A fundamental first step in completing a financial plan is creating a Chart Of Accounts. I've had more than a few conversations with church leaders on this topic. In my experience, reporting is the primary thing to consider when creating a Chart Of Accounts. I've run into more than a few financial types who want to break everything down into its category and subcategory to the point of uselessness. Those in the … [Read more...]
Creating The Annual Budget
The Annual Process Of Developing The Budget, Along With A Few Pointers
As an Executive Pastor, one of the things I could never avoid was doing the budget for the church each year. The budget was due to the eldership in early December, and it took a bunch of work to get it together. I typically started working on it in mid to late September. I wanted to share the process I went through each year and a few pointers. I’ll assume your church uses QuickBooks or some other application that … [Read more...]
Capital Campaign Names
A Little Help With What Some Think Is The Most Difficult Part Of A Capital Campaign
Since becoming an executive pastor in 2004, I've run several capital fundraising campaigns. I've had plenty of experience with them. I've also had the privilege of helping other church leaders with stewardship strategies and capital fundraising campaigns for their churches. The last campaign I helped a church with, I'm happy to say, went very well. They were able to raise 120% of their goal over a 3-year period. I … [Read more...]
Finance Team Charter
The Policy Document Created By The Board Of Elders, Forming A "Finance Committee"
Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish and communicate the Finance Team charter as set forth by the church's Board of Elders. Scope The Finance Team is formed and empowered by the Board of Elders to function as a team of subject matter experts in the accounting and finance area regularly reviewing the church’s financial status, and advising the Executive Pastor. To this end, this policy includes … [Read more...]