2020 Midyear Update
Financial OverviewLooking back on all we shared at Annual Vision & Prayer in January, 2020 has certainly looked different than what we expected. And yet, God’s grace has definitely been at work among us. In this Midyear Update, we share about some of the ways we as a community have responded to this moment as followers of Jesus.
Caring for One Another & Our City
Ministry & Outreach
When the pandemic reached San Francisco and shelter-in-place began, we felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to organize a unified response. First, we wanted to ensure that there was no need among us within the church. We launched an initiative to encourage everyone in our church to reach out to one other person.
Additionally, we invited you to contribute directly to our Benevolence Fund; and thanks to your generosity, we have been able to help 25 individuals and families who have reached out to express need. (If you’ve been financially impacted by this pandemic and have not yet utilized this resource, please reach out through The Card.)
Beyond serving our own people, we desired to mobilize our church to help the most vulnerable in our city. And church, we’ve seen you respond incredibly with your finances, possessions, and time! With our Justice & Outreach contributions, we were able to make a $50K donation to San Francisco’s COVID-19 Response Fund. And from our three Everett Supply Drives, 250 families received thousands of essential items.
We also want to thank and acknowledge the 150 of you who signed up for our COVID-19 Response Team and have been actively meeting the needs of families, the physically vulnerable, and people experiencing homelessness. So far, the Response Team has helped prepare and deliver 18,582 meals, packaged 2,850 grocery bags, and baked 122 dozen cookies!
“We first thought this volunteer team would be a temporary response to COVID-19. But after seeing relationships with our partners grow, and the Holy Spirit activate hearts, it’s our desire as a church to continue volunteering through what we’ll call the Outreach Team. If you’d like to volunteer alongside others from Reality to seek renewal in our city, join our Outreach Team.”
Danielle Stowaway, Justice & Outreach Coordinator
Lifting Heart & Mind to God
Prayer Ministry
Before COVID-19, we had the honor of praying for hundreds of you at our Sunday services. However, when the pandemic hit and shelter-in-place began, we took prayer ministry online.
Since March, we have hosted 245 prayer gatherings over Zoom. And we have prayed for 150 people through our one-on-one prayer calls and Immanuel Prayer Sessions. (Shout-out to our amazing Immanuel Team and Prayer Team who have been serving so faithfully, week in and week out!) Also this year, we have seen 70 people make the commitment to follow Jesus for the first time or recommit to following Him!
“We’re so grateful to see all the ways that the Lord is at work right now. And, we really sense an invitation and need for even more prayer. We sense there is an empowering and releasing among us. Prayer is expanding beyond the walls of our church and is taking root in our city. This is just the beginning of what God is doing.”
David McKinney, Prayer Ministry Director
Worshiping House to House
Sunday Service Online
At the start of 2020, we launched a second morning service to make space for our Discipleship Courses and more community connection under one roof. And then Shelter-in-Place started… and it was time to start from scratch. At first, we were producing services from our homes, recording each part separately, and piecing them all together. Then as things began to open up more, we shifted to safely recording at our headquarters.
Though so much has shifted in this season, there are some things about Sundays that remain the same:
- We gather together for prayer: On a large group Zoom call prior to service and then through one-on-one calls after service.
- Volunteers from our Children’s Ministry, The Village, continue to disciple and have a blast with our kids over Zoom.
- We continue to gather around the name of Jesus in worship and to be formed in His way through prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the teaching of God’s word.
“Though so much has been beautiful about this season as a church and God continues to grow and stretch our community in many ways, I just have to say — I miss you. We miss you. We miss gathering and worshipping together with you in person. But until then, please continue to lean in with us on Sundays. Let’s show up expectantly every Sunday as Jesus expands our capacities to engage in different ways than we are used to and as He grows our imagination for just how much He can do with all of us together, apart.”
Tyler Madsen, Music Ministry Director
Staying Connected, Apart
Community in Quarantine
Right when Shelter-in-Place started, our staff began regularly reaching out to leaders, volunteers, families, and individuals in our church, totaling up to over 700 people. It has been such a gift to be able to stay connected — and through them, to those they continue to serve in Community Groups, Ministry Cohorts, volunteer teams, and other spaces.
Here are some of the other ways connection has been happening in our church in this time:
- We launched Discipleship Courses in February with 201 registrations across four courses. Since shifting to online, we have offered three of these courses and had another 374 registrations, totaling almost 600 people going through courses so far this year.
- Our Community Groups also shifted to online, which was, and remains, challenging. However, since March, CGs have welcomed 100 new people into their online gatherings.
- We hosted an All Church Trivia Tournament over Zoom, and more than 300 people competed for the title of Champions. (Congrats to the Quarantine QTs who claimed that victory!)
- The youth of our church hang out on Zoom three times a week! (If you are in middle or high school and want to join in, email our Youth Minister Melissa Weinisch.)
“We are really hopeful for the day we get to connect with you all again in person — but until that day comes, please stay engaged in our community online! Read the newsletter, check the website, fill out The Card, follow us on Instagram, listen to The Reality Daily, and join in prayer! Get on all the things! We miss you and love you and hope we get to see you very soon!
Melissa Weinisch, Youth Minister
Sharing Our Resources
2020 Midyear Financial Overview
Thank you, church, for being faithful and valuable supporters of our ministry to one another and our city! During this unique season, we have been so encouraged by your generous and selfless responses to financially help individuals, families, and our community partners impacted by COVID-19. Your generosity in directly funding our Benevolence and Justice & Outreach funds has positioned us as a community to provide even more than what we thought possible, while also maintaining our operational budget needs — which help fulfill our mission and vision as a church.
As you might imagine, most of our ministry events and activities have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we want to reassure you that we are committed to you. Through all the uncertainty, we depend on one another. And, we are depending on you to continue your faithful, generous, and sacrificial giving to enable the mission and vision of Reality to not only continue, but to thrive.
Learn more about our approach to generosity and financial accountability, our 2019 CPA-Reviewed Financial Statement, and ECFA accreditation.
If you’d like to receive a Monthly Financial Reports email about our giving and how it’s lining up with our annual budget and monthly giving goals, subscribe to this list.
Total
Giving: | $2.48M |
Expenses: | $2.26M |
Net Income: | $222K |
General Funds
General Giving: | $1.97M |
General Expenses: | $1.82M |
General Net Income: | $153K |
Designated Funds
Giving
Benevolence: | $299K |
Justice & Outreach: | $210K |
Total Designated: | $509K |
Expenses
Benevolence: | $131K |
Justice & Outreach: | $309K |
Total Designated: | $440K |
Designated Net Income | $69K |
General & Designated Funds: As a church, we have two categories of funds: general and designated. “General” refers to money given to our General Fund — and therefore, it is not designated for specific ministry and operations expenses. “Designated” refers to money given to either our Benevolence Fund or Justice & Outreach Fund — and therefore, it is designated to those areas of ministry.
Benevolence Fund: directly contributes to helping families and individuals within our church who are in need of emergency financial assistance.
Justice & Outreach Fund: directly contributes to supporting our Local Justice & Global Outreach partner organizations and local missionaries.
Jan-June 2020 General Giving vs. General Expenses
(In thousands of dollars)
Ministry Expenses
* Justice & Outreach: Includes financial partnerships with Renewal Partners Organizations, partial support of local missionaries, and church planting initiatives. Learn more here.
Fund Balances
Justice & Outreach: | $299K |
Benevolence: | $311K |
Church Planting: | $397K |
Savings: | $1.2M |
2020 Revised* Budget: | $4.6M |
*As our ministry efforts began to shift due to COVID-19, we reduced some of our expenses and realized other cost savings resulting in a 10% budget decrease ($4.9M to $4.6M) to best position us for ministry in the years to come.
“Thank you for being a faithful and valuable supporter to Reality. We continue to pray for you during these challenging times. With the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic in the US and the world, we remain hopeful that God will continue to do miraculous things to advance His Kingdom here in San Francisco. We also pray that we will all remain rooted in God’s love and faithfulness, despite the circumstances.”
Tarik El-Ansary, Administration & Finance Pastor | Elder