Though it’s the middle of the summer, we as a staff are finalizing our fall plans and ministry priorities for our upcoming program year. After taking a few weeks to breathe at the close of the school year, our Missions Month in May, and adjusting to Pastor Rob being on sabbatical, we first turned our attention toward growing and developing our capacity as staff leaders. Our staff are currently finishing up a small group study focused on developing how we lead ourselves, our teams, and our church and ministries, flowing from the principles found in 1 Peter 5:2-4. 

This summer I’ve been so thankful for all of our Sunday service teachers who continue to lead us through the Book of James, as well as the many of you who have volunteered (or will volunteer) on a Sunday in a Kids classroom as part of Summer Serve. There have also been many meetups aimed at connecting Browncrofters with one another this summer and developing our “Community Nurtured” value.

And we are excited for our plans this fall: for many of us to reclaim regular Sunday Service, Small Group, Youth Group, and Celebrate Recovery gathering rhythms. This fall throughout each ministry of our church, we will be focused on our vision marker of becoming more “Spirit-Shaped” as a church.  This means spending a more focused approach on how scripture, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines impact our lives as Christ-followers. On Sundays and in our Small Groups we will be taking a closer look at the Book of Revelation and how the seven early churches in the first few chapters both reflect and can help shape our church today. (And if you aren’t in a Small Group yet, the fall is a great time to start! Visit our Groups page to read about the different types of groups offered, including our ten-week Rooted program.)

Additionally, for some of us, this summer season has brought new challenges. We are planning to run both Financial Peace University (FPU) and DivorceCare this upcoming fall. On top of Celebrate Recovery, these are two highly recommended programs aimed at helping you recover or strengthen financial and relational healing and freedom. Please check out our Events page to sign up for either of these fall ministries. 

And lastly, as we head into the final month of our fiscal year ending August 31st, we are looking to end our year strong. Currently we are behind in both our general operations and missions’ budgets by a total of about 5% – or about $200,000. This does not reflect a gap in our expenses, but the congregationally approved budget at the beginning of the fiscal year. 

We are incredibly thankful to those of you who give faithfully and live out our discipleship marker of “Uncommon Generosity” by giving to Browncroft and other gospel-centric ministries.  As we do our best to manage our budget dynamically, we are currently reimagining or delaying some desired forward-thinking staff hires, facility modernizations, and potential programs to ensure good stewardship of the resources God has provided. Would you please consider an end of fiscal year gift to further the ministry of Browncroft? We desire to end this year with our giving exceeding our necessary expenses for the fiscal year, which will ready ourselves for continued expected inflation increases for sustained ministry, and for the financial ability to expand the ministry of Browncroft in the year ahead.  

Also, as most giving to Browncroft is through online recurring giving, I encourage you to set up a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly gift to ensure a planned and prayerful approach to generosity at Browncroft. You can do this by clicking here. If you need assistance setting up or revising a recurring gift, please contact myself or our Finance Coordinator at peggy@browncroft.org.

Thank you for your continued faithfulness and partnership to the ministry of Browncroft. I’m praying for us as a church as we look to close the fiscal year strong and launch into the fall stronger as a church. 

–Jason Harris