When reflecting on high points from the past year, few pastors talk about how excited they were to create the budget. While all ministers would probably agree that a budget is an important document and acknowledge that it keeps the church’s finances on track, very few get excited about it. But what if church leaders saw the budget in a new light?
How churches typically do budgets
The average church does not put a lot of time and effort into drafting a budget. Churches already have so many plates spinning; even though a budget is an important document, there’s not a lot of reason to recreate the wheel.
For the most part, church leaders look at how giving is trending and make a projection for the coming year. Then they make the necessary percentage adjustments to their budgetary line items. They might remove a line item or two or add a payroll staff position, but by and large, most things stay the same.
But leaders have an opportunity to look at their budgets differently, which could dramatically increase the budget’s visibility and importance in the life of the church.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be
Jesus clearly expressed the relationship between our money and our passion in the Sermon on the Mount: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 ESV). His point was simple: We invest in what is important to us.
What if this idea was brought into your budgeting process? As we discussed, church budgets tend to stay the same with only incremental changes over time. But what if your leadership team sat down every year and asked, “What is important to us? Where do we want to grow?”
What might change if you saw your church’s budget as a ministry investment roadmap?
A new template for budget-making
Just like before, you would start by looking at your projected income and last year’s expenses. Some things are relatively static and do not have a lot of wiggle room, such as facilities, salaries, and debt.
Once you identify the areas of the budget that are fixed and identify a couple of places where you might like to increase your budget (like staff raises or savings), it is time to ask the exciting (but difficult) question: “Where do we want to grow this year? What can we invest in?”
Is it time to step out in faith and invest in new ministries or outreach opportunities? Is there an area in your community where you have wanted to get involved or groups you could partner with? Putting those items into next year’s budget is a way of committing your energy to them. Is it time to cut off funding for areas that are not growing or performing well? Growth potential can be stymied when churches keep pouring money into areas without a clear understanding of what success should look like.
When you start to look at ministries as investments, it changes everything. Programs no longer need to limp along simply because you are expected to offer them. Everything is given life with clear expectations and time frames. And all stakeholders can be on the same page in saying, “We are going to invest in this ministry for this many years, and then we will revisit it. If it is fruitful, we will recommit to it. If not, stewardship demands that we put that money toward more productive opportunities.”
When you look at the budget this way, you can begin to see the opportunity and responsibility it represents. You don’t have to go through the motions, and when you share next year’s budget with your congregation, it will be clear how the budget facilitates the mission.
We are here for you
If you are interested in talking with someone about how to implement this mental shift regarding budget planning among the members of your leadership team, email us at contactcenter@cdfcapital.org or call us at 888-540-7112. We would love to help.
