God called me to Elevation Church in 2008, and shortly after that, a former colleague from the banking world asked how I liked Elevation. I told him I loved what I was doing and that all staff and leadership at Elevation were of great integrity and simply squeaky clean, particularly in financial-related matters. He said, “Well, I already knew that or you wouldn’t be there.“

Ten years may have passed since then, but I still passionately feel the same way.

As a retired CPA, I continue to witness our church operating with the same high standards that I operated with when I spent 30 years filing financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission for what was then the third-largest bank in the nation.

At the end of 2018, I was blessed to celebrate both my 10th year anniversary on staff at Elevation and my 75th birthday. In addition to that, the 2018 financial audit completed recently by our third-party auditing firm will be the 10th consecutive year that annual, audited financial statements have been made available. And, Elevation Church continues to be a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability).

Our Finance Team has grown within the past 10 years from three staff to nine. Jerry Sumner, CPA, Finance Director, and his staff continually strengthen budget and operational expense reporting and internal control processes. Amanda Moore, CPA, Finance Manager, oversees contribution receipts and internal control reporting processes.

I’m humbled and honored to see the generosity and obedience reflecting what God has put in each of your hearts. Over $41.4 million dollars has been given to our Outreach partners since 2005. When I began, 23 people were on payroll; now there are over 300 on staff doing God’s work. More importantly, we’ve seen over 18,000 baptisms since Elevation Church began. Today, we’re just as committed to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ as we were when we started, except now we share at 17 different locations — not to mention with thousands who join us online from all over the world. Without your consistent and sacrificial generosity, none of this would’ve been possible.

Pastor Steven recently talked about the 10 percent tithe, our relationship with God, and the need to act on that which God has put in our hearts. God has truly blessed us all, and the first ten percent was never ours to begin with. It has always been intended to build the kingdom and to find the 1 in 99. Thank you for your generosity and obedience.

May the Lord Bless You,

GARY SESSIONS
CONTROLLER