Dear friends,
We are excited to share that in response to continued steady growth, The Oceanside Sanctuary members present at yesterday’s annual congregational meeting unanimously approved three proposals: 1) An important change to our bylaws, 2) our Fiscal Year 25/26 Board slate, and 3) Our Fiscal Year 25/26 budget. Below is a summary of the decisions made.
COngregational GROWTH
OSC has grown steadily over the past 10 years and that growth has accelerated since 2022. We’ve grown by 155 congregants in the past year and by 223 in the past two years, for a total of 455 active congregants as of June 30, 2025. But our mission is not to be a bigger church, it is to be a more impactful church. And one of the most exciting aspects of our growth is that more congregants are deeply committed to our mission than ever before. More than 200 congregants are actively serving or leading in programs like the food pantry, our Justice Works team, the Anti-Racism Team, Queercom, Sunday morning gatherings, and more.
CHANGE TO BYLAWS approved
In order to accomodate the growth we have experienced, a significant priority for the year ahead will be the expansion of our leadership capacity. Accordinagly, the congregation yesterday unanimously approved a proposal by the Board to ammend our bylaws to adjust the range of Board members from a minimum of five and a maximum of seven, to a minimum of six and a maximum of nine. This will allow us to bring on more eldership skills and oversight for our growing ministries.
Click here for more details on the approved change to our bylaws.
Click here to see a full copy of our current bylaws, before the approved change.
BOARD OF ELDERS APPROVED
Following the approved bylaws change, the congregation unanimously approved the proposed FY 25/26 Board slate. This included the addition of two new Board members: 1) Brenda Van Vreeswyk, who will be occupying the seat vacated by Lucy Salazar, our outgoing Board Chair, and 2) Doug Kurz, who will be occupying one of the two new seats afforded by the bylaws change. The Board decided not to nominate someone for the second newly-added Board seat, choosing to hold this as an open seat if needed to accomodate more growth in the future.
Jen Zoutendyk was approved as incoming Board Chair and Lee Anne McInerny was approved as incoming Vice Chair. No current Board member terms were due to expire this year.
BUDGET APPROVED
Summary of FY 24/25 Revenue & Expenses
For fiscal year 2024/2025, our total revenue is projected to come in at $475k, exceeding the total budgeted revenue by $2k. General Contributions grew YOY by $34,263 from $385,784 to $420,047 for a growth rate of 9%. The remaining $55k represents designated giving and building revenue. Overall expenses for FY 24/25 are projected to come in at $420,173, roughly $11,000 under budget.
Strong growth and contributions over the past two years and careful control of our expenses has resulted in an accumulation of reserve funds. Our current checking account balance is $113,953 and our Fidelity CD investment fund balance is currently $103,562, for a total cash position of $217,515. Over the past three years our Board has been proactive about building these reserves in ancticipation of a needed roof replacement within the next 3-5 years. This expense is expected to cost $150,000 or more.
Summary of Approved 25/26 Budget
The congregation unanimously approved the Board proposed budget for FY 25/26. For the coming year, we are projecting 8% growth in general contributions for a total budgeted income of $501,000 and operating expenses of $483,799. This budget includes 4% pay increases for all staff, as well as increased hours for a Youth Coordinator and administrative support.
THANK YOU!
Huge thanks to everyone in the OSC community for your support and participation! We are so proud of what this church has accomplished over the past 10 years and look forward to seeing how the Spirit of God is leading our community in the coming year.
Blessings,
Rev’s Jason & Jenell Coker