Aubrey
Malphurs raises four questions in his article, “Is your Church ‘Money Savvy?’” that I would like to highlight for our church
planters to examine:
1) Does our budget support a biblical mission
and vision?
This would be a good
question to think through at the first stages of preparing a budget. But if you are past this stage it is still
one that needs to be answered. Is your
budget lined up with God’s mission for your church? If not, then how can you adjust your budget
to be more in line with God’s vision for your church?
2) Are there items in our budget that the
church should not be funding?
Churches should
analyze their budgets at least once a year.
During this analysis period it would be good to go line by line on your
budget and determine if there are any areas that should not be funded by your
church. Another thing to consider
during this time: Are there ministries that could be funded by other sources,
rather than your general fund (special offerings, donations, etc.)?
3) What is our average per capita annum giving
(annual giving/ person)?
The average amount
each member of your church is giving on an annual basis is a good indicator of
the spiritual health of your congregation (Matthew 6:21).
4) How high are our expectations of our people
in terms of giving?
This question ties
into the last, if your annual giving is not where it should be, why is that?
Are you emphasizing the importance of storing up treasures where neither moth
nor rust will destroy them? Or does your congregation have more of an earthly
mindset when it comes to how they spend their finances?
I pray these questions spur you on to be wise stewards of
God’s finances. If you would like more
questions to mull over pertaining to your churches budget I encourage you to
read Malphurs’ full article. And as always, please feel
free to contact me, Joel Gardner @ (864) 232-8297 with any questions or ways I
can serve you dealing with finances.
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