Church or Charity

Churches are always hit up by other ministries, the homeless, and those in need for charity.  It is appropriate for the Church to be Jesus to those in need and to help where help is needed.  My caution to Pastor's and church leaders is that money is not the answer to every problem and that ministry priorities need to be made to be an effective ministry.  Loving people want to serve every ministry opportunity they see and feel for.  However, if you do not have the funds to support a ministry in your own church then you will not be able to fund it.  Likewise, there will be many times when others will come asking your church to donate to their ministry.  I encourage churches to have a set amount set aside IN the BUDGET to donate to outside ministries and mission churches.  In cases where a special ministry comes up and the BUDGET has been spent then there may be a need to have an offering for such a specific situation.  This can best be viewed through the Stewardship lens.  Are you being a good steward of the resources given to your ministry?

For example, a church is outgrowing its lease space and there is not enough room for the number of children that show up for nursery.  The church realizes they need to get a larger space to meet their ministry needs.  However, there are no extra dollars in the budget to rent additional space but over the last 6 months the church has sent $6,000 to other church plants that requested start up funds.  It is great to bless others and all mission work that can be done should be done to further the kingdom.  In addition to the budget for your church facilities, allocate a percentage of funds to direct exclusively to other mission opportunities.  In this example of the growing church, it must also be said that money should be set aside to address a long term solution to the facility problem.  In order to move to a long term lease or to purchase a facility, the church will need to set cash aside to cover finish out, a down payment, and  maintain reserve funds.  If you are purchasing a building a lender will want you to put 20-30% down towards the purchase.  A $1,000,000 purchase means that a church needs to set aside a minimum of $200,000 to cover the down payment.  These funds are generally not raised overnight.  They come from intentional ministry budgets that set money aside and are saved from the beginning to be designated for use to secure a facility.  When going to get a loan a lender will want to see consistent, planned budgets for at least the previous 3 years and they will look at your church as a business as opposed to a charity.

Are you planning to transition or add a facility?  Do you need to set a budget to get on the path to a relocation or expansion?  If so call me today to set up a free consultation.  John Muzyka 469-446-5131