“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” -Psalm 136:1
Draft 2027 St. John's Operating Budget
Beloved people of St. John’s Lutheran Church,
For nearly 160 years, God has shown steadfast love to the members of St. John’s Lutheran Church and the greater Sacramento area. In response, the community is moved to return this steadfast love to others. Our collective mission “to live God’s love in the world” is not just something we proclaim at the end of every worship service, it is a way of being in the world and a way of engaging with the community.
This year’s Stewardship Season centers around the theme
160 Years of Steadfast Love, rooted in Psalm 136:1, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Stewardship Season is an intentional time where we as a faith community
reflect on the abundance of gifts God has blessed us with, and how we might share those gifts with our church community, and in turn, the world.
2027, year 160 of St. John’s, will bring an abundance of new opportunities to share our God-given gifts with the world. Welcoming a new senior pastor, meeting the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors, and embracing a new generation of young families raising their children in our faith community. This is the time to reflect on how you are being called to respond to God’s steadfast love in 2027 and how you will recommit to this faith community.
One of the most important ways we respond is a pledge. In addition to your ongoing time and talent pledge to the life of this congregation, a financial pledge allows the leadership of St. John’s to plan for the near future. Your pledge helps us formulate a budget that supports our talented staff, plan programming that responds to the needs of our community, and carries out our mission to live God’s steadfast love in the world.
On the back of this letter is a narrative draft 2027 operating budget and a financial pledge card. The draft budget gives you a clear idea of how and where your financial pledge might be used in the coming year. Everything from direct ministry operations, care for our historic property, and support for our staff. Please complete the pledge card and return it to the church office, leave it in the offering plate on Sunday, or submit your pledge online by November 22, 2026. If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Katherine Thorp, Director of Administration and Human Resources, at
katherine.thorp@stjohnslc.org or (916) 444-0874.
Here’s to the next 160 years of steadfast love at St. John’s and in the world!
With appreciation,
Linda Eytcheson
Stewardship Committee Chair
Draft 2027 St. John's Operating Budget
Total Projected Revenue = $1,721,000
$1,375,000 – Offerings & Benevolences
$326,000 – Rent & other earned Income
$20,000 – Fundraisers & other earned Income
Total Projected Expenses = $1,721,000
$415,000 – Property & Maintenance
$328,000 – Music & Worship
$225,000 – Mission Strategy & Pastoral Care
$225,000 – Comm. Engagement & Comms
$190,000 – Administration
$173,000 – Benevolence & Direct Services
$165,000 – Children, Youth & Family
The operating budget of St. John’s Lutheran Church represents a financial commitment to the core values of the congregation. Embedded within the budgetary provisions for facility expenses, personnel costs, material purchases, etc., are the values of expansiveness, justice making, healing, humility, and constancy:
- Expansiveness: St. John’s engages with the larger world of God’s creation beyond the walls of our sanctuary by such means as digital presence, participation in community events, and support for the shared work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its Sierra Pacific Synod.
- Justice Making: St. John’s provides direct services on our church campus to community neighbors four days every week in addition to special events such as our annual Thanksgiving Community Meal, and participates regularly in the work of Sacramento Area Congregations Together (SacACT) and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California.
- Healing: Congregational care for people in times of illness, hospitalization, grief, and stress is practiced through our ministries of prayer and visitation, as well as worship events such as funerals, memorials, Blue Christmas, and other occasions of anointing and blessing for healing and wholeness.
- Humility: The value of humility as described on our website is expressed in our ministries of outreach and welcome, including our work with youth and young adults seeking to grow in Christian discipleship both as participating members in the congregation’s present life and as active leaders of its future.
- Constancy: 2027 marks the 160th year of St. John’s Lutheran Church, and throughout those years the congregation has remained constant in uplifting the good news of Jesus Christ through its ministries of preaching and teaching, baptism and confirmation, communion and celebration, worship and witness.
Financial Pledge Card
This is an Annual Pledge to St. John’s General Fund.
We encourage you to pledge a percentage of your income, and to increase that percentage over time.
1. Find your income level on the Guide to Giving in the chart below and choose a percentage of income as a suggested giving / pledge amount.
2. Select the "Click here to make your pledge" button below to make your pledge OR you may return this pledge form at the church on Sunday or at the church office OR you may call the church office at (916) 444-0874 and we will help you submit your pledge over the phone.
Guide to Giving Chart
All monetary offerings are indicated as monthly contributions.
