For roughly the last eighteen months, I have spent a great deal of time learning how to use generative artificial intelligence well. I have used it across nearly every part of my work, from research and writing to presentations and routine administration. I have tried different systems, watched them succeed and fail, changed how I
Using AI Is Not the Ethical Question Read More »
A church can spend months developing a budget. Ministry teams submit requests. Staff estimate expenses. Giving and other income are projected. The finance committee works through the numbers, and eventually the appropriate body approves the plan. Then, a few months later, someone proposes something that was not anticipated. “It isn’t in the budget.” That statement
Budgeting for the Bottom Line in Ministry: A Mission Plan, Not a Rule Book Read More »
Imagine a board chair who has already made up her mind. For months, she had watched the congregation invest significant volunteer energy and money in one large annual community event. A new proposal would redirect much of that effort toward several smaller neighborhood partnerships throughout the year, and she believed the change was worth making.
Imagine a pastor who, by Wednesday afternoon, has already been pulled into three situations that are not quite crises. Two members who are frustrated with each other want the pastor to carry messages back and forth rather than speak directly. A ministry leader has discovered that a volunteer did not complete an assignment and wonders
Servant Leadership Does Not Mean Absorbing Every Demand Read More »
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
Who Should Reconcile the Church Bank Account—and Who Should Review It? Read More »
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
What Every Church Board Member Needs to Understand Before Serving Read More »
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
What Financial Reports Should a Church Finance Committee Receive Each Month? Read More »
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
What Belongs in a Church Month-End Close? Read More »
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.
Restricted or Designated? Why the Difference Matters Before Your Church Spends the Money Read More »
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
Who Actually Has the Authority to Decide? Read More »
