Our Money Story at First UMC of San Diego
10.19.25 | News, Articles
Last year during our stewardship season, we focused on Our Money Story, the narrative that each of us has in our hearts around money—what we’ve been taught through our family histories, and what we’ve learned in our years of living here in God’s creation. This year, we continue with Our Money Story, but as a church and an institution. What previous chapters have been written in our congregation’s narrative around finances and generosity? What will we write together as an organization in the years to come, and how will we continue aligning our work with God’s call for us?
Join us over the next several weeks as we explore what’s been written in the past and present and consider the narrative we want to write for the coming months, years, and generations to come. As our story unfolds, we also invite you to partner with us in this coming year by pledging to support our ministry in 2026. We can’t write these next chapters together without each and every precious gift.
Our Money Story Theme Statements
First United Methodist Church of San Diego's money story is summarized by the following theme statements, which guide how we view, use, and give the funds that are entrusted in our care:
As A Community, We Believe Money ...
As a community, we believe money is a gift and resource entrusted to us by God. It enables ministry, sustains our church, and supports those in need, yet we also recognize the tension it carries—between abundance and scarcity, freedom and burden.
As A Community, We Use Money ...
As a community, we use money to sustain our ministries and facilities, while trying to balance tradition with innovation, buildings with people, and stability with the risks of Re-Wilding in an evolving digital culture.
As A Community, We Give Money ...
As a community, we give money joyfully and generously to support God’s mission, strengthen our congregation, and invest in causes aligned with our faith and values. We acknowledge that motivations are changing—some give to preserve legacy and infrastructure, while others give to advance justice, inclusion, and future-oriented ministry.
Chapter 1: Remember
FUMCSD Money Story Setting, Characters and Belief in God’s Money Story
Our community exists in a diverse and regional economic setting that spans from upper-middle class and affluent families with generational wealth to younger, debt-burdened members who may be “house rich but cash poor.” The church is not a neighborhood church, and our members come from all over an increasingly gentrifying, progressive, and costly San Diego County, amplifying the complexity of stewardship and outreach.
Leading characters include long-time families, major donors like John Hermann and Bob & Marion Wilson, the Long family, unexpected angels like Wayne Lee Brown, and so many others who contributed time, talent, and treasure to our work. Clergy and staff leaders—past and present—continue to shape practices of generosity, alongside deep family traditions and scriptural examples like Ruth and the Widow’s Mite. Together with faithful groups like the Covenant Circle, the Finance Committee, the First UMC Foundation, and the Board of Trustees, these leaders embody both institutional legacy and lived traditions of generosity.
Our community believes God’s money story teaches that money is not to be hoarded but shared freely for the care of others. Scripture shows that generosity, not the size of the gift, is what matters—whether in the widow’s mite or the loaves and fishes, God provides abundantly when we give faithfully. At its heart, God’s Money Story calls the community to trust in God’s provision, live simply, and give generously for the good of all.
Chapter 2: Release
Download week 2 presentation that shows our current money story, questions, and myths that need release.
FUMCSD Money Story Story Plot and Conflict
Major turning points in our community’s Money Story include relocating to Mission Valley, constructing and expanding facilities, becoming a Reconciling Church, and the Ocean Beach expansion and closure. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital ministry, disrupted attendance, and changed giving patterns. Inflation, housing costs, and ongoing cultural shifts toward secularization continue to challenge participation and financial stability. At the same time, efforts in racial justice, Re-Wilding, and new initiatives like Dream School of the Arts mark hopeful but also disruptive chapters in the story.
Tensions often arise around perceived wealth versus actual need—many might assume “the church is rich” and withhold gifts, while leaders wrestle with balancing reserves, buildings, and ministries. Membership decline, aging demographics, and resistance to change strain resources, as have occasional conflicts around theological and social justice issues. Stakeholders named fears of scarcity, generational shifts in giving, and mistrust or lack of transparency as barriers to deeper generosity.
Chapter 2: Reimagine
FUMCSD Money Story Tone and the Re-Wilding Effect
Overall, our tone reflects a community that loves its church deeply but remains conflicted about money’s role in sustaining and expanding its mission. Stakeholders express confidence that God will provide, joy in giving, and pride in generosity. Yet we acknowledge feelings from the past of suspicion, frustration, and nostalgia for a time of greater perceived abundance. Our history of affluence sometimes obscures our real needs, and so we seek to move beyond nostalgia and fear of change toward faithful, transparent stewardship that empowers justice and mission.
The church’s year-long period of learning and discernment invited deep reflection on how the church is using its resources and the impact of those expenditures. We wrestled with the changing culture that produces skepticism and suspicion in others and the need to be clear about the gospel message and creative in the ways we share that message. We looked deeply into the expenses and found that the church’s mission is threatened with neglect due to the demands of upkeep for our property and buildings. The leadership involved in the year of discernment made some bold recommendations which were adopted by the Church Council. The impact is striking and affirms of the long-lived courage of First Church and the faithfulness of its leaders.
Chapter 4: Respond
We’ve now reached the present chapter of FUMCSD’s Money Story. And you’re one of the main characters! If the Spirit is stirring you to respond, please take a moment to submit your pledge so we can start planning the next steps for 2026 and beyond.
