Our Philosophy of Church Stewardship

Responsible church stewardship is a primary concern at Maranatha Chapel. While we completely trust in the Lord's provision, we know that He also calls us to be shepherds over His flock, including the resources He provides. Our example is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  Jesus never burdened anyone by asking or begging for funds.  Instead, He met the needs of those around Him, using whatever was available around Him.  He fed five thousand people with a few fish and some bread.  He provided wine for an entire wedding party by turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Jesus took the responsibility of stewardship upon Himself first and foremost; He never pressured the people to whom He was ministering to provide for Him.

While we have never turned water into wine or fed five thousand with a few fish, Maranatha Chapel has followed this example by not burdening the congregation for provision and exercising great care with all of the resources with which God has blessed His church. We consider Maranatha Chapel and all of her resources as God's personal account, and His account is audited by an independent CPA firm every year in order to verify that all is proper and in good legal standing. In addition, many other legal and administrative controls are in place and used in order to ensure that all resources are maximized and correctly distributed.

One of the ways we maximize our resources is to make fixed commitments for relief work and outreaches; these commitments are met through our "R&O" Relief and Outreach fund. This reservoir of funds allows us to act quickly in emergency situations such as 9-11, the Julian fires, and most recently, Tsunami relief, with out adversely impacting the church. If there are excess funds from a particular event, they are held in the R&O fund for the next Relief or Outreach project. If for some reason a particular event exceeds its allocated funds the church will make up the deficit in order to ensure that the committed need is met. Normally the R&O fund is replenished by inviting the congregation to be part of whatever relief work or outreach the church is undertaking.  By committing the church and R&O fund to a cause, the church shoulders the responsibility, giving the congregation the freedom to participate or not participate. We believe that this allows people to pray and seek the Lord's guidance on a particular event without undue pressure from their church.

Our desire for good financial stewardship should not hinder but complement our great commission of preaching the Gospel both in word and in deed. We believe that remaining faithful to these disciplines is one reason why God has blessed Maranatha Chapel with such a loving congregation that not only worships in word but also in deed.

Pastor George Chial,
Financial Controller