS, foreign mission trips, and CenterFest.

Through our local office we minister to our churches. At times it may be to supplement local training or teaching, and many are the opportunities taken to research some question or need a local congregation or member might have. News from around the area, state, nation, and world is disseminated through the Spirit newsletter and our World Wide Web presence at www.sbava.org. On other occasions the staff assists with preaching or pulpit supply. When called upon we confidentially minister to churches without pastors and to pastors and staff in times of personal crisis.

Most of us are unaware of all the tasks undertaken by the Strawberry Baptist Association and its representatives, but it demands careful coordination and commitment in order to carry out the many responsibilities of Association life. Without the sacrifices of volunteers and the loaning of church facilities and equipment for the ministry, our level of involvement would quickly grind to a halt.

A very crucial part of a healthy association also involves financial support. The beauty of this kind of cooperative effort is that many churches may contribute a very small percentage of their local income so that when combined with the gifts of other congregations it becomes a substantial amount sufficient to meet the challenges of ministry opportunities throughout the year.

In 1988 our churches adopted the proposal that each congregation contribute 5% of its annual budget in order to carry out the work of the ministry. (This was amended in 1992 to 5% of undesignated receipts.) The strategy for reaching this goal was that churches giving less than 3% increase by 1% annually until 3% was reached. Those churches already giving 3% or more would then increase their giving by 1/2% per year until they reached a minimum of 5%. The plan was for all of our churches to be at the 5% level by 1998.

Unfortunately, many of our churches have not found their way to share to that extent in the financial aspect of the associational ministry. For that reason our giving has come up quite short during the past two years, and the only way we have been able to meet obligations has been to use money that had been saved during the time the Association was without a full-time DOMM and had very few ministries taking place.

As we examine our budget needs for 2004 and our current rate of giving, we face some very critical questions that concern our future as an association of Baptist churches. Unless we rally together and contribute financially to the work, we will be unable to continue our ministries at their present level. We cannot rely upon our reserves much longer. If we desire to continue, our member churches must increase their giving.

The good news is that, compared to last year, budget giving through August has risen more than $5,000, with one or two churches voting to increase their gifts to the Association. The urgency, however, is that all of our churches offer the recommended support if we are to meet our budget requirements.

Please prayerfully consider the financial needs before us, and encourage your congregation to put into action the 1992 recommendation. If what we are about as an association of churches is truly of God, and you recognize the importance of cooperative ministry, then share this concern with others of your congregation, and let's join together so we might be able to properly fund the many needs at our door.

Prayerfully submitted,
SBA Budget Committee