Adventist Fellowship Tulsa OK : Our Finances

Answer: Conference funds are those funds which are received here but are forwarded directly to the Oklahoma Conference. All tithe received by our church is sent to the Oklahoma Conference to support pastoral ministry and religious education throughout our Conference.

Onward Oklahoma 2% is another fund that is forwarded to the Oklahoma Conference to carry on the work throughout the state. This offering is used to provide support for Church Schools, Evangelism, Wewoka Woods, etc.

Local funds are those funds which are used to support the ministries of Adventist Fellowship. Giving to the AF Local Budget is our primary source of funding for the ministries of our church.

Answer: All you have to do is look around our church and you can immediately tell that it takes a lot of money to keep things going and running smoothly. These expenses are in three main areas:

There are numerous expenses that relate to the physical plant, such as mortgage payments, insurance, utilities and maintenance.

This would include things such as office supplies, telephone, postage, website and advertising. This also includes secretary and janitorial expenses.

This is by far the largest area of expenses for our church. This covers all of our ministries including things like evangelism, hospitality, church school subsidies, worship, children’s ministry, pathfinders, adventurers etc.

How do all these expenses get paid? The answer is the Church Budget. Rather than asking for individual donations for all these different areas, we have one general offering that funds all these programs.

Here is the plan. If a person is a member or a regular attendee at STAF, we encourage them to set aside a portion of their income each and every month to help support the church budget. Regular consistent giving ensures that we meet our operating needs.

Answer: All of the offerings received in the Sabbath School classes from the beginners to adults all go to the same place. These offerings go to pay for the world-wide missionary activities of the Adventist church. Sabbath School classes around the world raise more than $44,000,000 a year through this offering.

Question: I know the giving program “Give One to Win One” is designed to support evangelism, but how specifically is the money used?

Answer: This program was set up so that each family in our church could give 1% of their income to help win one person to the Lord. This has been a highly successful program, not only in terms of money raised but also in terms of people that have been reached.

One of the things this money helps support is the television program every Sunday morning at 10am. Not only does this program reach people here in Tulsa, but throughout Northeastern Oklahoma. We have seen much fruit as a result of this offering.

When we have a seminar for the public, funds from the Give One to Win One program are used to help pay for the meeting space, brochures, postage, printing, bibles, ticket books, give away items and numerous other items.

Question: Could I make a substantial contribution to go toward something special and not just spent on routine expenses.

Answer: Yes, from time to time there are building projects, equipment upgrades or special equipment purchases that need to be funded. You would just indicate on your tithe envelope “special gifts fund” or indicate a specific item or project. For example; we currently have two such projects; Upgrading the equipment for local programming on the 3ABN network, and a special “Building Fund” project. Gifts for these projects are put into accounts earmarked specifically for these projects.

Answer: Receipts are mailed to everyone the last week in January. We make every effort throughout the year to keep addresses current; however, we need your help for this. If you have an address or telephone number change, please notify the church office as soon as possible.

Question: Is it possible to get a statement as to what I have given to the church before the end of the year?

Answer: Yes. Our software system allows us to print a statement for a specific contributor at any time.

Question: What if I miss the offering during the service, how can I still get my offering turned in?

Answer: You may or may not have noticed a wooden box attached to the wall just to the left of the main doors into the auditorium. That is an offering box that can be used anytime to deposit an offering. You may use this box on Sabbath as well as any other day. The box is secure with a lock that can only be opened by our treasurer.

Answer: Yes. You may notice an extra green card located in the chair pockets in the auditorium. This card is used to record the credit card information for your donation. Once you fill out the green card, place it inside the complete tithe envelope and we will process your credit card on the following Monday.

Question: If I have given previously using a credit card, is it necessary to fill out all the information again?

Answer: Yes. We do not store the information on your credit card, so it is necessary that you fill out the information card completely each time you give in this manner.

Question: Once I get to church I often don’t have time to write a check &/or fill out my offering envelope. Is it possible to take offering envelopes home with me so I can do this in advance and bring it to church already completed?