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Financial Report 2025

As we all continue to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world here at Advent, the Finance Committee would like to provide a financial update as of the end of 2025. In this regard, the following is a snapshot of Advent’s financial results for 2025, with year 2024 results included for comparative purposes:

	Calendar Year 2025	Calendar Year 2024
Congregational Giving (Net of Fees)	$1,605,000	$1,709,000
Other Income	$56,000	$9,000
Expenses	($1,922,000)	($1,982,000)
Net Deficit	($261,000)	($264,000)

Unrestricted Cash Reserves	$790,000	$996,000

Turning to Advent’s 2026 stewardship campaign, AWAKEN, resulted in 177 pledges totaling $1,118,500, a quite favorable campaign compared to 2025 with 124 pledges totaling $850,500. In 2026, we have 25 new member pledges totaling $49,200. For members who pledged in both 2025 and 2026, we saw an 11% increase in their pledges in 2026. Many people are faithful and consistent givers, even though no formal pledge is submitted. We continue to be encouraged by our growth in attendance and its projected incremental giving. The Finance Committee has aggressively projected and budgeted 2026 giving at $1,850,000, a 15% increase over our actual 2025 giving of $1,605,000.

For 2026, our budgeted spending has been set at $2,053,000. Compared with our budgeted giving, we plan to consume $203,000 of our Operating Reserves in 2026 to cover expenses. This situation represents the third year in a row that we will use our savings to cover our projected spending.

Advent has been blessed to have Operating Reserves available. We began 2025 with $996,000 and ended 2025 with $790,000. If Advent’s 2026 revenue and expense equal the budgeted forecast, this balance will drop to $587,000 at the end of 2026. We will once again closely monitor our giving and spending as we balance the need to spend to make disciples and grow our church while also preserving as much savings as possible. We will make this journey together!

Thank you for your generosity and support of Advent UMC with your time, talents, gifts, service, and witness. We are excited about what God has planned for Advent in the coming years and look forward to working alongside each of you to make God’s plan a reality. We ask that you pray for Advent daily as we make decisions to further God’s kingdom here on earth.

Phil Pirovitz, Treasurer

Leah O’Neal, Finance Committee Chair

Grateful Initiative

“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.” – 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NRSV)

The primary goal of the GRATEFUL Initiative is to help all of us in our growth as disciples by reminding us of all that we have to be GRATEFUL for in Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us and the faithful response that that requires of us. Our hope is that everyone will take their next faith step in financial giving by placing trust in God through extravagant generosity. Sharing God’s gifts enables our great church to expand ministry impact and realize all we have to be GRATEFUL for.

Click the Grateful Image above to view the booklet for the Grateful Initiative!

FAQ’s

Your financial gifts allow Advent to share the good news of Jesus Christ as we set out to accomplish our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Your financial gift will fortify plans for fostering personal spiritual growth and expanding our ability as a congregation to make a kingdom impact in our community, region and all the world. The GRATEFUL Initiative is asking all of us to pledge our giving to our missional and ministry initiatives, multi-campus expansion, capital improvements as well as the general operating budget of Advent. This new GRATEFUL Initiative combines the needs of the annual ministry operating budget and the over-and-above giving opportunity of our congregation into one simple, straightforward twenty-four month financial commitment.

Our church family’s generosity is the reason Advent is able to carry out or mission and all that accompanies every discipleship effort. The founders of Advent made a commitment to dedicate at least 10% of our annual operating budget to missions. To provide a few examples, your generosity provides houses for those transitioning out of homelessness (Homes of Hope/United Ministries), meals for children who would otherwise not eat over the weekends (Backpack Blessings), provisions for our partners at Harvest Hope Food Bank, home repairs through Salkehatchie, international ministry funding with partners like Compassion International, Full Dimension Ministry, and so much more!

Your generosity also helps transformation in the lives of those in our congregation. Throughout each week discipleship happens as the Lord ministers to the hearts and minds of our children, students and adults in community with each other. You also enable events like Advent Community Christmas, VBS, Christmas Under The Stars, Student Messy Night, EggVenture, etc., all of
which bring guests onto our campus and provide an entry point for them to make Advent their church home.

Commitment Sunday for GRATEFUL will be November 19, 2023 and your commitment begins in January 2024. This is a two-year ministry plan for 2024 and 2025 that will assist with budgeting, allocating financial resources in a manner that advances our mission. Our hope is that the initiative will also become part of a life-long commitment to discipleship and growth, particularly in relation to financial generosity. We also believe that prayerfully making a commitment to the GRATEFUL Initiative represents a step in faith that the Lord will use in mighty ways.

Advent’s goal is that everyone takes the next step in their financial generosity. fI you don’t currently give, we hope you will begin giving intentionally, whatever the amount or percentage of your income you bless Advent with. If you already give an amount under 10%, we hope you will take a step closer to 10% of your income. Once you have made your decision, you can see all the ways to commit to GRATEFUL in the Ways to Pledge section of this page.

Ways to Pledge

If you are currently attending Advent or are a member of Advent, you can make your online commitment to the GRATEFUL Initiative through your Realm account. You can make your pledge in Realm here. If you have not joined Realm yet and would like to request an invite, please click here.
If you are new to Advent or do not have a Realm account, you can make your commitment online by clicking here.
If you have a printed commitment card, you can turn in your commitment card on Commitment Sunday, November 19, 2023 at Five Forks for either worship service (9 am or 10:30 am) or at our Scuffletown campus at 10 am, you can mail it to Advent United Methodist Church, 2258 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681, or you can bring it by the church office.
If you do not have a printed commitment card but would like to make your commitment in person, please join us on Sunday, November 19th at Five Forks for either worship service (9 am or 10:30 am) or at our Scuffletown campus at 10 am for Commitment Sunday. Printed Commitment Cards will be available at both campuses.

Make Your Commitment in Realm

No Realm Account? No problem. Make Your Grateful Commitment Here

Questions?

For questions about the GRATEFUL Initiative, you can contact the church office at (864) 288-8217, email us at [email protected], or use our online contact form!

Confirmation Registration is Open

Confirmation is back and has been shifted to 8th grade! Confirmation is a time of in-depth faith exploration for students, to help them continue to build a foundation of faith that will grow with them throughout their lives. At the end of Confirmation, there is an opportunity for these students to make a personal decision to claim their faith for themselves.

Because we have moved Confirmation to the students’ 8th grade year, and many students have already become well-established in Elevate, our student ministry, this year we are integrating Confirmation into Elevate. While Confirmation is not mandatory, it is what will be offered to 8th graders during the Elevate time frame. Confirmands will come on Sunday evenings throughout the school year at 5:45pm for Elevate dinner, announcements, and games. Then, during the worship portion, confirmands will break off and have a Confirmation lesson followed by Confirmation life groups. They will return to the big Elevate group for the wrap-up and be finished by 7:45pm.

Confirmation will run throughout the school year from September through April. Confirmation registration is open now through Thursday, August 18th to those who will be in 8th grade for the 2022-2023 school year. Please contact Pastor Rachel if you have any questions.

Register for Confirmation Here

Financial Report 2025

Grateful Initiative

FAQ’s

Ways to Pledge

Questions?

Confirmation Registration is Open

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