Grateful, thankful, and planning for the year ahead

July marks the start of a new fiscal year for WORLD. That makes it a natural time to reflect on stewardship: God’s provision in the year behind us and our responsibilities in the year ahead.

As a nonprofit organization, ending a fiscal year well is important. Our goal has always been to finish each year with a small surplus. Not a large surplus. Not a war chest. Just enough to help sustain the work God has given us to do.

We believe that the Lord provides resources through His people to fund our mission, not to be hoarded. At the same time, wise stewardship does require prudence. We have had years that ended in losses, and while a loss is not the end of the world—no pun intended—no organization can sustain losses indefinitely without risking its future.

There have been years when WORLD’s board believed it was wise to build a modest cash reserve. In the late 2010s, that proved to be a good and timely decision. During the COVID period, when paper was difficult to obtain and cash flow tightened, that reserve helped us meet our obligations and even buy several months’ worth of paper in advance.

It helped again after our offices flooded. We continued producing all our content after that storm, and we never faced a serious risk of failing to pay our bills.

I should be clear: A cash reserve did not get us through those trials. God did. He used that reserve to provide short-term relief, but He met our needs in ways we didn’t anticipate, including the immediate support many of you offered. What might have been crises became moments we now look back on as blessings.

With all of that in mind, even though I am writing this a few weeks before the end of our fiscal year, we expect to finish with a small surplus. Thank you for your part in that result.

But stewardship involves more than finances. A new fiscal year also requires planning. It offers a fresh start, much like a new school year or a new calendar year.

Like every year, we are making plans for what comes next.

I am always a little hesitant to say too much about what we hope to do in the future. A recurring biblical theme—at WORLD, in this space, and, I assume, in all our lives—is that “the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” I have lost count of how many times I have told you about one of our plans, only to come back later and explain that the plan had to change.

That does not keep us from planning, and it should not. Planning is another part of wise stewardship. It keeps us focused on the work we believe God has given us to pursue. It also helps keep us from wandering down every interesting path that opens before us.

So that is how we enter this new fiscal year: grateful for God’s provision, thankful for your generosity, and committed to stewarding well what He has entrusted to us.

We will make plans. We will pursue the mission. And we will trust the Lord to establish our steps in ways that glorify Him.