OPERATE YOUR CHURCH ON A BUDGET
Most churches dread the time of the year when budgets have to be
prepared. It is often tedious and repetitious. But with an
understanding of God's will for your church, and simple ways to
make your budget process easier, it does not have to be a time of
dread.
- Operate on a budget. Your church budget should be a
reflection of what God wants you to do within His church for
the coming year. These objectives, as seen through ministry
budgets, help you set goals and keep focused.
- A budget authorizes spending toward the goals, as well as
monitoring spending throughout the year.
- Caution: a budget doesn't ensure income, but is a guide when
there is income.
- A budget instills confidence in the church leadership
(pastor/board). As the budget is carefully followed, it will
inspire giving.
- To set a budget, get input from leaders in your congregation.
Don't let one person or a small committee form the budget.
Instead of thinking of dollar amounts, think about ministry
goals, then attach a cost to each ministry.
- Examine and evaluate data from the previous years. See where
your spending has exceeded the budgeted amount (was this due
to poor planning, or cost increases?). Was under-spending due
to good stewardship or neglecting part of the outreach?
- Ask each group to justify each budget request and evaluate
the request in light of the church's overall purpose and
goals for the coming year.
- Analyze the trends of previous years, both in giving and
attendance. (If your attendance has increased only 5%, don't
increase your budget 30%.)
- Prayerfully forecast a conservative outlook for the coming
year, then prepare your budget.
- Use a unified budget. This presents the common purpose for
the congregation. If you have separate budgets (and books and
treasurers) for Sunday school, men's groups, etc., work to
make a change to a unified budget. This gives you greater
control over the ministry of the church, eliminates extra
charges of separate bank accounts, and simplifies annual
statements. Auditors love a unified budget and it is a
protection against the loss of funds.
- Strive for a line-item budget. Divide the major ministries
into sections (e.g. Sunday school, Discipleship, Property),
then assign line-item numbers for specific expenses (e.g.
30-6001 Sunday school curriculum). This way it is easy to see
where spending occurs.
- Change your budget to operate on a fiscal year instead of on
the calendar year. If your church is like most, you follow
the school year calendar. Adopt a fiscal year of July 1
through June 30. This way, ministries don't have to split
their budget between two calendar years. This also gives you
greater oversight to the ministry for the complete program
year.
- Finally, and after prayerful consideration, present the
budget to the entire church body to be voted upon.
From Debt-Free Ministry: How to Plan for Growth
without Long-term Debt by Jerry Kroll. Copyright (c)
1997 by Church Growth Institute, Forest, Va.,
1-800-553-GROW. Used by permission.