{"id":958,"date":"2010-07-29T15:33:27","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T22:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=958"},"modified":"2021-02-26T16:53:36","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T21:53:36","slug":"church-budget-basics-good-steward-god%e2%80%99s-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/church-budget-basics-good-steward-god%e2%80%99s-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Church Budget Basics: Being a Good Steward of God\u2019s Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have a love\/hate relationship with money. Well, let me clarify. I have an endure<\/em>\/hate relationship with money. (The Bible<\/a> says we\u2019re not supposed to love it.) On the one hand, we have to have it. To live. So, I endure it for that reason. On the other hand, money causes a lot of problems<\/a>. That\u2019s why I tend to hate it. When it comes to church ministry, things don\u2019t automatically improve just because Christians are putting money in velvet-lined stainless steel things. In fact, the arena of church giving is bedecked with controversy, hucksters, mistrust, hoarding, profligate spending; it has a heritage of disqualified pastors, filching money counters, distrustful members, and yes, wrecked churches.
\nA Few Clarifying Principles<\/strong>
\nSometimes it helps to just back up and look at the big picture. It\u2019s easy to get lost in the whirlwind of accounting software, envelopes, illegible handwriting, who\u2019s going to count the money, complicated accountability structure, multiple bank accounts, and the fact that your budget is shot anyway. Why can\u2019t we just be a good church and focus on worshiping God and knowing Him better? All this money stuff is so confusing. The following principles won\u2019t necessarily clean up all the confusion, but it may provide some help. Think of your church budget (or what\u2019s left of it) and read these…<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Glorifying God is the Main Thing. Always. Don\u2019t lose sight of it. If you\u2019re always focusing on offering numbers, giving charts, and thermometers on the wall, you\u2019re going to get distracted from the main thing. Put money in its proper place, below the main headline of \u201cGlorify God.\u201d Okay, now you\u2019re ready to move on.<\/li>\n
  2. The Money Belongs to God. It may sound facile to say \u201cIt\u2019s God\u2019s money.\u201d So before you rise up and say, \u201cYes, but…we are given the stewardship of it..\u201d I know. But it helps to remember that the plink-plonk of coins in the plate, and the electronic accretions of direct deposits in the church bank account is under the grand ownership of one:\u00a0 God. It\u2019s helpful to look at it that way, because a theological perspective on church money makes you think twice when you write that check, count that money, or type in that budget line item. It\u2019s God\u2019s. All of it. This probably means that budget decisions should be prayed over. Then, as the God-directed leadership team makes decisions, they should be made with a level of mutual agreement. In other words, one guy isn\u2019t acting like a money dictator, limiting or stipulating purchases by himself.<\/li>\n
  3. The Money Is for Ministry. What does God want His church to do? Whatever it is, it\u2019s probably going to take money. Money is spent when people come to church–gas money, transportation, etc. Money is often spent to buy a place to meet. Money is often spent to support a person to teach and preach. Money is often spent to provide tools for worship–music, instruments, media like Sharefaith provides<\/a>, and other stuff. Money goes to missionaries, charity, the homeless shelter, the electric utility company, a church planter, and needy churchgoers. Money is important. So what\u2019s the best way to spend it? Here\u2019s where it helps to have a church mission or vision statement. Put the money toward those things that your church regards as most important–the ministry features which you have determined are the ones you want to focus on.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Some Other Important Features<\/strong>
    \nThose are just three basic, plain vanilla kind of principles that may (or may not) help to un-blur your vision on money matters. But what about the down-to-earth, practical, money-hits-the-plate issues about your church, your budget, and your fiscal confusion? Well, allow me to sidestep the issue (slightly) and suggest yet another level of principles.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Accountability. Whatever you do, make sure that there is someone looking over the shoulder of someone else whenever it comes to money. One guy controlling the whole money scenario is a recipe for disaster. It doesn\u2019t matter who he is, someone is going to get distrustful. Make sure you have multiple levels of checks, balances, and full disclosure about all things money. One day, you\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/li>\n
    2. Budget. And you need a budget. It may be that you barely have enough money to pay the mortgage and keep the lights on, so what\u2019s the need for a budget? That\u2019s exactly why you need a budget–to control, maintain, structure, and elucidate what\u2019s happening to all the money.<\/li>\n
    3. Get some software. It\u2019s the electronic age, folks. If you\u2019re reading this blog, you probably know about Sharefaith, and our impressive selection of church media. Money matters happen online, too. If you don\u2019t have one already, buy a simple and inexpensive money management software tool. We\u2019ll suggest some good ones in an upcoming post.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Money is super important. It\u2019s an important part of ministry. Sharefaith is concerned with making churches successful. That\u2019s why we blog about money, and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve made our media library so inexpensive to churches and ministries. If you\u2019re not yet a member, find out how you can keep your media budget low<\/a>, and keep your media quality high<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I have a love\/hate relationship with money. Well, let me clarify. I have an endure\/hate relationship with money. (The Bible says we\u2019re not supposed to love it.) On the one hand, we have to have it. To live. So, I endure it for that reason. On the other hand, money causes a lot of problems. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4154,4135,4145],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-church-resources-church-resources","7":"category-church-leadership","8":"category-church-resources"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nChurch Budget Basics: Being a Good Steward of God\u2019s Money - Sharefaith Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/2010\/07\/church-budget-basics-good-steward-god\u2019s-money\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Church Budget Basics: Being a Good Steward of God\u2019s Money - Sharefaith Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a love\/hate relationship with money. Well, let me clarify. I have an endure\/hate relationship with money. (The Bible says we\u2019re not supposed to love it.) On the one hand, we have to have it. To live. So, I endure it for that reason. On the other hand, money causes a lot of problems. 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With his background and training (M.A., M.Div.), Daniel is passionate about inspiring pastors and volunteers in their service to the King. Daniel is devoted to his family, nerdy about SEO, and drinks coffee with no cream or sugar. 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