Keith Clark-Hoyos

Church finance workspace with bank statements, reconciliation and review documents, calculator, pen, glasses, and warm natural light.

Who Should Reconcile the Church Bank Account—and Who Should Review It?

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights / By

A church may have a capable treasurer, bookkeeper, administrator, or volunteer who keeps the accounting records and prepares the bank reconciliation. The question is not whether one particular church office is supposed to do the reconciliation. The more important question is whether the way the work is divided gives one person too much control over

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Church meeting room with an empty chair, binder, documents, notebook, and pen in the foreground while several leaders gather around a table in the background.

What Every Church Board Member Needs to Understand Before Serving

Church Governance, Discerning Leadership Insights / By

A new governing-body member arrives at the first meeting with a folder full of material. There are bylaws, last month’s minutes, a budget, perhaps a policy manual, and a list of names that still does not make entirely clear who is responsible for what. Before long, the agenda reaches an item requiring a decision. Someone

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What Financial Reports Should a Church Finance Committee Receive Each Month?

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights, Financial Stewardship / By

Most finance committees inherit their monthly financial packet rather than design it. A treasurer or bookkeeper prints the reports that have always been printed, adds a bank balance or budget comparison, and sends the packet to the committee. The reports may all be useful. The harder question is whether, taken together, they answer the financial

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Month-end reports on a table.

What Belongs in a Church Month-End Close?

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights, Financial Stewardship / By

The bookkeeper has entered the month’s deposits, bills, checks, electronic payments, and payroll. The accounting software can generate a statement of activities and a statement of financial position, so the reports appear ready for the finance committee. A few things remain unfinished. The bank account has not been reconciled. One online-giving deposit does not match

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Church office desk with a Building Fund financial folder, board minutes, resolution, donor records, and campaign materials arranged for review.

Restricted or Designated? Why the Difference Matters Before Your Church Spends the Money

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights / By

The finance committee has $42,000 showing in a Building Fund. A major HVAC replacement is now needed, and someone asks what appears to be a straightforward question: Can the church use the Building Fund to pay for it? The accounting system confirms the balance, but no one currently serving remembers exactly how the fund began.

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Warm church interior hallway opening toward a boardroom, pastor’s office, and sanctuary, with governing materials and keys in the foreground, symbolizing the different sources and layers of authority in church decision-making.

Who Actually Has the Authority to Decide?

Church Governance, Discerning Leadership Insights / By

The church wanted to hire a part-time family ministry coordinator. The pastor had identified the need and drafted a position description. The personnel committee refined it. The finance committee confirmed that the budget could carry the position. By the time the proposal reached the governing board, everyone seemed to agree that the hire should move

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Church boardroom with an open binder of governing documents and a wooden gavel on a conference table, with empty chairs and a softly lit sanctuary visible through open doors in the background, symbolizing authority, accountability, and correction in church governance.

When the Church Breaks Its Own Rules

Church Governance, Discerning Leadership Insights / By

A church board approves a multi-year agreement allowing a community organization to use much of the church building. The arrangement seems to fit the congregation’s current understanding of its ministry. Leaders discuss insurance, scheduling, responsibilities, and cost. The board votes, the agreement is announced, and people begin preparing for the partnership. A few days later,

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Warm church-office desk with a bank statement, accounting ledger, financial report, and calculator, illustrating that cash is only one part of a church’s financial picture.

Beyond the Bank Balance: What Cash Can—and Cannot—Tell You About Your Church’s Financial Health

Church Finance, Church Finance Insights / By

What Cash Can—and Cannot—Tell You About Your Church’s Financial Health A church can know exactly how much money is sitting in its checking and savings accounts. That information matters. Leaders need to know whether the church has cash available to pay employees, vendors, utilities, insurance, and the ordinary expenses of ministry. The difficulty begins when

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Church table with financial reports, an open calendar, coffee mug, pen, and open Bible in warm natural light, illustrating budgeting and cash-flow timing.

When the Budget Says Yes but the Cash Says Not Yet

Budget planning for churches, Church Finance, Discerning Leadership Insights, Financial Stewardship / By

Imagine a congregation preparing to launch a tutoring ministry in the fall. The board approved the program during the annual budget process. Volunteers are interested, ministry leaders have begun planning, and projected giving for the year is sufficient to cover the expense. Then the treasurer points to a problem no one noticed when the budget

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Warm church boardroom with a wooden meeting table, open Bible, papers, and an open doorway leading into bright natural light.

When Calling Exceeds Capacity

Church Governance, Discerning Leadership Insights / By

Imagine a congregation where the youth ministry conversation begins with arithmetic. There are six teenagers in the congregation, three of them attending regularly. Two adults care deeply about youth formation, but neither can take responsibility for another weekly program. The pastor can help occasionally, though the rest of the church calendar is already full. Around

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