Pastor Rick Warren, author of the bestselling book "The Purpose Driven Life," has issued a letter appealing to parishioners at his Saddleback megachurch to help fill a $900,000 deficit by January 1. Wow, even the megachurches are feeling the financial pinch. Here is a portion of the letter from his church's website:
Wednesday, December 29, 2009Well, I am sure there are a few folks who will balk at his request, which sounds a little like the late Oral Roberts' plea in 1987 for millions of dollars or God was going to call him home. A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for the church told the Associated Press that the seasonal Christmas offering was down significantly and the need for services the church is expected to provide has gone up. Rick Warren and his church have done a lot of good things throughout the world, such as work in Africa involving AIDS relief, and I hope his church will weather the storm in much the same way as many Americans have had to over the course of the year. Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980 in Lake Forest, which is located about 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Dear Saddleback Family,
THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER unlike any I've written in 30 years. Please read all of it and get back to me in the next 48 hours.
I have thrilling news to share with you below but first some seriously bad news:
With 10% of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated. Still, with wise management, we've stayed close to our budget all year. Then... this last weekend the bottom dropped out.
On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up the difference today and tomorrow. Source: Rick Warren's News & Views
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