Summer, for all of us, is a time when expenses seem to rise dramatically. I know that’s true in my household. You look at your Texas summer air conditioning bill and wonder if you need to take out a second mortgage on the house. It’s prime vacation time, and that’s expensive. The kids have church camp and other activities. It’s also a time of big spending at church…and for some of the same reasons: utility bills, church camps, trips and activities.

Unfortunately, this often results in a double whammy for the church budget: big summer expenses/low summer contributions. This was very true this summer. Giving was very healthy going into the summer, but dropped drastically toward the end of summer going into the fall. Just take a look at last week’s contribution in the bulletin this week.

This is a generous church. However, a lot of us have fallen behind in what we had planned to give. I know I have. So, I want to make a plea for all of us to catch up in our giving. And if you can afford to kick in a little extra, our church budget could really use it!