5 Core Essentials in Church Finance

Church Business Administrators, wear so many hats covering so many diverse departments, it can be a real challenge to balance it all. There are only so many hours in the day and sometimes it just does not get done. Daily “to do” lists can be created but with so many areas demanding their time, the Church Administrator can be distracted and not catch the important core essentials that keep the business of the church operating with smoothness. Here are 5 core essentials I believe every Church Administrator must perform in providing excellence in church finance. 

Transparency in Financials

The Church Business Administrator must develop a sense of transparency to the church that everything is visible to all. This does not mean you must show every person every part of the church financials. Presenting transparency to the church at large will eventually build trust and most will not even care to see it all knowing that everything is in order. State that you have an open-door policy and anyone at any time can see the church financials. Obviously, you must first HAVE all the financials in order, to present transparency. Be intentional in becoming transparent. Start by reporting key numbers that the church needs to know to ensure them the finances are in order.

Relevant Reporting

Research and find what the church wants to see each month and then report it in a timely manner. Look for stats that have meaning and that show the direction the church is headed, even if it is decline. Pull together a summary dashboard report that gives the state of the church financially and operationally that is easy to read and understandable. Include items like giving, attendance, special fund giving, cash flow, income / expense, emergency fund balance and other stats pertinent to the church. Include stats from all areas of church business administration at some point in reporting.

Annual Inspection

Do not rely on your own judgement or that of a committee that everything is in order financially and operationally. Use the services of a third party to inspect your work every year. There are different levels of inspection like compilation, review, and audit. Depending on the churches situation, choose one of those levels. For example, if the church is debt financed, the bank may require an audit. Conducting an annual inspection further enhances your transparency and further builds the trust of the congregants. Make the results of the inspection available to leadership and the church if so desired.

Promote Giving

Do not assume every person knows how to give to the church. With the tech age, ways to give not only expanded but also got complicated for many donors. If the church uses state of the art giving like Text to Give, make sure there are instructions easily accessible for those first-time users. Remind the church congregants about how to give and include it as a regular part of church promotions. With any special giving emphasis, include the ways to give with the presentation.  

Trends and Forecasting

This one ties the other core essentials together. Using meaningful metrics in church administration is key. Track everything in church finance using that info to build useful metrics that give the church a wide-angle view. Tracking will build the trends needed to see where the church has been, where they are currently, and where they are headed, financially speaking. Forecasting is not predicting the future. It simply gives the church a picture of where the church may be headed. Include in your tracking stats items like per capita, average monthly giving, budget history, and attendance.

By Rick Cadden CCA, CCBA
Associate Administrator, First Baptist Marble Falls, Texas
Speaker and Trainer in Church Business Administration

5 Powerful Ways to Say Thank You

While I firmly believe that  saying thank you in person is the best way, sometimes a simple card in the mail to someone is powerful. People love to receive gifts, have someone compliment them, or be acknowledged for something they did. That adds value and goes a long way in building relationships.

That's why I started something that has proven to be powerful in saying thank you. Every Monday at the office, I think back on the week before and  remember things I noticed people did to serve others or help out around the church. I load up on simple thank you cards and kept a stock on hand for this. I simply write a hand written personal thank you to 5 people that I saw serve or help.

Once I sent a card to a small child that I noticed helping his dad take up the Sunday offering. The dad was just training up his child and letting him help out that day. It was a simple task but one I thought should be acknowledged. So, that following Monday, he was one of the 5 cards I sent out that week. A few days later, his mom posted the card on her Facebook page thanking ME for sending that thank you card to her son. The child was so excited to get a card in the mail and much more that it was to thank him for serving with dad. What a blessing for me to see his response.

Every Monday, while at the office, I take some time to think of 5 people that served or helped around church that week and I send them a hand written thank you. I keep a list of who I mail to so I don't keep sending the same people cards over and over. It takes just 15 minutes of my day and the reward for me is the opportunity to thank people. If you look around and be cognitive of your surroundings, you will see them. They are people that serve and help without even realizing it. Those 5 thank you cards will become powerful ways to thank others.

Comments? Suggestions? 

3 Ways To Jump Start Your Day

Business Administrators, try these to start your day better.

Depending on how you are wired, you may be like me and start your day fast and furious as soon as you get in your office. Your "to do" list grew over night and by the time you get to work, your off and running. There are days you get a phone call before you leave the house that one of your staff are out sick and now you are feeling behind before you even start. Does this sound like you?

Before you get that overwhelmed feeling of a crazy schedule for the day, try doing these three things. Make them your daily routine before you get into your office and get start. I know your rushed some days and feel you don't have time to do any of these. Trust me! You have time or can make the time and they will help you greatly to start your day off not feeling better even on those hectic start days.

1. As you arrive to the church, drive around the perimeter of the campus. This will take around 5- 10 minutes depending on the size of your campus. Drive slow and notice things that need attention. Drive through the parking lots and around buildings and behind buildings. Make a route and then make it a routine every day. The outside of your campus doesn't always get the close look it needs. Your busy schedule keeps you in the office area and in meetings most the day. This allows you a few minutes every day to check the outside as you drive around making mental notes.

2. Once inside the building, do not go directly to your office. Take a walk around the complex down common areas, large spaces like the Worship Center, Fellowship Hall, the Chapel, and other often used spaces. Look for things out of place or needing attention. Don't rush, make it a casual walk checking things out and making mental notes again. Just take 5-10 minutes for a walk through.

3. Its not office time just yet! I know you are chomping at the bit to get in there are start your hectic day. Take the next few minutes walking to each of your staff team members office and saying hello. Ask how they are doing and if you can help them with anything. If it is Monday , maybe ask how their weekend went. If you sense a need, take a minute and pray with them. This is one of THE best ways to add value to your team. They feel important and valued that you took time to stop by and acknowledge them. Now their day just started out better!

Do these without fail every day of the week and see what a huge difference it will make in your day and the days of your team members. Now you can go to your office and start. It will wait on you to do these three things. Now you are are not so rushed and can think more clearly to get started.

Comments? Suggestions? Just do it!

Never Fatherless

I turned 16 years old in October 1970. I was a sophomore in high school in Corpus Christi, Texas and the day I got my license my dad put me to work in the family auto parts business. I worked for my dad for eleven years until he sold the family business and retired. He taught me business sense, extraordinary customer service, and marketing during those years. My dad was very well known in the automotive parts world and ran a great business for 20 plus years. After he retired, we all moved to Arlington, Texas where I opened a wholesale auto parts warehouse. Business was booming and I soon needed his help. Now after eleven years working for dad, he went to work for me. We worked together side by side for another five years until I eventually sold my company. Dad reluctantly retired, again. In May of 2000 I lost my mom to a heart attack and in August that same year, I lost my dad to old age. Both left earth within months of each other to be with Jesus for eternity. Y2K turned out to be nothing but the year 2000 was as storm for my family and I, losing both our parents. 

In February of 2000, just before losing my mom and dad, I joined a staff at a church in Fort Worth. The Senior Adult Minister was Bob Taylor. The moment I first stepped into his office to meet him, we prayed together. That started a lifetime friendship. For seven years Bob and I served God together making hospital visits and eating breakfast every week. Bob prays about everything. Phil 4.6. He had three grown sons of his own yet took me in like a son. During our friendship, Bob has lost two sons and his wife. He is my mentor, father figure, and prayer warrior here on earth. I know that one day I will lose Bob too.

But I will never be fatherless

In Deuteronomy chapter 31 Moses is speaking to the people telling them he is 120 years old and can no longer lead them. In verse 6 he assures them that in his absence God will never leave them nor forsake them. They will not be a fatherless people. Then in Hebrews chapter 13 Paul is giving his final words in his letter and in verse 5 he reminds them what God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" assuring the reader that even in his absence, God will be with them.

No matter if we have lost our earthy fathers or father figure, Psalm 68:5, as a Christ follower we will never be fatherless. We will always have Abba Father who will never leave us. That is a truth grounded in the Word of God that we can depend on every day of our earthy life as Christians. Take joy as we approach Fathers Day and make the time to spend with your earthly father to love and honor him and thank him for being a great dad. If you are like me and have lost your earthy father, remember you are not fatherless. If you have never trusted Christ with your life nor believe that he died on the cross for your sins and was raised again and is alive, take a few minutes to pray and ask for his forgiveness and believe.

2 Absolutes in Church Budgeting

There is a lot of healthy debate out there in what percentage a personnel budget should be in comparison to the overall budget amount. It is a great financial question to ask and probably should be asked more often prior to budget preparation. I have been preparing church budgets for 23 years and have used the same formula from the beginning. I have applied this formula to budgets up to $3 million dollars and it works to keep the church healthy financially. 

The formula is keeping a balance between two key parts of the church budget: debt load and personnel costs. Here is the reason why you should watch and balance these two parts. If you have too much debt load, then you will strap the budget and not have enough dollars to hire the right amount of staff and/or offer competitive compensation packages. If your personnel costs are too high, then you may not have enough dollars to borrow money for church facility growth. Let’s face it! Not enough staff or not enough space will stymie growth. You can fund programs all you like but without space and staff, you may not go very far. 

The formula I have used as a guide is personnel costs should between 40 – 50 % of the overall church budget and debt load should be between 20 – 30 % of the overall church budget. So how do you balance these? Great question. The goal is to not exceed 70 % of the total of both. If debt is a maximum of 30 % then personnel needs to be at 40 %. If personnel is 50 %, then debt should be 20 %. If debt is 25 %, then personnel needs to be 45 %. Likewise, if personnel is 55 %, then that leaves you with only 15 % for debt and that would be a difficult amount to work with for new construction. If debt was 40 %, then that would make it difficult to staff the church for growth.

There are a lot of other factors that play into budget percentages. Factors like the size of the campus, age of buildings, size of budget, age of the congregation, and the vision of the church. If the church is debt free, and many are, then you can use the lower scale of debt load for renovations or operation and the higher scale in personnel. However, if new construction is in the future you don’t want to get personnel too high. It is certainly more difficult to reduce personnel than to increase it. 

Balancing budget percentages is a combination of those 2 absolutes in addition to the factors mentioned above. I have witnessed churches that went above the debt load guide and ended up not having enough staff to grow or to pay competitively and lost staff along the way. I also have witnessed churches that let their personnel cost go over the guideline and when it was time to build, there was no debt load available. 

Comments! Suggestions!