a bill? the church sent you an invoice for what you "owe"? what did you owe money for? did you purchase books or something?
So..... is it free for the community to use this indoor playground on a rainy day (perhaps I can be "saved" afterall).
the bill It stated what I agreed to pay per month for the dream campaign plus what I was paying towards tithes. It had the total amount of $3k that I agreed topay towards the dream. Then it had less the amount I had already paid that was earmarked. Then it had the balance that was to be paid by the certain date. The playground thing. At that service Pastor Matt said that they decided to install an indoor playgound & the N& O stated the same. Smething like Mcdonalds playland He said that they did not account for this in the $12 million budget so please give another offering today so that we can put the money towards this
No, dangerboy, LI-bratz did not receive any bill. The most this church or any other would have done was send a person an update on their donations and perhaps compared it to what that individual had already committed to give toward an extra fund beyond their regular tithe.
this was not the quartley statement that I received. To church member: Here is what you agreed to pay towards the dream campaign $3000.00. You agreed to pay $25.00 per month over the next three years. $3000.00 -$1500.00 already paid balance remaining $1500.00 payable by the end of term this was signed by Ken Stephenson A.A. to the church This was not my quartley statement for my records This was a letter sent to church members at that time during the 1st originaly phase of the Dream Campaign
they keep track of that? i thought "passing the plate" was done anonymously. if you write checks, you've already got a record. ok, keeping track of how much you've given sounds a little creepy to me. is that how they measure your faith?
I was typing while LI_bratz was posting. See, I was right. They didn't send you a "bill". They sent you an update on where you stood with your prior commitment. I see nothing wrong with that. You were trying to lead people to believe something totally different. (Liar, liar, pants on fire!!!) The coffee shop and bookstore will be open to the public. I believe their eventual plan is to be able to staff it so they can be open throughout the week as well.
Dangerboy, this is what all churches this size MUST do to keep in accordance with the law. It's not "creepy", it's called bookkeeping. That's all.
I have been told the indoor playground will also be open to the public with proper supervision. But don't quote me on this. Someone could call the church office to find out for sure.
Obviously you can't keep tabs on the loose cash. But in my experience with other churches, attendees fill out an offering envelope (if they want to) with appropriate information. In addition, I believe I saw on thier website, as well as other churches' websites, the ability to give online.
Most churches provide statements to identified givers for tax purposes. If you just put cash in the collection plate, obviously that's anonymous. But if you write a check, or if you put the cash in an envelope with your name on it, then you should get a statement at the end of the year showing how much you gave for the year. Many churches ask members to pledge a certain amount monthly or weekly, and they may send quarterly statements that compare actual giving to the amount pledged so the member can see whether they are on track.
Again for clarification, It is not going to be a real Starbucks. Starbucks requires way to many thing to be in a certain area they have to know that a consistent flow of people will be going by there and it has to be a very high number (not sure what it is off hand). It is simply be a regular coffee shop that sells Starbucks product, just like if you went to Target and bought Starbucks beans and brewed them yourself then your house wouldn't be a Starbucks. Hope this helps out
Obviously you don't go to church or have not been in quite awhile and if you do, you do things quite the "old fashioned" way. So, please, don't go bashing (C3 or any other) before you ask a decent question. Don't be rude or defensive and most are more than happy to answer your question. Answer: When a church "passes the plate" (and a plate shows a lack of faith, most churches use a bucket of sorts), you don't just throw money in the plate when it whizzes by like a frisbee. There are offering envelopes to fill out with your name and amount written on the outside of it. One reason for this is so that you may recieve a statement at the end of the year for tax purposes. It is required of the church to do this, now. It also makes it alot easier for the accounting department to count what is there and keep better records of what comes in. Since most people don't write checks anymore, it is alot harder and time consuming to count cash.
Even better dangerboy, I just checked out the website and you can sign up for recurring debits from your checking account, isn't that neato? Blus, plates can be empty and refilled ya know. Whenever I have gone to church with my grandparents (a small baptist church in Spotslyvania County, Va) brass plates are passed down each row. I think a brass plate, while old-fashoned, is much classier than a bucket. Hey, I just came up with a great idea! Mobile CC Swipers, just pass those down the rows. I wonder if C3 is gong to have an ATM machine on site, so people can get cash out for their Starbucks or purchases fromthe bookstore. Anybody see Carpoolers last night? Guy was charging 8 bucks a transaction! It looks like a nice facility, and I will enjoy using the indoor playspace (for free!), but what is up with the ugly "steeple"? Again, WWJC? (What would Jesus claim (on his taxes))
First off, idiot, get my name right. Something as simple as that isn't beyond your limited mental capabilities, is it? I thought my post was very polite. I was simply asking for clarification over this. I keep hearing how bad this church is (especially from people who do not attend), I'm just wondering what they do that's so bad. Second, no one, and especially me, did not say you could not post whatever you want. We here at 4042 host an entire range of babbling. Yours isn't even close to some of the annoying garbage that's been posted here. Finally, what sort of harm did the church do? Did they promise that someone in your family was going to Heaven and then renege?
Now, wait.....not nitpicking here but were you not one of the few fussing about the amount of money that the church spends on stupid stuff? Why spend the money on some "classy" brass plates when you can go down to KFC for free and get a few chicken buckets and spray paint them? Not classy but it saves a few bucks AND it holds more! Alot classier than passing a heavy brass plate that, even empty, the little old lady at the end of the row can't hardly pick up and having the usher holding a garbage bag at the end of the row and having him dump it in there as he moves to the next row. Heck, the last church I went to (and I may be going back) did not pass any buckets, plates, baskets...whatever. They had baskets placed throughout the sanctuary and you could get up at any time and place your offering in a basket near you. No prayer for the offering except at the end of the service for those that had given. They never asked for money at all during the service. They simply asked that if you wanted to give, to do it anytime before, during or after the service. Does Spotslyvania County really exist? I thought it was more of a cartoon reference! :lol:
