Since we first made the online question form available to our church family, we have received three (3) inputs, including this one.  We have responded to each of these queries via email, and addressed some of the questions during one of our Wednesday Prayer and Vision Nights with the church family.

The Pastor Search Committee is working with the Baptist Search Partners, the company the church has hired to assist us during our lead pastor search, to establish the process and criteria to search for our next lead pastor.  This committee has spent considerable time in prayer (and appreciates the many prayer partners throughout the church) as they carry out this important responsibility.  They also spent a full day with the Baptist Search Partners to establish the core expectations of any lead pastor candidate.  They are united in seeking the man God has prepared to serve in this role, and will rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading throughout the process.  Ultimately, the committee and the elders will present their recommendation to the church for a final vote before we call our next lead pastor.  The church will have the opportunity to learn more about this candidate and hear him preach on a Sunday morning before being asked to vote.  Please continue to pray for your Pastor Search Committee members and the man God has prepared for us.  We are excited to see this process through to its conclusion.

The church approved our current commitment level to the Mercy Hill Collaborative when the fiscal year (FY) 25 (August 2024 – July 2025) budget was approved by vote last year.  As announced during our last church business meeting, the elders have chosen to operate under a continuing resolution at the start of this new FY, while committing to present an updated budget proposal for a church vote before Christmas.  While operating under this continuing resolution, the church is still providing approximately 2% of its receipts to the Mercy Hill Collaborative.  Shirley Hills Baptist Church is not “contractually” obligated to continue giving to this ministry and can stop the giving at any time.  The elders are prayerfully considering how to address this ministry as part of the budget they are updating in partnership with the Finance and Personnel Committees.  The church will have an opportunity to vote on this proposed budget when it is presented at a business meeting prior to Christmas.

Unlike most family and personal budgets which are often built around known annual incomes, a church budget has the challenge of trying to anticipate giving levels.  A church can choose to establish a budget with significant “stretch goals” built on anticipated increases in giving throughout the year, or it can build a more conservative budget based on little, or no, actual growth in giving.  For the past several years, Shirley Hills Baptist Church has approved budgets with significant stretch goals included in the budget.
Even with such a budget in place, the church staff and elders operate very conservatively, ensuring they only authorize expenditures that are aligned with the currently projected giving receipts.  This has allowed us for many years to remain under or near our budget with annual outlays.  The church also maintains several cash accounts to allow for unexpected expenses (for facilities and maintenance, for example) that help prevent significant impact on our daily operations.  Finally, the church has an exceptional credit rating and has access to low-interest line of credit loans, if needed.  At this time, the church is debt-free, has cash on hand in several accounts, and operates with conservative principles to remain within the giving levels.

Per our Constitution and By-Laws, Shirely Hills Baptist Church operates on an annual budget.  The elders are responsible to build a proposed budget (often in consultation with the Finance and/or Personnel Committees) and present it to the church for a vote each year.  The elders have been discussing more visionary opportunities for investments in ministries, personnel, and campus improvements, and look forward to sharing that vision as they firm up those ideas.  As always, the elders welcome input from church members on where God might be leading us to better carry out the mission of His church.

Thank you for bringing this suggestion to the staff and elders.  Shirley Hills Baptist Church certainly has a history of displaying the cross on and behind the stage, as well as in the lobby, on the spire atop the sanctuary, and in other locations (including digitally on the website).  The cross evokes the perfect sacrifice of our savior, Jesus Christ, and the empty cross shows that He no longer hangs on that instrument of torture and death, but instead now sits at the right hand of His Father until He returns again to collect His church.  We will prayerfully consider options to incorporate this imagery (and other appropriate displays) as part of our church facility.

These answers will be provided back to the individual who asked them, and many of these questions (with answers) will also be posted on the church website’s “family page,” so others can benefit from the great questions that were asked.