On 15 November, members will be voting on our budget for 2027. What will Jesus think about our budget? If our budgets reveal our values, then what will our church’s budget say about our priorities as a church? Pastor Eugene shares about what our budget should communicate, as well as the the aspirations for us as a church.
“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor 9:10-11)
How we spend (or not spend) our money reveals what we value. If we prize material wealth, we will devote our money to acquiring more and nicer earthly possessions. If we value comfort, we will happily spend on things that give us pleasure and make our lives easier. If we cherish security, our budgets are likely to reflect our anxieties about the unknown. We will regard money as a means of securing greater safety and certainty for ourselves. Jesus summed up the connection between money and values in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
On 15 November, we will be voting on our budget for 2027. What will Jesus think about our budget? If our budgets reveal our values, then what will our church’s budget say about what we cherish and prioritise as a church?
I pray our budget communicates that we treasure Christ, His gospel, and His people. In line with Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all nations, our church has four aspirations: We aspire to be Christ-like and shaped by the gospel. We aspire to gather regularly as a church, expressing our unity through how we love and serve one another. We aspire to grow by discipling one another in God’s word, so as to be trained and sent for the gospel. We aspire to go with the gospel, through evangelism and missions, with the ultimate aim of planting and strengthening local churches. To this end, we seek to foster deep and thick gospel partnerships with other local churches, especially in Singapore and across Asia.
Our budget reflects these aspirations. We will continue to support the preaching and teaching of God’s word. The church’s giving enables the staff elders to devote ourselves fully to the ministry of God’s word, to feed God’s flock with his truth. As Galatians 6:6 says, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” By funding the ministry staff and the traineeship, the church is also investing in and raising up a new generation of gospel workers to serve Christ. For example, our budget allows us to take on five trainees a year. This may sound modest, but it can be used by God to grow the gospel beyond us.
We will continue to support the growth of the gospel through evangelism. Our evangelistic efforts to the surrounding community, such as the neighbouring housing estates, the migrant workers and Gladiolus Place, are helped by our hospitality. Our generosity helps ensure that our non-Christian friends and visitors feel welcome. In this way, our budget communicates Christ-like love for others.
We will also continue to support the growth of the gospel through partnerships with faithful workers and other local churches. Our annual Weekender is a key part of this. Why support the Weekender, which appears to directly benefit other churches more than our own? We do so because we care about the growth of the gospel in other places, not just in our own church. Indeed, such generosity is shaped by the very gospel we proclaim. Paul exhorts us in Philippians 2:4-5, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” The church at Philippi exemplified this by their support of the apostle and of other churches. Many of the church leaders who attend the Weekender come from hard places. Their churches have only a fraction of the material resources that God has so graciously entrusted to us. Our generosity in hosting these leaders and helping them to cover some of the costs involved in being with us goes a long way. These leaders return to their home churches refreshed and encouraged to press on in faithful gospel ministry. Local churches across Asia benefit. In this way, our generosity helps grows the gospel in the region.
At the heart of our budget is this core aim: Grace Baptist Church hopes to be a net-exporter of gospel ministry. We long to see faithful gospel ministry flourish elsewhere, through Bible-believing, gospel-preaching local churches around Asia. More than just meeting our own needs, our budget seeks to encourage the growth of the gospel by strengthening workers and churches elsewhere. Undoubtedly, such open-handedness will stretch our faith and enlarge our hearts. I pray that we as a church will grow in such gospel generosity. God works through our budget to sanctify us and make us more like Jesus.
Finally, take heart, beloved. We can trust God to provide for us. Paul reminds us of this precious truth in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11: God will supply and multiply our seed for sowing and increase the harvest of our righteousness. Faithful stewardship means wisely sowing — not hoarding — our resources to grow the gospel here and beyond. And, even more than growing the gospel, this engenders praise to God. We can trust God to enrich us in every way to be generous in every way, with the goal of producing thanksgiving to God. Our material giving is a part of how we worship God with our whole lives. May our budget reflect a generous, worshipful heart that seeks the glory of God.