What an incredible way to end the year! As almost all of you are aware, 2009 has been a rather tough year financially. It has been tough for our people. It has been tough for our churches, and as a result, it has been tough for those of us who depend on giving from our churches. It was a year of sacrifice all the way around.

But are you ready for some good news? As a result of the slow giving for the first quarter in 2009, we were forced to slash some $600,000 for our annual budget. We went from 3.5 million to 2.9 million in almost one day. We then settled in for a tough year like so many of our people and churches. But here is the end. …We just closed the books and our annual receipts came in at 3.1 million! While this did not hit our original number of 3.5 million, it did surpass our adjusted budget of 2.9 million by $264,014.24.

And do you want to hear some more great news? Since our International Mission Board has been experiencing some difficult financial realities as well, we made a strong plea with our people about sacrificial giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. And in Arizona, our people have responded. I am pleased to report that Arizona Southern Baptists gave a total of $794,708.52. And the even greater news is some churches have yet to report their offering numbers. This amount exceeds last year’s offering by $52,788.72.

The bottom line is simple: Was it a tough year? … of course. But did our people rise to the challenge? … Absolutely!