The Pastor's Manual

There is no greater tragedy in the world for a church than to not have the funds to get the Gospel out to a dying and Hell-bound world of lost people. In many cases, the money is there and waiting to be given. In some cases, the money is already given and being misused. In other cases, God is withholding His blessings financially because we are not taking care of what properties He has already given us. Overall, we are just not approaching this subject of finances in a scriptural perspective. Let me give you some observations about common mistakes I have noticed in the past 25 years.

Personal debt.

No annual budget.

Voting in a budget that is not based on last year’s income.

Giving the checkbook to a layman.

Giving the checkbook to the preacher or his wife.

Not having a loyal and qualified staff bookkeeper.

Not backing the bookkeeper.

No purchase order system.

No pencil deducting of purchase orders.

Counting offerings during the church services.

No signed forms for offering accountability.

No rotating of men who count.

Open church charge accounts.

Not informing vendors of a Purchase Order number requirement in order to purchase items.

Pastoral pride.

Staff rebels.

No prepayment on debt.

No above budget offerings for capital improvements.

Not taking care of what God has already given you.

Letting your heart rule your pocketbook. Principle versus passion.

Educational ministries that do not pay their own way.

Backing up on your budget when you know the money is there and not backing up on reducing your budget when you know it’s not there.

Using mission’s money to pay church bills.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul philosophy.

No annual stewardship month even when things are going great financially.

No monthly and quarterly financial reports.

Not taking care of the poor. (Psalm 41)

No mission’s push.

Not keeping the people and deacons informed.

Going into the next month with a deficit.

Not setting aside monies for future projects.

Paying your bills late.

Not creating an A+ credit rating.

Not getting to know your local banker.

Not having excellent credit with more than one bank.

Not sending monthly and quarterly financial reports to your bankers.

Not filing for excise tax refunds on gasoline expenditures.

Not looking for ways to cut expenditures.

Building too soon and building too late.

Not seeking financial advice before entering into a major project.

Stopping the buses when the offerings go down. Don’t cut down the fruit trees.

Not shopping around for the best interest rates and best buys.

Not getting three bids on anything over $100.00.

Letting every ministry take up special offerings. It will nickel and dime you to death.

The preacher not meeting with the financial secretary weekly.

The preacher not keeping the financial secretary informed about potential projects that will cost money.

Not giving proper cost accounting to the bus ministry. It costs you more than just the expense of the purchase of the bus. You must figure out a formula that includes maintenance and insurance. Come up with a per-mile figure and then you can calculate the real expense of future bus routes.

Adding staff without a minimum of six months of history of income to support such a person.

Not budgeting in two major conferences a year for the preacher and staff to attend so they can be pressured into winning souls. They need someone to tell them what they will not tell themselves.

Living off of projections and not a percentage of reality.

ABOVE- BUDGET MONIES

You make a living from eight to five o’clock and you make a success from five to eight o’clock. You survive on eight to five pay and expand on a five to eight pay. You exist with budget money and you expand on above-budget money. All of us must understand the relationship between our handling of our money and God’s handling of our ministry. We must not only provide strict guidelines for financial integrity with men, but we must win over God. God will invest where He can get the most for His investment. Accountability is not only a key word for our boss-employee relationship, but our God-people relationship. Let’s discuss how to begin to get above- budget-monies.

Put together a realistic budget based on the prior year’s expenditures.

Set up a requisition system that produces a purchase order that pencil deducts expenditures.

Put a strong person in charge of the bookkeeping department. He or she must be able to say no.

The pastor must back the financial secretary.

Developing a strong airtight budget gives you the right to seek above budget monies.

Staff meetings are necessary to enforce the strictness of the budget.

Weekly meetings with the Financial Secretary to review offering activities on a weekly basis.

Amortize your debt

Separate your missions giving from the operating budget. I prefer faith promise.

Do not rob from one account to put into another account. It is illegal and you will destroy the people’s confidence in your leadership.

The more soulwinning hooks you have in the water, the more souls will be saved and the more financial hooks in the water, the more financial resources you’ll have at your disposal

Start with the debt retirement by comparative analysis of prepayment amounts.

Shop for better interest and always choose a local bank, if possible.

Have a stewardship month. Teach and preach on money matters. Take commitments at the end of the month.

Take the prepayment information to your deacons or men and show them the savings that weekly prepayments to the bank will provide. You will reduce the number of years, plus save on interest money.

Present several possible weekly amounts of prepayment.

Show your people the plan during a Wednesday night service.

Print up commitment cards that will be passed out to your people to commit a certain weekly amount.

Provide incentives or rewards for those who are faithful for the entire year.

Other projects, such as bus kid school, should be above- budget giving.

GIVE-IT-ALL offerings are above-budget monies.

If the cause is just, they will respond.

Do not stretch yourself beyond your church growth.

Keep mama healthy; that’s the operating budget.

Decide church-wide above-budget giving. Do not let every ministry raise their own above-budget needs. They should have their own budget to operate with from the church-wide budget.

BIBLICAL PHILOSOPHY OF FINANCES

Matthew 22:21 Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

MONEY IS A NECESSARY PART OF LIFE.

There has to be a unit of measurement for value.

We no longer barter and trade goods and services.

You must realize that money is important; one of 3 factors that can veto growth: Faculty, Facility, Finances.

How you handle money determines how you handle life.

MONEY IS NOT THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL.

The love of money is the root of all evil.

The desire to have money is the root of all evil.

You have to deal with money, bills, and expenses.

YOU MUST LEARN HOW TO MANAGE MONEY.

Owe no man anything.

Don't discuss borrowing. Discuss paying debts on time.

House notes and car loans are secured debts.

On secured debts, you owe the payment not the whole amount each month.

Be a good steward of what God gives you.

Note the story of the talents in the Bible.

Never impulse buy.

Never grocery shop when hungry.

Never buy anything of value that day.

Never buy necessities on credit: clothes, food, tires, gas, etc.

Never spend God's money for personal use.

THE WAY TO GET IS TO GIVE. PHILIPPIANS 4.

My God shall supply all your needs.

This is Conditional upon their having given to others.

God supplies your needs as you provide others' needs.

Give and it shall be given.

COST CONSCIOUSNESS

Not being cost conscious is the biggest and most damaging sin committed by pastors. Very few have any concept of the effect of a lack of cost consciousness. Most pastors blindly jump into projects without ever giving factual consideration to what costs are involved. This is not a conflict between living by faith and living by fact. This is not at all meant to discredit living by faith. An old pastor friend told me years ago that there is a thin line between faith and foolishness. It doesn’t take much of a push for the heart to dictate to the mind the necessity of something while ignoring the cost. All of this seems to happen with the purest of intentions; but with the most devastating and damaging of results. Pastors who are personal soul winners are more susceptible to this trap because they are soul winners and they want to reach the world with the Gospel. Also the crowd they run with is always an excitable bunch of men of God who are easily motivated by their heroes. Being motivated by a hero is not bad. It is a good thing. The problem begins when the hidden costs begin to raise their ugly head. The liberal fundamentalist generally is so laid back that he has no inclination toward any kind of growth. There are fundamental financial factors that must dictate restraint to the aggressive soul winner.

On the other hand, there are those who are so conservative financially that they never stick their necks out and step out on faith to go forward. The factors involved, in either a yea or a nay, can be concrete enough to make it a solid trustworthy decision. Financial fears grip many men of God because of the horror stories they hear from ministries that went under financially.

FACTORS THAT EFFECT FINANCIAL DECISIONS

A church budget

Hire an experienced bookkeeper who is loyal and a soul winner.

Budgets based on projections are unsound budgets

Budgets based on previous years’ income are sound budgets

Always plan on 90% and use the 10% as a financial safety net

Set up a purchase order system and pencil deduct all purchases

The pastor must back the bookkeeper

Always remind your people and your staff that the budget is saying yes or no and not the bookkeeper

Stop letting students go to school for free or exchanging tuition for work

Make monthly financial reports available

Pastors should not have their name on the checking or saving accounts.

Produce quarterly financial reports and give copies to your bankers and deacons.

Put percentages next to the summary of expenditures.

Always check percentages to see if any of the expenditures are in excess. Utilities should never exceed 15%, debt retirement should never exceed 25%, and staff salaries should never exceed 40%.

Never add a bus without considering three things: Faculty, facilities, and finances.

Have a formula for cost analysis of adding bus routes. It costs us $.42 a mile ($.25 a mile for maintenance and $.18 a mile for fuel) to add a bus, plus $8.65 for insurance. I would suggest that you add an additional $.20 a mile to the current per gallon cost of gasoline.

Christian school tuition should never be based on the other Christian school’s tuition in the area. Your costs are different than their costs for operating your school.

The Christian school should pay a percentage of the mortgage payment for the church.

The Christian school should pay a percentage of the utilities, if there is no separate meter.

The Christian school should pay a percentage of the maintenance expense of the church.

Establish a weekly debt retirement goal based on individual commitment of the church members and pre-pay on your mortgage.

It is best to have two banks. A small, independent bank for short-term money. A large, national bank for the big money needs.

Refuse to be trapped and intimidated by your preacher friends.

Do not build an auditorium based on your Sunday morning attendance.

Never consider building an auditorium until your Wednesday night attendance fills the auditorium consistently.

It would be best to build Sunday school space first to help build a base and then consider an auditorium.

It should not be the pastor’s idea to build, but the feedback should come from the people through the deacons.

It is always best to use an experienced architect who is known at city hall.

Establish an annual give-it-all offering for capital expenditures only. Do not have give-it-all offerings for budget needs. Above-budget money will help you to expand.

Never go into the next month with a budget deficit.

Learn to differentiate between cutting back the budget and pushing the people to meet the budget. You would be wise to know the state of your flocks by having a car count and man count. If there is a down turn in vital statistics, then cut your budget internally and win more folks to Christ. If there is no down turn in the vital statistics, then push.

Have a stewardship month and teach your people to be fiscally responsible. Give them the tools to use to get their money in control. Use this stewardship month to help them,not to help you.

Introduce and enlist new people to church ministries so you can broaden your base.

Give numbered offering enveloped to every new member after they join.

Have a list of opportunities printed on your offering envelopes for the members to give to different causes. Have specific boxes for Faith Promise, Debt Retirement, Bus Ministry, and etc.

Always keep the deacons informed and use them as an advisory board.

Let your bankers have veto power.

Repair and fix it now, not later.

Hire a maintenance man.

Every project should save enough money to purchase a piece of equipment that you would normally rent for the project.

DEBT RETIREMENT

One of the most effective financial tools to church money management is the pre-payment program. We instituted this program 15 years ago by asking the folks to give a $1.00 a week toward a pre-payment fund and to mark it on their offering envelope. As the years progressed, we put together incentives to increase that weekly amount. The first year's offering was $250.00 a week. Each Friday we would write a check, noting the amount designated to pre-payment that week, and take it to the bank. Each Friday we would reduce the principal amount by that pre-payment figure.

Amortize your mortgage. (Computer programs are available to help you.)

Estimate the weekly amount that you feel your people could give up and above their regular tithes and offerings.

Print out an amortization schedule showing the various levels of prepayment you feel are possible.

Compare the pay off date to your scheduled pay-off date.

Go over this with the deacons and lay leaders.

Explain to them the savings in interest and the benefits of an early pay off.

Use incentives to motivate your people.

We put up an Owe No Man board in the foyer.

Last year each person, who faithfully gave at least $5.00 per week for the entire year, was placed under the Class of 1994.

We gave certificates for minuteman, green, gold, platinum, and medallion levels of participation.

$5, $10, $15, and $20 weekly levels were placed on the Owe No Man board.

5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% discounts to the bookstore were offered to those who participated for the entire year.

The $5, $10, $15, and $20 level participants received a laminated green, gold, platinum, or medallion card to present to the bookstore for the discounts.

FINANCIAL CHECKLIST

Across America churches are closing their doors because of finances. Preachers move from one church to another hoping to find the financial stability that every church needs to successfully do a great work for God, only to jump from the frying pan into the fire.

The only way a church will be financially successful is if the preacher decides to do God's work decently and in order, as the Lord requires. A preacher cannot run from himself, so the best thing to do is face the problem and defeat it.

So, where does a preacher start? The following check list of financial items will help a preacher succeed in the area of finances. The ultimate result of getting the church's finances in order is more souls saved and lives salvaged for the glory of the Lord.

America needs churches that are financially sound so the world will see that God's business is the best business in town.

Offering plates

Offering envelopes for your people

Tithing record form for your members

Ushers

Deacons

Count room

Printing Calculator

Offering Allocation report

Deposit slips

Money bag

Surplus checking account

Budget checking account

Church budget

Requisition

Purchase Order

Purchase Order Ledger

Typewriter

Checks

Check Register

File for check copies and attached invoices

Bank statement

Monthly bank reconciliation

Treasurer's report

Monthly Budget Comparison report

Monthly Budget Comparison report; last year to this year

Year-to-Date report

Quarterly Expenditures report

Quarterly Statement of Income and Expenses report

Quarterly Comparison report

Financial Secretary

Percentage check of expenditures

15% - Utilities expenses

25% - Debt service expenses

35% - Staff Expenses

A Weekly Meeting with the Financial Secretary

Only the financial secretary and the treasurer should be on the signature cards for the bank account.

A church note on all the above-budget expenditures

A Stewardship month

Stewardship commitment card

Bible studies on finance

Strong missions push

Pay your bills on time.

Let the budget tell you, NO.

GIVE IT ALL

When I came to Longview Baptist Temple in 1980, we had a three-part bonding program. Our weekly sinking fund payment would accumulate the funds necessary for a bi-annual retirement of bonds. I decided to retire the bonding program after we had suffered a split and money was tight. It took us five years, but we finally retired all of the bonds. We called these two offerings a year a Give It All offering. It started with a Paycheck Sunday in 1981, with a $20,000 goal. We raised over $20,000 when our weekly offerings were averaging $2,500 to $3,000 a week. I held a bond burning on a Sunday night and a fellowship in the gym. Our people were elated with the results. Since that victory, we have raised two miracle offerings a year. A church survives on their budget, but expansion can only come with above-budget monies! We must learn how to raise miracle offerings. In one 5 year period at LBT, we acquired $600,000 worth of property with these Give It Alls, while at the same time our Debt Retirement offerings paid off $600,000 worth of debt, giving us a $1.2 million turn around.

There must be a need.

You can only pay off debts with the offering once in a great while.

99% of the offerings must be for capital acquisition or improvement.

The preacher must decide the need.

If it is a need that the people see as a need, you can proceed.

The deacons or men must also agree it is a need.

The staff must also agree it is a need.

Brainstorming sessions are critical to organize a miracle offering.

Get a theme.

Get a Bible verse.

Plan your auditorium decorations.

Plan decorations that have a place to display the names of those committing to the miracle offering.

Motivation by exposure works.

You must plan an eight-week campaign.

You must set a date for the offering.

Hang a banner in the auditorium to remind everyone.

Plan a commitment card.

Print twenty times the cards necessary for your congregation.

The pastor must commit first.

The staff must commit second.

The deacons must commit third.

Next, go to the Wednesday night Teacher and Workers’ Meeting.

Then go to the Wednesday night congregation.

Do not leave until you raise at least 90% of the commitment for the miracle offering.

Put their names up on the wall the same night.

Use Wednesday night as your kick-off night for the campaign.

On the next Sunday morning, ask those who have a card already to stand.

Have the ushers pass out cards to those who are seated.

Explain what the offering is for.

After four weeks, start asking those who have turned their cards in to stand.

Then, once again, pass out cards to those who are seated.

Keep this up until the Sunday before the big miracle offering.

After the third week, write a thank you letter to those who have turned in their commitment cards and mention the amount of their commitment.

Pray, pray, pray.

The preacher must lead in giving.

Tell the folks what you and your wife are going to give.

Break down your offering goal into units of $1,000, $750, $500, and $250.

Find out how many giving units you have already.

Figure out how many $1,000 commitments you’ll need in order to hit your goal.

Figure out how many $750 commitments you’ll need in order to hit your goal.

Figure out how many $500 commitments you’ll need in order to hit your goal.

Figure out how many $250 commitments you’ll need in order to hit your goal.

Challenge the teens to raise $100 each.

Push the cards in Sunday school.

If you don’t hit the goal the first Sunday, don’t panic.

Remind the people to keep their word and give each week until they hit their goal.

Create clubs for $1,000, $750, $500, and $250 offerings.

Tell them you’ll put a permanently affixed plaque for each club in the new building for example.

Remind them that this offering is above their regular weekly giving.

Plan to have at least one Give-It-All a year for the rest of your life.

Remind them how successful these offerings have been through the years.

Expect the Wednesday night you take up the GIA commitments to take a good 30 minutes.

The longer you do this and when a giving pattern develops, you may send letters to them with the card. By asking them to sign the GIA commitment card ahead of time they know this will save a lot of time.

If the letter starts to lose its effectiveness, then go back to the raising of the commitment on Wednesday night.

Never let the GIA amount dictate the next GIA amount. Rather, let the need dictate the amount.

HOW TO KEEP THE TITHES AND OFFERINGS UP

The stewardship month is an effective tool to introduce new converts and new church members to the financial needs of the church. No need exists in a church that cannot be met by the members of that church collectively obeying the Lord in the matter of their tithes and offerings. However, most churches cannot consistently, throughout the year, keep the giving up. Let me give you some suggestions.

Always give a little pep talk just before the offering, reminding them of their commitment.

Mention it in your Sunday school lesson regularly on a by the way statement.

Mention it in your sermon regularly on a by the way statement.

Send quarterly statements of their giving to each member.

Review every worker’s giving once a month.

Deacons

Eager Beavers Club workers

Busy Buzzy Bees Club workers

Bluebonnets Club workers

Eaglette Club workers

Baptist Boys Battalion Club workers

Baptist Boys Eagle Troop Club workers

Sunday School superintendents

Sunday School teachers

Sunday School helpers

Sunday School secretaries

Choir members

Orchestra

Pianist

Organist

Staff

Parking lot attendants

Junior Choir leaders

Youth workers

Bus drivers

Bus captains

Bus helpers

LCA teachers

LBA teachers

TBC teachers

LCA workers

LBA workers

TBC workers

IBWM staff

LBT camp staff

Every volunteer worker signs a sheet stating they will tithe and give offerings.

Each paid staff member signs a sheet stating they will tithe and give offerings.

The department heads call the people in their departments who failed to tithe the previous month.

We do not fire or rail on them; we simply offer help in aiding them to get this right.

The broader the financial base, the higher the structure.

Every counseling session that involves money problems, I automatically get a copy of their giving record before I counsel with them.

The pastor cannot effectively counsel without taking that vital statistic.

If the offerings are down two weeks in a row, tell the people!

Never go into the next month with a deficit.

Know when to cut the budget and where to put the pressure on.

If you have to cut back because of a split, do it and keep your mouth shut. Be positive.

If you have not had a split or splinter, then put the pressure on and do