State of the Church report

In the spirit of the annual “State of the Union” address that our president will be offering this week, I’d like to offer a “State of the Church” report, which summarizes our 2023 year-end reports that we recently submitted to our conference and that I shared with our Church Council a few weeks ago.

By nearly every measure, 2023 was a strong year. We gained 28 new members (10 by profession of faith and 18 by transfer from another church). We lost 15 members (11 of whom died, 3 transferred to another church, and one withdrew). This yielded a net increase of 13 in our membership, from 1197 to 1210. So far in 2024, we have received 9 new members.

Our average worship attendance continues to bounce back from the pandemic drop. We increased 12% from the previous year from 201 to 226 on average in our weekly worship services. Thank you all who make being present in worship, whether online or onsite, a priority, and who invite others to come worship with you.

Deep spiritual transformation takes place best in our small group ministries. Our number of and participation in small groups (Sunday school classes, Bible studies, fellowship groups, etc.) remained roughly the same, though there were some increases in some areas (children, college and young adults) and decreases in others (youth, women’s groups). Thank you to all who lead or are involved in one or more of our small groups here at the church.

The mission and outreach of our church expanded significantly over this past year. With the launch of the MLK Day of Service, our home repair team, and our partnership with the Signal Mountain recovery ministry, we saw a net increase in our overall opportunities to serve as well as an increase in the estimated number of people serving (200) and the number of people served (600). Our church’s financial support of ministries beyond the local church also increased by 167% for UM-related ministries (like Mustard Tree) and by 29% to non-UM related ministries (like Signal Mountain Social Services). Thanks to all who are the hands and feet of our outreach ministries, and especially to our key leaders in this area – Doranne Lane and Rev. Drew Barton, our Director of Community Connections.

Not only have you shared your time and talents in the ministries of this church, but also your treasure – your financial gifts. Over $1 million was given last year to the work God is doing in and through Signal Crest. We spent 45% more on programming (like Vacation Bible School) and 2% less on operating expenses than we did the prior year, which reflects both increased activity and disciplined spending. Our indebtedness on the Crest center is now down to about $900,000. Both memorial giving and special offerings were up 200% over the prior year. Thanks to your faithful generosity as well as the careful management of these resources, the church realized a net gain of about $100,000 after our expenses for the year, which the Church Council voted to move to our designated fund for replacing the sanctuary roof. Thanks to Allison Maynard and our new treasurer Tom Eiseman for compiling the financial records for this report.

In sum, nearly all the key indicators of a congregation’s health and vitality are trending in a positive direction. Let’s continue to build on this good momentum and strive in all these ways and more to signal Christ here at Signal Crest.