A while ago I was reviewing the financial statements of a Christian ministry shortly before the end of the year and noticed that the expenditures for the year exceeded income by a significant amount.
Read More >The Internal Revenue Service issued new rules and regulations affecting all 403(b) retirement plans in 2007. Most elements became effective January 1, 2009, with some delayed until January 1, 2010. You should be aware of three important issues about these new regulations as they relate to your church.
Read More >If you’re not confident about your financial situation at retirement age, you’re not alone. According to the latest research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, retirement confidence is at an all-time low. Only 13 percent of workers reported a high confidence about their financial future.
Read More >With church facilities under construction, you want to ensure that your money is wisely spent, while at the same time being viewed by your contractor as a cooperative business partner. Fulfilling your financial oversight responsibilities while fostering smooth working relations is a diplomatic endeavor.
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Is this the time for a church to be building? Jobs are being lost and families are rethinking their pledges to their church’s budget. Even as many are having difficulty with their own home mortgage much less be financing their church’s new home, one person in the building trades says the present time is “an incredible opportunity for the faith-based building sector.”
Read More >Nestled in South Florida’s sun-drenched Fort Lauderdale area, Church by the Glades had two problems as it headed into the year 2008. One of the challenges was the kind of issue most pastors would love to face. The other problem was much less desirable.
Read More >First Baptist Church Dallas will build an expansive, new state-of-the-art campus that will enable the historic congregation to continue to be a spiritual beacon in downtown for generations to come. The congregation gave standing approval Nov. 1 to the plans and groundbreaking could occur as soon as July.
Read More >When Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA, accumulated $500,000 in debt — in addition to falling behind on their mortgage payments — financial ruin and foreclosure seemed imminent.
Read More >People of faith are renowned for their charitable generosity. Amidst what economists are calling the “Great Recession,” giving to religion is the one subsector of charitable giving that grew in 2008. While charitable giving as a whole decreased from 2007 to 2008 by 2 percent (-5.7 percent when adjusted for inflation) and individual giving dropped 2.7 percent (-6.3 percent when adjusted for inflation) contributions to religion increased by 5.5 percent (+1.5 percent when adjusted for inflation).
Read More >Remember when it was easy to manage church finances? Income approximated expenses. New programs were launched to meet people’s needs. Lives were changed; more people came, and expansion became necessary; capital campaigns followed, which met or exceeded expectations. Then the bottom fell out as the economy plunged into a recession unparalleled in our experience.
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