If you haven’t read the first part or second part of this series please take a moment to read them. Assumption #4 – we can use last years numbers and just increase/decrease them a little, commonly called an incremental budget. The interesting thing is that many churches do this type of budget. While it may… ⪼ Continue Reading…
But I haven’t Spent my Church Budget (p2)
Here’s the second part of a three-part series. If you haven’t read the first part of this series please read it here. Budgets work on assumptions, whereas financial statements work on actuals – what really happened to the money. Let’s look at some assumptions below that arise when ministries say they still have money in… ⪼ Continue Reading…
But I haven’t Spent my Budget (part 1)
How many times have church leadership heard a similar phrase to, ‘But I haven’t spent my budget’, when discussing ministry finances? In working with churches and their accounting systems, which involves budgeting, I see a lot of focus around budgets instead of the standard financial accounting reports approved by FASB (Financial Accounting Standard Board). While… ⪼ Continue Reading…
Online Giving To Increase Donations
Having multiple ways people can donate online to the church should be an absolute. Not just a nice-to-have process — even for the smallest of churches. According to Blackbaud’s 2014 Charitable Giving Report, many people are surprised that fundraising activities are still less than 10% — currently at 8.8% for faith-based organizations regarding online donations.… ⪼ Continue Reading…
Are Donations tied to Church Staff Development?
Let’s first define church staff development. It can take many forms from team-building exercises to educational courses for pastors, treasurers, secretaries, etc. It can be leadership training sessions or church administration classes for certification in one or more areas. The underlying theme is the enrichment of the church staff to fine-tune the skills they have,… ⪼ Continue Reading…
Leadership, Church Problems & Solving Them
I don’t believe any organization is immune to problems. They can range from lack of resources, low attendance, wrong building location for ministry, too many resources, a need for better technology, etc. How do these problems relate to church leadership? Simple. If church leadership can’t agree on the problem(s), then the solutions are either slow… ⪼ Continue Reading…