Seven Financial Stewardship Principles for Churches

1. Prayer and Planning is a Partnership

In The Conversations: The Message Bible With Its Translator, Dr. Eugene Peterson contrasts the Israelites’ victories at Jericho and Ai  where God miraculously collapsed walls to allow Joshua’s army to overtake Jericho. However, He gave Joshua an ingenious plan to defeat Ai. Sometimes God supernaturally provides financial resources to fund ministry; at other times, He provides a plan. 

Someone once said God blesses order and not chaos. It seems reasonable that God is more likely to bless a ministry that carefully plans the use of its money. Faith is integral to the equation but to paraphrase James 2:17, “Faith without works (good stewardship in this case) is useless.”

2. Visions Need Resources

Bill Hybels, former senior pastor of Willow Creek Church in Chicago, tells the story of how his church in its early years was growing but struggled financially. After carrying this burden alone for some time, Hybels, at his wits end, finally announced the dilemma to his congregation. Their response was, “Why didn’t you tell us?” That was the end of the church’s financial struggles. There is no benefit to keeping the need a secret from the resource sitting in a congregation.

Churches need money for growth. Many church plants fail because of insufficient launch funds, mismanagement, or both. Ministries who spin their wheels because of poor stewardship of money, are handicapping their potential. 

You may say, “My church is doing the best it can with the money we have.” Several years ago, a gentleman said he could reduce my operating expense in exchange for half of the savings generated the first year. I thought I ran a tight ship, but he saved me thousands of dollars in inventory, phone, and office lease expenses. Unless someone is skillfully managing your financial resources, ministry funds could be disappearing down a black hole. 

3. Information is Powerful

Jesus posed this question, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28, NIV) This illustration demonstrates the need for adequate knowledge before undertaking a project. Money is virtually always part of the equation. 

Information can also be confusing. I have observed church financial statements that were worthless because they either gave too much detail, no comparisons (to show trends), or were inconsistently prepared. Many ministry leaders’ eyes glaze over when presented with pages of numbers with no visual context resulting in either: (1) no decision and no forward motion; or (2) faulty decisions based on erroneous or inadequate information. 

4. The Budgeting Process is Your Friend

I once read an essay titled, “The Tyranny of the Urgent,” which demonstrated how the immediate can dominate one’s time at the expense of the important. In the same manner, impulsive decisions to fund seemingly worthwhile projects can siphon resources away from initiatives of higher significance to a ministry. 

An annual budgeting process is an opportunity to set priorities that align with the church’s mission. With the benefit of experience and revelation (how we prayerfully view the future), leadership can allocate its expected resources purposefully. Priorities can change, but with a well-crafted budget, adjustments can be made responsibly by knowing the implications of the changes. 

5. Cash Reserves Should Be Responsible

Opinions vary regarding the kind of cash reserve a church should have. It is certainly prudent to reserve for unforeseen expenses. This amount could vary, based on a number of factors: 

• Aging buildings or equipment that may soon need costly repairs.
• High concentration of giving from a few sources. 
• High dependency on the top ministry leader

In general, a cash reserve equal to two months of operating expenses should be sufficient where there are no extenuating circumstances like those noted above. Otherwise, the parable of the talents indicates that money should be put to work to further Kingdom growth (see Luke 16).

6. All Types of Debt are not Equal

Opinions about ministries and debt range from, “We should have none,” to “We should take on as much as possible to build fine facilities, and the people to pay for it will come.” In my opinion, acceptable debt produces income to repay the obligation. Facility upgrades that enhance and/or remove annoying distractions to the worship experience can often attract more people. Debt service that exceeds the current monthly cash flow should certainly be avoided.

Debt to fund recurring operating expenses with no tangible means to repay is a disaster waiting to happen

7. A Balanced Emphasis on Money is Vital

Money should always be viewed as a tool and not a prize. In his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki said that Poor Dad (his own highly educated father) worked for money and never had enough, while Rich Dad (his friend’s father) made money work for him and had more than he needed. The church should use money to support Kingdom growth rather than being consumed by the grasp for money or plagued by the lack of it.

Good stewards manage their money well, balancing the demands of the day-to-day with the need to invest in the future. The questions a church should ask are, “Who does God want us to reach, what processes do we employ to reach them, how much will it cost and where does the money come from?” 

Good stewards recognize this and, without the “spirit of timidity,” they pray for God’s supernatural guidance and intervention and employ strategic initiatives to accomplish His will. If God always accomplished His will by miracles, we would become lazy. If He always accomplished His purpose through our plans, we would forget Him. 

The combination of knowledge (information), wisdom (planning), obedience (to biblical principles), and power (the Holy Spirit’s) is the key to everything, including the stewardship of money.