budget Archives - Church Executive


Planning the annual church budget

By Rev. Dr. Perry Hopper & Rev. Dr. Sara Day The annual budget planning process can bring feelings of unease and concern for pastors and church leaders. The reality is that it costs money to do ministry effectively, and a carefully thought-out budget demonstrates a commitment to the missional goals of the church. We know […]

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Financial wellness: an added benefit for your staff

By Louis P. Barbarin, CPA Perhaps you have heard of or read about ‘financial wellness’ in the workplace. It’s one of the new buzzwords used to describe the range of financial services that some companies are making available to their employees. So, just what is financial wellness? According to Tom Rath and Jim Harter, leaders […]

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Measuring ministry activities

church dashboard metrics

Measuring and exploring key performance indicators (KPIs) for your ministry can help in the navigation of both risks and opportunities.

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Financing projects — borrowing vs. capital campaign

Church lending and budgeting

When your ministry is planning a project, options for financing are to borrow, have a capital campaign, or save. A mix of all three is also possible.

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When churches face foreclosure

The process is defined and remedies are available if you take appropriate steps.

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Church interrupted

When business of the church is interrupted

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Hard decisions

The economy and its affect on the church still ranks high

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Who’s watching the funds?

While a church’s ministry often refers to its worship services, activities and community outreach programs, protecting your financial resources also is an important part of the organization’s mission. Financial collections are vital to keeping the various programs running. Unfortunately, it is all too common to have a trusted church member admit to embezzling from the funds they were asked to safeguard. Recently, the treasurer for a church in Connecticut was charged with embezzling nearly $300,000 over a five-year period. This church member had access to all of the church’s accounts and engaged in more than 100 thefts of church funds during this time period. Sadly, this type of theft happens far too often, as churches are naturally trusting. However, every church has the stewardship responsibility of protecting the money that is given by its members. The best way to ensure your finances are secure is to have a financial policy in place. The policy should address procedures for handling funds from the time collections are taken until the money is disbursed. Having such a policy is likely to help deter individuals from embezzling.

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Leadership systems are in motion in large churches

Every leadership system has a capacity limit, a point beyond which it can no longer effectively function. When the activity level of the congregation significantly increases or decreases, leadership systems hit their limits. A senior clergyperson assumes a particular leadership role that is highly effective in a church with weekend worship attendance of 700. The clergyperson is surprised to discover that the leadership role begins losing its effectiveness when the church adds an additional worship service and now hosts 850 in weekend worship.

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When to change your auditor

Should you change audit firms? If so, when? Neither not-for-profit nor public companies are required to change firms at set intervals.

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