What does FTE stand for?

We have two ministers at our church and both are full time. On average we have about 200 people every Sunday (including children and youth).

FTE = Full Time Equivalent

Ours is full time. Average attendance on Sunday is around 60, I would say.

and Paradox is your church meeting it's budget? or needing to use some money from reserves?

We were okay last year but have been struggling this year. 

We have two full time ministers and one 15 hours per week.

Our attendance would range around 300 per week plus a mid week service of about 50.

We meet our budget but annually it grows to accommodate new programs as well as inflation

I think our congregation is one of the largest in Canada according to the year book the UCC puts out

We have a full time minister - I'd say we are close to 60 on Sundays (of couse there are special days when it is more, and there are also days when it is a lot less).

We close to hitting our yearly budget at this point in time.  But we get by in operating by fundraising, asking our congregation for money for certain things, and by using interest from some of our savings.

I would say we are holding our own - but as I've mentioned before - we are soon going to be in big trouble financially as it is only a matter of time when some of our most committed top givers relocate in the next 1-3 years.

Our church is not growing in membership or new people.  One day those who are a part now will no longer be able to sustain the church.

One FTE minister with a Sunday attendance around 30-40 tops, often less.

Mendalla

Our pastor works full-time. About 60 people attend on Sunday.

Jae and Mendalla-and can your congregations balance their budgets without using any "reserve" money?

Our church has 1 full time, one part time minister.  Average attendance - my guess would be about 150 - 200.  It varies.   We have about 500 families listed in our new church directory.  A few years ago we seemed to having cash flow problems but lately I believe we are going 'ok'.  We still need fundraising - our building is expensive to maintain.  We do a lot of local outreach, and contribute to M&S - I think we are by far the biggest contributors in our Presbytery.  (A couple of substantial bequests have come in in the last year or so - that helps.) 

Speaking for our church, let's just say that we made some very wise investments back in the 60s that we continue to be thankful for.

Bequests are nice but once they are gone they are gone. The weekly contribution from the congregations goes on and on,

Varies from year-to-year. If no crises come up and everyone keeps their pledge, we can generally get by without hitting reserves. Needless to say, it doesn't always work out that way. Like Jae's fellowship, we have some investments and endowments that help out, too.

Mendalla

Depends. If the bequest is large and you invest it and use the proceeds while keeping the prinicple intact, it can actually last a while. If you just dump it into general accounts or throw it at a specific project (and some do come designated for specific projects) then, yeah, it's gone pretty fast.

Mendalla