Dearborn First UMC Vision:
We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive, socially-engaged faith community who believes all are created in God's image. We embrace God's call to transform the world through worship, study, and service.
Fulfilling Our Vision at Dearborn First UMC
This congregation, along with much of the world, has endured a season of uncertainty and loss. In the midst of a worldwide shift, your commitment to mission and ministry remained steadfast. Your faithfulness has allowed the church to serve as a beacon of hope and possibility in our community.
Because of the support from this faith community, the people of Dearborn First UMC were able to gather for worship - first around screens, until finally, in person, thanks to investment in technology and developing creative new ways of offering worship to those near and far.
Our church now enjoys a newly renovated space, from which we can reach out to the community, accommodate children safely, and provide inclusive facilities for all who enter.
And throughout the last two years, Dearborn First UMC has not only continued to connect, care, and serve, but has done so with a creativity and versatility we never would have dreamed of, or embarked upon, had Pandemic not happened.
What do we need to do to keep this church prepared to fulfill our vision and to fully live out the mission God has put before us?
We are called as Christians to love our neighbors, and to live gift-fully so that we may build a community that reflects God’s justice, generosity, love, and joy. Being able to give - even a little - is in itself a gift from God.
As you consider the gifts God has entrusted with you, your offerings join with others, adding up to so much more than the sum of their parts to impact this church, the community and God’s world.
Thank you for your faithful generosity as we fulfill the vision of Dearborn First UMC.
Your giving touches lives…
Dearborn First United Methodist Church offers members and visitors an easy and convenient way to support mission and ministry. We encourage you to make your gift online, whether you attend services in person or virtually.
You can make a one-time or recurring donation, so your generosity continues even when you're not able to attend.
There are no easy answers
Q: How have the pandemic closures and loss of attendance impacted our church?
A: We were required to upgrade communication technology to meet the need for online
worship, Zoom small group studies and meetings. This has been a significant expense but we continued
to add new members and our income has remained fairly constant
Q: What percentage of the ministry plan budget comes from members estimates of giving? Where does the rest come from?
A: Our income budget is 47% from received estimates of giving (up 11%), 27% estimates based
on 2021 giving, 26% from our Trust. This is $18,573 more than last year’s income but $52,885 short of
what we need to meet projected expenses
Q: How did we finish 2021?
A: We finished the year spending $33,475 more than our income which, by default, came from our dedicated account balances.
Q: What are “Ministry Shares”? Are we in good standing?
A: Ministry Shares are the expected gifts that we make to the Greater United Methodist Church.
These funds support worldwide ministry and mission, clergy and laity education, our Bishops, missionary
agencies, local church loans and grants, etc. We were not able to fully meet our share for the last couple of years.
Still More Questions and Answers
Q: This is hard to ask, but how do other families decide how much to give?
A: We encourage every family to consider a Biblical model of tithing, giving 10% of their income
for God’s work in the church. We know that families are in different financial situations as they grow in
generosity. Some will develop a plan for stepping towards that incrementally over time. Hopefully,
everyone will consider how much God has given to us and how our giving might reflect a sense of
gratitude for what God has done in our lives. In this way, God’s generosity keeps on giving through us.
Q: These are crazy times for everyone, what if I want to change my Estimate of Giving for 2022?
A: Your estimate of giving card is not a binding agreement. We understand that it’s tough to
pledge or promise precisely what you will be able to give to the church but if you give us your estimate,
we can plan. Should something change, and you need to give less or able to give more, you can let us
know by sending an e-mail to e-giving@dearbornfirstumc.org or calling Sue in the church office.
Q: So, wait, you’re going to ask us to give again in the Fall?
A: Yes, we need to meet the current income shortfall. In the Fall, our generosity campaign will
focus on what you need to plan to give in 2023.
Personal Plan for Generosity Growth
MONTHLY GIVING
Above is a table calculating suggested percentage of monthly giving options based on annual income
Find out where your current level of giving is on the chart (the intersection of annual income row and giving column)
Move to the right to determine how many steps you are willing to take on your personal giving path