The 2018 audit for Living Church of God (International), Inc. and Affiliates was issued on May 31, 2019. It can be reviewed in its entirety on the Church website at LCG.org under the “About Us” link.
Once again, the audit was performed by Cherry Bekaert, LLP, from whom we received an “unqualified opinion” (where “unqualified” means that their statement is made “with no reservations”). The accountants stated plainly, “In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Living Church of God (International), Inc. and Affiliates as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, and the changes in its net assets and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”
In other words, not only Church members, but anyone doing business with us—such as vendors and financial institutions—can read our financial statements and know that the numbers stated are materially correct and that the Church uses proper accounting methods to present its finances.
A general summary of expenses for the year that ended December 31, 2018, shows that 34.2 percent of our resources were spent on preaching the Gospel, 58.4 percent on feeding the flock, and 7.4 percent on administrative expenses.
The Church relies on the tithes and offerings of its members, co-workers, and donors so that we may fulfill our mission as outlined in Scripture—to preach the Gospel and to feed the flock God has called. We are very grateful for the faithful financial support from all our donors as well as those co-workers and members who contribute their tithes and offerings regularly. In recent years, we have also been blessed with several large one-time contributions. At the very end of 2018, we received notice of one such pending distribution, which allowed us to pay off the mortgage on our Headquarters building in early 2019. We should also note that as a result of these one-time income items, overall income in 2018 increased by 23.82 percent over 2017.
On page 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedules, the Noncurrent Liabilities section includes a Notes Payable amount of $1,172,365. This consists of several fleet vehicles and the 2018 balance of the mortgage on our Headquarters property. With that one-time income item, we paid these liabilities in full in January and February of 2019. What a blessing for the Church as we go forward! This will be reflected fully in the 2019 audit numbers, but has already affected our cash flow in a very positive way and has allowed us to expand our outreach in television, Internet, and publishing, along with their related support areas.
Brethren, we know that an audit is simply a review of our financial picture for a specific time period. We are already near the end of 2019, and the Work marches on. We hope that you remember your personal part in the Work. We are a small flock trying to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God to a dying world. We want to be a welcoming and warm Church to those whom He calls. We should all be excited about every door He opens, and pray that we have the resources to walk through each of them (Ephesians 6:19). To that end, please pray that God will guide every decision we make—even the small ones—to use the precious resources He provides through our collective tithes and offerings to further His Work. Let us together entreat, “Thy kingdom come!”