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Congregational Budgeting and Church Finance Tips Archive April 2006 Notes from MMA's Stewardship Leaders Conference On March 3rd, MMA held a Stewardship Leaders Conference at Neffsville Mennonite Church. Here are some of the notes taken at this conference: There are many examples of stewardship in the Bible. Here are a few from Steve Lane, conference instructor: Kingdom Currency (choose between serving God and seeking stuff) "You cannot serve both God & money." Matt 6:24 "Where your treasure is there your heart will be also." Matt 6:21 "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Matt 6:33 The Law (God loves the poor, so invest in their wellbeing) "When you reap the harvest, do not reap to the very edges of your field…" Lev. 23:22 Apostolic Instruction (seek contentment and beware of wealth's allure) "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." I Tim. 6:10 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Phil. 4:11 "Be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." I Tim. 6:18 Financial Poetry (flee envy's destructive lure) "…I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Psa. 72:2-3 Financial Wisdom (money never, ever satisfies) "Whoever loves money never has enough." Eccl. 5:10 Financial Admonitions (disregarding the poor dishonors the Lord) "Seek justice encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isa. 1:17 Radical Community in Acts (choose to share with those in need) "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Acts 2:45 Two overarching questions: 1) Will this financial decision bring the most possible glory to God; and 2) How might this financial decision impact the common good or my ability to support the common good? August 2005 Where does the money go? From time to time, people ask where does their congregational contribution to Franconia Conference (and to Mennonite Church USA & its agencies) go. MC USA has developed a very handy and informative Guide to Congregational Support of Mennonite Church USA, which shows in graphic form where financial support for your area conference, MC USA Executive Leadership and its many agencies has come from and where the money has gone in the previous year. This guide is available by clicking here and in printed form at the Mennonite Conference Center. April 2005 "How Long should Church Records be kept?" Someone in your congregation has probably asked that question before and unless you have a CPA or a lawyer in your church, you might not know where to find the answer. The March 2005 edition of Church Treasurer Alert! has some helpful guidelines for the retention of church records. Did you know that Offering Envelopes should be kept at least four years? What are the exceptions? How long should you keep sales tax exemption certificates? Or staff benefits policies? Church Treasurer Alert! is a monthly publication found in the Mennonite Conference Center library. February 2005 How to Increase Giving to Your Congregation ChurchStuff.com has a list of the top ten ways to increase giving to your congregation, which I found quite interesting. 1.  Connect individual giving directly to the spiritual life of each person. 4.  Let people make pledges and regular gifts to more than a single fund, encouraging rather than discouraging designated giving. 7.  Encourage the pastor to be actively involved in stewardship education and fund-raising. 9.  Emphasize the mission and vision of your church rather than the line item budget — and remember that people give to people and God, not budgets. For the other six ways, check out their Web site: www.churchstuff.com October 2004 Why people give: Dan Reiland says in his article in the September issue of The Pastor's Coach: people, who give in right and healthy ways, tend to give to their church for the following reasons: 1) sense a clear and compelling vision for their church, 2) they have a trust relationship with the leaders, 3) their church is progressing, 4) they may receive a blessing, 5) there is a tangible need, 6) they feel an ownership in their church, & 7) love for God and His word. This is something to think about when you approach the subject of stewardship and giving in your congregations. June 2004 Radical, but Practical Stewardship In his video series on Firstfruits Living, Lynn Miller says that Mennonites have been famous for being frugal, which is different that being good stewards. Miller says that paying bottom dollar for an item you need is not necessarily being a good steward of the resources God has given you, when you look at the big picture. Maybe the person you are buying the item from really needs the money; maybe that person is an incredible giver to the church and buying from him or her is really giving back to the church. God wants us to make decisions like this that are fair to both sides, not just ourselves. This and other radical, but practical stewardship ideas are found in Miller's four-part video series Firstfruits Living, available at the Mennonite Resource Center library. April 2004 Biblical Verses and Principles for Stewardship Ok, so you have been asked to talk to your church about stewardship and you just don't know where to begin? Start right from the Bible. 100 Stewardship Verses and Ideas can be a good reference point for a Biblical base for stewardship. Biblical Principles - Stewardship and Fundraising can be another reference point. These two Web sites are from www.stewardship.org, a good resource for stewardship ideas. Here are some examples: Biblical Principle: Acknowledging the primacy of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16) as our chief treasure (Mt. 13:44), Christians are called to lives of stewardship, as managers of all that God has entrusted to them (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Verse: Deut. 14:22, 23 - The purpose for giving: learning to continually reverence God in your life. Verses: Gal. 6:6, III John 5-8, I Tim. 5:17, 18 - Instructions to share generously with those who have spiritual ministries in your life and/or in the lives of others. Biblical Principle: A Christian's attitude toward possessions on earth is important to God (Mt. 6:24), and there is a vital link between how believers utilize earthly possessions (as investments in God's kingdom) and the eternal rewards that believers receive (Phil. 4:17). February 2004 Developing Giving Habits in the Congregation, Part 2 In the last Tips, the topic was "Developing Giving Habits in the Congregation." A previous edition of MMA's Living Stewardship continues this theme. One of the articles writes, "our consumer culture has taught kids to spend and never stop. As a result, many kids have found their value in their possessions." Our churches can help children break free from materialism, with a few simple exercises: Talk to your children about money and help them understand the difference between wants and needs. Maintain healthy financial boundaries for your children. Set positive examples of good stewardship for your children to follow. Additional ideas can be found at: sharesavespend.com December 2003 Developing Giving Habits in the Congregation, Part 1 In a recent edition of Mark Vincent's Depth Perception, Mark writes that statistics that say, "younger people are less likely to give than older people, therefore good fund raising efforts are those that focus on older persons," is misleading. While it may be that older persons do give more, it is also true that many older people are on a fixed or declining income. Mark says, "The best practice fund-raising efforts invest in introducing people to giving." What are we doing in our congregations that encourage our next generations, the children, youth and young adults, to give? What habits of giving are they developing now at the formative stages of their lives that will carry on into their adult life? These are challenging questions, not easily answered, but need be to be explored more in depth by each congregation. For more ideas from Mark Vincent, read his bi-monthly Depth Perception articles, available at www.designforministry.com/. October 2003 Three Strategies for an Annual Stewardship Campaign Discuss the need of each giver to give for his or her own spiritual benefit, not for the need of the church to receive. Instead of asking, "What does the church need to balance its budget?" Try asking yourself, "How much is God calling me to give as a percentage of my income?" Discuss tithing and giving as a percentage, not as a legalism, but as an individual faith statement for which God's grace empowers us. These ideas and more are found in the March edition of The Parish Paper, sent to congregations with the Mennonite Church USA's Equipping packets. Copies are also available at the Mennonite Conference Center. August 2003 Bringing An Offering In your church, are offerings lifted? Is the offering time considered by your congregation's members as the low point in the Sunday morning service? Do you almost have to apologize to visitors when you conduct the offering time? Offering time is often viewed as that necessary time to "pay the bills," covered over by announcements or special music. Why is that? The 2003 edition of GIVING magazine offers some observations about offerings and worship that are worth taking a closer look at. For example, the offering holds the following theological elements: Grace (from God) — freely given to us Relationship (with God) — is what God seeks with us Presentation (to God) — as a response from us in worship Acceptance (by God) — as a symbol of the giving of ourselves wholly to God Use (for God) — to build up His kingdom Reciprocity (with God) — an outflow of grace toward us, the giver Read more by checking out a copy of GIVING from the Conference Resource Center or by picking up your own copy at Design For Ministry. June 2003 Help people in your church break free from the stress and anxiety caused by consumer debt ... Personal debt is at an all-time high. Saving for the future is out of style. Many in your congregation may be among those trapped by mounting debt — and need a new way of looking at their finances. Your local MMA office has a resource that can help point the way to financial freedom. It is called the Good $ense Budget Ministry Kit and can be used as a Sunday School or small group curriculum. There are also ideas that can help pastors and leaders to catch the vision. Mark Fly, your local congregational MMA advocate, is meeting with congregations to introduce Good $ense and would be happy to meet with yours too. Call him at 215-256-1510. April 2003 Stewardship Initiatives for Congregations Resources for Pastors: Pastors need to preach more stewardship applications instead of more stewardship sermons. Develop Relationships between Gift Giver and Gift Receiver: People are often concerned about where donated dollars go, but they sometimes forget that all of life is dedicated to God. Improve Congregational Financial Management: a) train their people in good committee process; b) establish a congregational mission statement; c) establish a yearly process that builds ownership for a congregation's financial commitments. A church needs to look forward rather than just funding last year's program all over again. Read about four more Stewardship Initiatives for Congregations and other stewardship ideas in Mark Vincent's A Christian View of Money, available at the Mennonite Conference Center or from Design For Ministry. February 2003 Reasons why Congregations should become Incorporated: Incorporation establishes a church as a legal entity, well recognized for all purposes. Real estate, buildings, and assets are generally held in a corporate name. Limited liability of church members. Termination of a church's existence or the merger with another organization easier, better defined when incorporated. Incorporation provides for better management and control than the unincorporated association form of existence. For further explanation of the above points, contact Conrad Martin at 215-723-5513. December 2002 Did you know: 15-seat passenger vans are dangerous and that churches and schools could be held liable for using them. Ministers are mandatory reporters of child abuse in most states. Churches do not have to tolerate persons who disrupt religious services. A church may be liable for accidents caused by staff members as a result of using a cell phone while driving on church business. These and many other recent court decisions are reviewed in the Church Law & Tax Report and the Church Treasurer Alert! These periodicals are found in the Resource Center at the Mennonite Conference Center. October 2002 Many churches give the totals of the previous week's offering in the bulletin each week. Some people may begin to think that the church is only interested in receiving money and not giving money. Wouldn't it be even better to show the total amount of money disbursed each week by the church to other organizations (and list those organizations) as well? Church members will then be better able to put a face onto the dollars they contribute. August 2002 Generous Living is an excellent publication for church finance tips. Even though they have stopped publishing the magazine, you can purchase The Very Best of Generous Living here.