Jun 26, 2019
By Rob Appel
Executive Director
This is my last article in the Sabbath Recorder (SR) as your standing Executive Director of the SDB Conference of the USA and Canada. Because it is the last one, I plan to make it very informative—and I hope that it motivates you to think more about your giving along with the reason(s) you give to our Conference Ministries.
When I started in 2004, we had a communication mailer called the Lead Line. In the Lead Line, the Conference would post the member churches and their giving to the budget. This would also sometimes get posted in the SR. However, we stopped posting that information due to the sensitivity of some churches that were contributing only a little, and some not contributing at all.
Every year I ask Jan Ehlers, the Financial Assistant at the SDB Center in Janesville, WI, to give me an annual report on the giving. This is for only the “Top 50” givers. Included in this report are churches as well as individuals. Yes! We have individuals out-giving many of our churches! With this information, I compare from year-to-year to see if there are any trends that surprise me. There are always surprises!
The biggest surprise, however, is more often information I receive by direct communication. There are churches that choose to contribute little or nothing towards our budget— yet when asked, they are aware of benefits they receive from Conference ministries. I have asked some of the leaders of these churches, “Why don’t you contribute?” The surprising answer is, “Because you don’t tell us what to give” or “You don’t invoice us, so we don’t send anything in.” My response is always the same, “Our SDB beliefs encourage each individual and church to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their financial decisions of giving. As individuals and churches see the benefits from the ministries of the Conference, we ask that they put something in their budget that supports those efforts.”
There has been talk among the General Council that we might need to bring back the information once shared in the Lead Line, so that maybe it would get the attention of a church or its members. There has also been talk that we could share the names of the individuals along with their contributions (of course, with their permission to do so— many of these individuals like to remain anonymous and we will always honor that). For example, Cheri and I have consistently been in about the 20th position in giving over the past 10 plus years. Our giving to the Conference is above our tithe to the local churches we support and in addition to other ministries. We learned long ago that you cannot out-give God. In the past, I have written to you to try. Remember the 90-day challenge? God always blesses a tithed income!
So, having written all of this, we (myself and the General Council) would like to challenge every member to look at your personal finances and your church’s budget. Where could you do something? Let’s make a transformation in the ministry that we all do together! If a church needs an “invoice,” then please consider THIS your invoice without a dollar amount attached to it. If you need a suggested amount, start by studying the many Bible verses regarding tithing. What you give thereafter is up to your conscience with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Having titled this article “The Last Dance”—it’s time to waltz out of here. Once again,
I would like to say, “Thank YOU!” for all of your support during my tenure. Additionally, I would say “Thank YOU!” in advance for your support of Carl Greene, your new incoming Executive Director. May God use Carl greatly, giving him many years of blessings and wise guidance during his tenure.
God bless you all!
Carl Greene will start writing for the SR in October. Look for it!