Greetings!  I wanted to let you know about a change that will be taking effect at the beginning of the year.  Effective January 1, 2023, we will no longer have the food pantry set up as a regular designated offering selection for Vineyard church members.  We will, however, keep the designated fund option available for donations from those outside our church family.

The reason for this change is simple: we want to bring the pantry in alignment with how we fund all our other internal ministries in the church.  Other than when we are raising money for a specific need, we don’t accept regular designated offerings for our kid’s ministry, music ministry, hospitality, or any of our other internal ministries.  We budget for and expect to support them from member’s tithes and offerings.  We feel like committing to funding the food pantry in the same way is a logical step.

Additionally, there have been times in the past, though not currently a problem, when designated offerings to the food pantry from members outpaced the needs of the pantry, meaning the pantry had a surplus while other ministries did not have funds available.  Again, this change should mean that the financial board and leadership council are free to fund all our ministries equitably and as needed from member giving. 

There will still be times when we may open designated giving to the church body for the pantry if specific needs arise, similar to when we take special donations for the Christmas Pantry.  We just won’t keep it open regularly; rather, we will rely on regular donations to the general fund to support the ministry just like we do for all our other internal ministries.

Effective January 1st, if you have a recurring donation set up for the pantry, it will be stopped by the office.  Here is our request: whatever amount you normally give to the pantry simply add it to your regular tithes and offerings.  As a leadership team we are committed to ensuring the pantry remains fully funded to the best of our ability and with the resources available to us.  Again, we will still be accepting designated financial gifts to the pantry from those outside our body.  And if you would still like to help the pantry directly, we will always accept any non-perishable food items (i.e., spaghetti and sauce, canned veggies, mac and cheese, etc.).

Hopefully the reason for this change makes sense.  If you need clarification or have questions that weren’t addressed, feel free to reach out to our financial board chairman, Clint Ledbetter, or to pastor Kevin.

Thank you for your generosity to our pantry.  With your continued support we will be able to keep this vital ministry going for years to come.

Blessings for a prosperous New Year,

Kevin, on behalf of the Vineyard Leadership Council