Frequently Asked Questions

• For the past two years, we have had three funds:

1. General Ministries - covers all operating costs, ministry areas, staff, and missions.  10% of the General Ministries budget is directed to mission work.
2. Building Maintenance - covers all maintenance and upgrades for the building.
3. Restoration Loan - covers our current Restoration Project which repaired and upgraded our building exterior, protected the sanctuary stained-glass windows, provided all new landscaping, and remodeled the Child Development Center (CDC).

• The Restoration project has been completed and our current construction loan will be converted to a permanent loan by the end of the year.
• For 2026, we will include the Restoration Loan into our Building Fund and only have two funds: General Ministries Fund and Building Fund.
• To help members prayerfully decide how much to give on each fund, we will provide the 2026 budget amounts on the 2026 Commitment Cards to easily understand each fund’s proportion.  

• Our General Ministry Fund covers operating costs, staff, ministries, and missions and the UMC apportionments are calculated as a % of the General Ministry Fund.  Our Building Fund was created to ensure proper amounts are budgeted for the restoration loan, building maintenance, and building improvements.  The church is not set up to automatically allocate portions of a General Ministry donation to the Building Fund.
• As a general rule, money given to the General Ministry Fund will not be used for building expenses since we have a designated Building Fund.  In the case of an emergency building expense (like a HVAC unit going out), money in the General Ministry budget may be used if sufficient funds are not available in the Building Fund.  However, money in the Building Fund may not be used for any General Ministry budgeted items.

If you made a commitment to the Restoration Project Capital Campaign, please plan on including your 2026 restoration project gift with your 2026 Building Fund commitment.  This will help ensure we can proactively pay down our Restoration Loan.  Thank you for supporting Trinity's Building program to take care of the space where ministry happens.

Yes, there is a Facility Usage team reviewing the fee structure and will provide an updated policy next year.

• The Trustees are planning improvements to the Wesley Wing entrance addressing flooring, paint, ceilings, and lighting.
• The Trustees are engaging a consultant specializing in church signage design to enhance the signs on the exterior and interior of the church building to improve navigation.

To access the most recent reports of Trinity's finances, bookmark this page and visit it at the end of each month, which is updated after the monthly Finance meeting. Look at the Finances-At-Glance charts (to the right of this section) which provides high level summaries of each fund relative to contributions and budget, available cash, line of credit, and net income/loss. Also, look for the Faithful and Transparent section (near the end) of the weekly Trending at Trinity email (comes out on Mondays) which has a link to the monthly reports. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter HERE.

Yes. This will be added to the 2026 Financial Reports.