Finance Update: 2025 Outcome and 2026 Forecast

With January behind us, I figured it was time to bring the congregation up to date on how we closed out 2025 and what we’re forecasting for 2026 in terms of our church operating budget.

We had a good month in terms of donations in December, so we ended 2025 with a net loss of $12,000. This is better than we expected, which is good. However, our beloved Little Lambs & Ivy had a rough year with two brand new day care facilities opening in our area. LLI lost students and staff to the sparkling new facilities, which had a huge impact on their financials for last year. They made their annual contribution to SUM to cover their share of utilities and custodial costs, but their net loss exceeded $54,000. That’s a combined loss of $66,000 for 2025! Yikes…

We’re hopeful that LLI will be able to bounce back, but it may take a few years. Also, our stewardship campaign fell short, and I’m projecting a $50k loss for 2026. That negative number will be worse if LLI is unable to make their payments to the church that cover their portion of expenses. This is quite a bummer, to say the least.

We are looking at ways to save, but only 9% of our operating budget expenses are discretionary, so we already run pretty lean. We will continue to provide quarterly updates.

My ask to all of you is if you feel so inspired to increase your pledge for 2026, please let us know. Likewise, if you can throw a bit extra in the plate every now and then, every little bit helps.

With Hands Folded in Prayer,
Jen Acheson & Your SUM Finance Team