Introducing U.P. (Unleashing Potential)

 “The seed that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and commit themselves to it with a good and upright heart. Through their resolve, they bear fruit.” (Luke 8:15)

NOTE: The following is the content of a communication shared with our congregation about our stewardship journey during the month of October 2020…

While 2020 has certainly been an unprecedented year for everyone, due to the continued support and generosity of people like you, our church is in good overall financial shape, tracking very closely to our original annual financial goals. We know that we’ll continue to have challenges to manage, but our staff and lay leadership are up to these, and we are excited about the future that God has in store for us as we move into 2021! To prepare for this future, we wanted to share with you our plans for this year’s October stewardship journey.

While many people think of stewardship as a way to plan a financial budget for the coming year, it actually involves much more than this because it also includes forms of participation such as prayer,  small group participation, worship attendance (in person and/or virtual), financial giving, service/missions/outreach, sharing our faith, and others.  You may recognize these as our United Methodist vows.  This year’s journey will be called “U.P. – Unleashing Potential”, and through it we’ll all be invited to unleash our potential for God by being good stewards of these and other forms of participation.

So, how will this year be different? Traditionally, we ask every member/family to fill out and turn in a commitment card, used to help formulate a church budget for the coming calendar year.  Due to this year’s unique context and challenges, however, we do not feel this to be appropriate for our preparation for 2021.  Instead, we are inviting you to sit down with your family and discuss your financial commitment to God for next year through McKendree UMC.  Then, print an U.P. commitment card (find and download it HERE) in one of two ways as a personal tool/reminder of that commitment:

            ● You can keep it at home with you as a personal reminder of your promised commitment.

            ● Alternately, if you would like for us to confidentially help hold you accountable for your commitment by including it on your contribution statement, you can still turn it in to the church office.

Regardless of your choice, our staff and finance leaders will use their knowledge and understanding of our church’s current giving patterns to put together a responsible 2021 budget for our church.

In addition to how you choose to use your personal commitment card, we also want to invite you to do one of two things related to your actual financial generosity:

            ● Please continue to give faithfully to the work of God through McKendree UMC through one of the many ways we have (online, text-to-give, bank bill-pay, mailed check, or dropped in our secure church mailbox outside the Fellowship Hall).

            ● If you are able to increase your annual giving to help offset the giving of those who’ve been negatively impacted by this crisis, we invite and encourage you to do that, as well.

If you’ve experienced financial challenges this year, we understand if you feel that you are needing to cut back your financial giving next year.  However, you can still give in other ways:  through your prayers; your “presence” (online or in-person); your service to others; and through how you share your faith with others.  If this is your situation, know that we love you as part of our family, and want to do everything we can to support you (If you have needs, please contact Pastors Brian or Paula to confidentially discuss how we can help you during this time).

Regardless of your situation or circumstance, remember that stewardship is about more than just money.  It’s about unleashing our potential (U.P.) for God through the various ways we participate in the work and ministry of our lives in and through God’s church.  While this is certainly a challenging time in history, we are convinced that God has blessed McKendree UMC, and that – with your support – we’ll continue to have an important and vital role to play in sharing Christ and His love with our community and world. 

Will you continue to be part of that work?