Meet Denise Craig

Denise Craig: Chief Financial Officer, Abba’s House, Hixson, TN

By Ronald E. Keener

When the family of Denise Craig sat down at the supper table, it wasn’t unusual for the conversation to turn to financial topics. Her father is a CPA, her mother is a governmental accountant, and her younger sister has a degree in finance. “I was the creative one who said I didn’t want to be an accountant,” she laughs. Today she is the chief financial officer of Abba’s House, Hixson, TN, which has more than 5,000 members and this year is observing its 60th year.

What was your church background, and did you have any rocky times along the way?

I grew up in church and always knew God was with me, helping guide my path. I fully committed my life to Christ when I was 14 years old, and although I have made many decisions since then — it was by far the most important. Probably the toughest circumstance I have had to walk through thus far was my parent’s divorce, also when I was 14. I clung to Philippians 4:13 and Christ helped see me through. I never went through a rebellious phase as a teenager, and I am very grateful for that.

What sort of professional questions might you have gone to your Dad about your job at the church?

At the beginning there were lots of things! I have had many questions for him about whether something would be taxable or non-taxable income to an individual, always giving him the specific oddities of each particular situation. I’ve called my mom and asked her questions about the 941 tax return and other personnel-related questions. They have always been and will always be a great resource for me. I am very blessed.

You’ve found the National Association of Church Business Administration important to your career?

A requirement of accepting this position was to become a member of NACBA and to be credentialed through their certification program. I spent the next two summers at Southwestern Seminary for my coursework, completed my project and became a Certified Church Administrator in July 2006. NACBA has also provided me with a network of church administrators who I can now call friends. I am currently the president of our local NACBA chapter and I serve on the NACBA Professional Training and Standards committee.

You’ve been involved in the music of the church and in the Christmas production — just at the time when the year-end audit is due. How have you managed that?

Well, I would be fibbing if I said it wasn’t a challenge! I have had the privilege of serving as the musical conductor for our Broadway-style church Christmas production for the last two years. One of the areas I serve our church is as a volunteer in the worship department. My husband and I both have music degrees, so it is an area of passion for us and a way we know we can use our gifts for God’s glory.

It is also an opportunity for me to use the other side of my brain, literally! My husband and our two boys were in the production as well, so there were many days I would prepare a meal in a Crock Pot, bring it in to the office in the morning, plug it in, and have it ready that evening prior to rehearsal. We would eat and work on homework in my office, then head to rehearsal. Honestly, it took a lot of organizational and time management.

All the while, I would spend my days closing the books for the year and preparing for auditors. When I look back now, I do wonder, how did I do all that? Then, I am reminded of Philippians 4:13, again.

What is there about managing and leading that has served you well in knowledge and execution?

I am blessed to be gifted with God-given administrative gifts. I displayed them early in my life, as a child. I am also a firm believer in being a life-long learner. Life is always changing and we have to keep up with what is current. We also have to continually seek God and look within ourselves to see if we are being everything He created us to be. A church is not an organization – it is an organism, a living thing. I am mindful that although I look at a lot of numbers, those numbers represent real people and they are what really matter.

Have you had to deal with a downsizing in this tough economic time? What has the church done to stay on an even keel financially?

We had actually done some staff restructuring in 2006, the first full year in our new facility, so we were in a little better position to handle the current economic situation; however, even with that we have had to forego staff raises, cut staff retirement funding in half and trim ministry budgets. Our budget is a guide, and the money can only be spent if it comes in through the generosity of our members.

Churches that stress generosity are often churches that do better in this economy. Does your church do anything in particular about stewardship and giving?

Absolutely! It is our desire to create a culture of generosity through biblical teaching and hands-on corporate opportunities. Our pastor is an excellent expository preacher and he isn’t timid about speaking on the topic of giving. It is clear just by the number of times money or money management is mentioned in the Bible that it must be important to God. If it’s important to God, it should definitely be important to us!

We also offer many opportunities for our members to not only give financially to special outreach projects, but to have hands-on participation as well. For more than 10 years, we have packed and delivered 1,000 backpacks for inner city school kids. We also minister to homeless women and their children through an amazing day of ministry called Project Esther, where we bus these women and children onto our campus for the day. The women spend the morning in mini-courses, such as managing their money or how to prepare for an interview. They also hear testimonies of other women who have hit rock bottom and have lived to tell how God saw them through.

After a comfort-food lunch and hearing the Gospel message, they spent the afternoon in pampering sessions getting their hair done, nails done, make-up done and visiting our “boutique” where they take home an entire bag of clothes and a basket full of goodies for their home they will have one day. We also have a Sunday each year called “Mission Reach-Out.” That morning, everyone comes casual and after an abbreviated service, we split up and do about 30 service projects all over town. I like to think of it as “generosity in action”!

What is your ratio of staff to budget; have you had to correct that in recent years?

Our personnel salaries and benefits represent 47 percent of our general operating budget. We try to stay in the 45 to 55 percent range. Hiring additional staff requires praying, planning and faith. When considering to hire staff, first seek the Lord to make sure it is the right fit and timing. Secondly, plan and make sure the church’s income can handle the additional expenses of salary and benefits, plus the costs of another working employee, such as office expenses, staff development and other ministry-related expenses. Finally, once you have prayed and planned you step out in faith to do what you believe is best for your church.

What is your budgeting process; how do you relate it to vision and planning?

Our budgeting process is thorough and does relate back to vision and planning. It starts each August with a staff planning day where we review and plan the calendar for the upcoming calendar year, then each senior staff member also prepares a M.A.P. (Ministry Action Plan) from a guide they are given.

The M.A.P. describes their goals for the year, and where they see the ministry headed in the upcoming year. When they receive their budget packets, the first question on each page, simply to serve as a reminder, is “How does this budget relate to your M.A.P.?” We want to make sure we are spending God’s money on things that have a true ministry purpose. Once the staff members have completed their portion, it comes back to me for compilation and review. Usually after some additional trimming, it is reviewed by the senior pastor and the Pastor’s Council (which serves as our Personnel and Finance Committee). Once they have approved it, it is published for congregational review and vote.

Have you ever had to deal with an embezzlement by staff member or volunteer? Thankfully, we have not experienced embezzlement. One of the advantages of being audited annually by an independent CPA firm is their review of our internal controls through their very thorough walk-through of all of our financial procedures. We run background checks on all employees, as well as volunteers who work with students or money. We also have a sophisticated security system, with cameras all over our campus. Even though we have these precautions in place, this is an area in which I feel we should always be cautious and never let down our guard.

You are also a pastor of the church. I take it this is a meaningful title?

Wow, it is truly an honor. Last year, when our church ordained four women on our staff for the first-time ever, it was truly a monumental moment not only for our church, but for each of us. I love people and I love being able to minister to them. A pastor is a shepherd, someone who leads others closer to Christ. I am both honored and humbled to do that. It is something I don’t take lightly.

For additional information on the communications function of Abba House and Ron Phillips Ministries, go to www.ChurchExecutive.com for an article by Angie McGregor, executive director of Communications, for the congregation.

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Challenges in church finance today

First, I think the biggest challenge beyond the current economic situation in general is that many younger Americans are motivated to give by feeling, rather than by a personal conviction. This puts the church at a bit of a disadvantage when its main source of income is the donations of its members. We address this through regular pulpit teaching on biblical principles of giving. We also have classes and financial study materials available for our members.

Second, another thing that is challenging in smaller congregations that don’t have a full-time church administrator is having the knowledge they need to make appropriate and wise decisions. We host a monthly church administrator luncheon in cooperation with the local NACBA chapter to deal with exactly these types of issues. We bring in a knowledgeable speaker to address certain issues, such as personnel law, energy savings, tax issue for ministers, etc. It is very helpful for those churches that need reliable sources for accurate information.

Third, I think another challenge is finding creative ways to report financial information to the congregation. Reports need to be clear enough for everyone to understand, yet give plenty of information for the church to see how their tithes and offerings are being used to further the work of the Kingdom and the vision of the church. A couple of years ago, I simplified the report we use for our quarterly church business meeting, and at times we have done our annual budget presentation by video to change things a bit. We also use video quite frequently to report how mission funds have been used. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words. — DC

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Why ECFA membership is important to churches

Membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is our way to let others know publicly that we choose to adhere to high standards of accountability and conduct our church’s business in a responsible, purposeful manner. The initial application fee is $500 and the annual renewal is based on the entity’s cash contribution income.

It did take a while to get all of the information together for the initial application, and it does require effort to maintain it, but we feel it is worth it. We have an annual GAAP audit done every year anyway, so I just forward those financial statements to ECFA, and we also commit to adhere to their seven standards of responsible stewardship.

We have seen many benefits of being ECFA members beyond the peace of mind it may give our donors. ECFA provides wonderful resources and free webinars for ECFA members. The experts they bring to the table are some of the most well-respected in their fields and certainly provide a value-added benefit to membership. — DC

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Accounting for RPM ministries

RPM (Ron Phillips Ministries) is one fund within the fund accounting of the church. It is not a separate organization, and it is not partly or wholly owned by Ron Phillips. It is simply the media arm of Abba’s House. When people give to RPM, they are giving to a designated fund of Abba’s House.

RPM does have a separate budget from the general operating budget of the church and it has its own business manager who directly reports to Angie McGregor, executive director of Communications, to aid her in making wise programming choices. However, all of her accounting information flows back to me as part of the overall financial picture of Abba’s House.

Dr. Phillips does not receive any revenue generated through RPM. He receives a salary through the church operating budget, just like every other staff member. One of the greatest things about watching “Ron Phillips from Abba’s House” is that we don’t set out to do a television show each week. We set out to capture the heart of the service, ministry and dynamic preaching as it is carried out in a real, living, vibrant church. I think that is what relates to so many who watch. Our services are also streamed live on our website.

We have an event for RPM in August each year called “The Big Event.” It involves a golf tournament, silent and live auctions, banquet, preaching, worship and more! Most of the attendees are folks who watch “Ron Phillips from Abba’s House” in their own cities and come to see what our church is really like in person. They also want to know if Ron Phillips is really as down-to-earth and transparent as he appears on the show. Once they get here, they know he is!

We engage in many types of missions, and RPM is one of them. The TV program is aired on every continent in the world and the radio program, “Centerpoint,” can be heard on many stations around the country, as well as on the Internet. In a media-driven society, this is a relevant way to reach the lost. It is not impersonal – not when you have volunteers who are members of your own church answering the phones when viewers call in. RPM is about real people doing real ministry, in a way that makes a real difference.    — DC

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Worldwide ministry requires communications effort to fit the size

Angie McGregor is executive director of Communications for Abba’s House, a 5,000–member congregation in Hixson, TN. The church has not only a local and regional ministry, through its weekend services, but also a national and international missions and media ministry with Senior Pastor Dr. Ron Phillips. McGregor manages it all—a budget of more than a million dollars and one that accounts for 15 percent of the church’s annual income.

To read the complete companion article click here.