Dear Church,

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Growing. In the middle of winter, it can be hard to imagine new life beginning to grow and take shape, but as we all know, spring is just around the corner.

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Growing is a word that describes our journey in 2025. In this update, you will see that growth has been happening here at Court Street. That growth is measurable in many ways: Sunday attenders, service opportunities, financial growth and spiritual growth.

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Each of us has a part in responding to God’s goodness in our lives and participating in this growth. What a joy to be your pastor during this season. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your part in making Court Street a healthy place where people can come be transformed by the Spirit of God. There is much to celebrate, so let’s dive in and reflect on the incredible ways we've partnered with God’s Spirit this past year!

 

Celebrating Generosity:

• Richmond Elementary: We met our goal with 41 food boxes given to local families who needed a little extra help over the holidays, plus 60 weekend food bags in January.

• Fowlers: We raised $2,238.43 to support their efforts to host a cross-cultural Worship Conference with Ben Bryson as the keynote speaker.

• Grand Total for December Church Giving: Between faithful regular giving, special year end gifts, AND the Matching Gift Opportunity, you donated $80,431! (This is in addition to the $12,800 initial gift given before December!)

 

How did we do financially for 2025? 

 

This Year                                            

2025 Budget: $685,000                 

2025 Spending: $672,398             

2025 Income: $700,041                   

Net Income: $27,242.91                           

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Last Year

2024 Budget: $665,000

2024 Spending: $656,876

2024 Income: $657,818

Net Income: $941.56

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Where does our income come from?

91.8% Giving (Tithes & Offerings)

8.2% Other Income (Interest, Rentals, Partnerships)

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Church, thank you for your generosity in your financial contributions! Staff and ministry teams, thank you for your frugality in spending. We are confident in the faithful stewardship at Court Street and taking all this into careful consideration for the 2026 budget.

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We Partner, God Provides: We are entering our third and final year partnering with Salem Leadership Foundation as a “CaN Center” (Churches as Neighborhood Centers). SLF has granted us a three-year contract that includes leadership support and coaching, along with quarterly checks to help fund rebuilding our outreach ministries and improving our spaces to benefit the community.    

 

Stewarding this Beautiful Facility: We made significant progress on our multi-year vision for catching up on deferred maintenance. We replaced the broken glass on our front door, completed an $11,105 repair on the elevator, repaired irrigation systems, and re-landscaped along Chemeketa Street. Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, we received 347 free LED light fixture upgrades and 9 free thermostat upgrades from Energy Trust, resulting in an estimated 10% electricity savings. As we start 2026, we anticipate imminent replacement of the control panel for Worship Center and Lobby air units. These larger projects were funded by building rental fees, facilities budget, Salem Leadership Foundation partnership, and strategic use of the pandemic Payroll Tax Credit we received in 2023.

 

Ministry Wins from 2025:

The purpose of this letter is to update you on the church finances, but you already know the mission of the church is to partner with God for the good of the world! Your good contributions translate into these good things God has been doing in the lives of people:

 

Attendance & Church Stats

236      Average Sunday Attendance all year

42        Average number of children attending on Sundays

296      Highest Sunday Attendance in 2025

561      Attenders on Good Friday + Easter Sunday

407      Attenders for Christmas Candlelight Services

7          Baptisms

2          Weddings held at Court Street

9          Babies born to church members

8          Weekly Small Groups

15        Young Adults Group participants

43        Children enrolled in our M-F Child Development Center’s five classrooms

26        Child Development Center Staff (Full-time & Part-time, Monday-Friday) 

 

Community Involvement & Benevolence

3          New Neighborhood Events (Rummage Sale, Back-to-School Carnival, Trunk-or-Treat)

7          Community Partner organizations who meet at Court Street regularly

10        Kids Hope Mentors

24        Families who received benevolence help from the Good Sam Fund

 

Giving & Generosity

158      Families who contributed financially to Court Street

39        Donors who participated in the end of year matching gift campaign

8          Special Gifts of $5,000 or more, in addition to monthly gifts

24        Special Gifts of $2,000 or more, in addition to monthly gifts

 

Church, thank you for being such generous partners in ministry. Let’s continue partnering with God and enjoy the momentum into 2026 and beyond…TOGETHER!

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Mark your calendars for a Congregational Meeting and Vision Update on February 8th after service.

 

On behalf of the elders, pastors, and financial team,

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Josh Fisher

Lead Pastor