Personal Reflections:

Stewardship of the human and material resources within Christ's Church should always be a necessary virtue, especially when the resources allotted by providence have been limited according to the worldly wisdom and standards. Very often Christ's Church must learn to do more with less since unlike the Corporations and the Governments, the church is dependent upon free-will tithes and offerings.

This statement does not mean that the generous saints with whom I have had the honor to serve were ever niggardly in their giving. Quite the contrary, it has always been my experience that those saints who comprehend the overwhelming generous gift of Grace which they have received through God's mercy, are more likely to share the bounty of their finances and time willingly and lovingly.

To publically demonstrate my personal appreciation for those willing sacrifices I have developed several principles and policies that reflect my fond regard for the participation of God's people in the building up of Christ's Church.

Principles:

1. Always be thankful for whatever amount appears in the offering plate. Never ever hound the saints for more money.

2. Teach tithing from the pulpit by reading a passage of Scripture that encourages generous giving before receiving the offering. In the Offertory prayer demonstrate your personal thankfulness for those gifts and the puposes for which they have been given.

3. Involve the whole congregation in the planning of the annual budget and definately allow them to discuss and vote on that budget. In some states that may be necessary for incorporated bodies. You do want to be incorporated so that your officers are not held responsible for the body's financial straits in any worse case scenario.

4. Make regular reports to the congregation on how the resources of the church are being managed and spent.

5. Always budget a family or two short of how many you have, so that the congregation can be thanked for going over the budget towards the end of the year if the number of saints remains stable.

6. Live within the means of the budget, and stay on target with the percentage goals approved by the congregation.

7. Before going into debt or spending large sums of money - always assume that the people you have are going to be the ones who have to pay the ongoing bills.

8. Don't overwork any individual or family. Always be willing to give people some time off from their responsibilities.

9. If there is a job that you would like to have done and no one qualified is available - wait until the Lord provides someone for that position or do it yourself if absolutely necessary.

Policies:

1. Design and work the budget from percentages instead of fixed dollar amounts.

2. Limit staff salaries to about one-third of the total budget so that other aspects of the congregation's ministry do not suffer.

3. Tithe at least ten per cent of the giving to ministries and missions outside of the congregation.

4. Budget diaconal funds for unexpected needs well in advance.

5. Maintain a balance in the bank equal to at least ten percent of the annual budget. Also, when the annual budget is adopted in early February, you should already have almost 20% of the annual amount well in hand.

6. Involve members in the annual audit of fund spendings.

7. Make certain there is unanimity and committment before starting any major project.

8. Whatever amount an individual or family gives to the church should be known only to the Lord, the Treasurer and the IRS if they decide to make such a tax deduction.

9. Do not accept memorial gifts which require the public posting of the benefactor's name. Neither should the church receive monies from lottery winnings or other gambling!

10. Tithes and offerings are to be the means by which the church is supported. This means no "junk for Jesus sales" (however well intentioned), no door to door fund raising projects or any appeals to the general public at large!

 

A Sample Budget:

 

Christ Covenant Reformed	00B	99A	99B	2000 Budget	1999 Actual	1999 Budget	1998 Actual	1997 Actual
PRIOR YEAR END BALANCE				$ 6,246.11	$ 21,691.17	$ 21,691.17	$ 25,627.79	$ 16,893.11
ANTICIPATED INCOME				$ 52,800.00	$ 53,630.31	$ 51,000.00	$ 53,435.98	$ 50.008.41
	%	%	%
DEACON EXPENSE	5%	2%	3%	$ 2,620.00	$ 1,410.00	$ 1,800.00	$ 2,511.89	$ 2,015.00
MISSION EXPENSE	8%	5%	8%	$4,280.00	$ 3,297.08	$ 4,700.00	$ 6,283.00	$ 6,124.38
Administration	3.4	2.6	5.5	$1,800.00	$1,727.00	$3,300.00	$6,645.16	$ 5.506.59
Building Operations	51.1	60.1	50.6	$ 27,000.00	$38,768.52	$30,000.00	$25,233.91	$ 6.954.18
Christian Education	.8	.4	1.6	$450.00	$ 258.27	$1,000.00	$921.16	$ 1,435.64
Evangelism	4.7	1.7	2.5	$ 2,500.00	$ 1,141.44	$ 1,500.00	$ 2,341.88	$ 2,509.90
Hospitality	.4	.4	.5	$ 250.00	$ 284.93	$ 300.00	$ 306.47	$ 411.45
Ministry Expenses	29.6	26.9	27.7	$ 15,650.00	$ 17,379.15	$ 16,400.00	$ 13,355.18	$ 16,693.33
Miscellaneous	.3	.3	.3	$ 200.00	$ 214.64	$ 200.00	$ 151.49	$ 88.00
GENERAL EXPENSE	87%	93%	89%	$ 45,900.00	$ 59,773.95	$ 52,700.00	$ 48,955.25	$ 33,689.09
BUDGETED SPENDING				$ 52,800.00	$ 64,481.03	$ 59,200.00	$ 57,750.14	$ 41,828.47

Yes, we do track every single penny! There is often change in the offering plate from the children who are being taught to tithe by their parents!

This four year overview of our annual spending reflects the purchase of our property in August of 1998. Obviously somethings had to give in every other aspect of the budget to make that acquisition possible.

Also, we moved several items to new categories to accomodate the realities of the soft ware accounting system. The main point of our tracking percentages is to stay within the reality of tithes and offerings received. While the mission percentages appear low, in reality they are truly ten per cent of the general offering. The Deacon's offering and Building Offering are kept apart from that computation. Our two major goals are being realized - to keep staff expenses below 35% and building expenses as near to 50% as possible.

Keep in mind that our membership is limited with a stable thirty-some members for the last four years. This year (2000) we will be able to reduce our interest bearing loan with a no interest loan as well as do some new construction. That denominational assistance is not noted in the budget above.

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Note: Due to fund checks being processed at the end of any given year, the year end balances do not always agree with the sum in the next column!