Guidelines For A Healthy Church Budget

Variable expenses will change each balance sheet year, or even month, based on fluctuating needs. If your church took 40 youth to camp last year and expects to take 80 youth this year, your budget must be adjusted for the additional expense. Variables expenses will change as your ministry grows or shifts strategy. Fourthly, do not give our salary increases or look atpositions and salaries accordingly.

Step 4: Set Priorities

This may seem harsh, but we are talking about God’s purpose within that community. We have seen that people who had to be released, obtain even better positions elsewherewith benefits. They realized that it was time for them to go and was blessed accordingly. Here’s a guide to help you create a balanced budget for your church, including an example of a small church budget. Take the budget you created and import it into the accounting system of your choice. At the end of each month, compare how much each income and expense line was budgeted to be (budget) against how much it actually was (actuals).

Step 7: Approve Budget

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, faced financial challenges in the early 2000s. I want my congregation to give by faith, after they have spent time talking to Jesus about their finances and asking Him how much (or how little) they are to donate. When implementing financial best practices within your church, start with a biblical understanding of stewardship. If you need help with church finance best practices (like I did), I’ve got your back. Joshua Gordon is a lay-pastor, author, and editor of TheLeadPastor.com. Over the last two decades, Josh has worked https://x.com/bookstimeinc closely with pastors and other christian leaders, helping them to sharpen and elevate their messages.

Make budget cuts

Please reach out to me personally at  if you have additional questions regarding budget preparation. I am confused and I know my church may be too because they have neverhad a budget.”  That is okay to think that way because with everything new, there has to be a starting point. I have listed somestarting points to make your budget planning easier. If budgeting feels overwhelming, don’t hesitate to seek assistance.

• As a church, this means you need to figure out everything you’d consider “income” (or revenue) and everything you’d spend money on (expenses).
• King says the bigger the church, the more complicated it becomes.
• However, be careful to not just spend up to some pre-determined percentage just to say you’ve done it.
• It’s a consolidation of all revenue streams, including tithes, offerings, donations, and fundraising events.
• Regardless of the size of your church, you most likely have at least a few salaried staff positions.
• Tithes and offerings are the primary source of income for most churches.

It doesn’t matter if the organization is a church, bakery or RV park, finances are a necessary part of the organization’s maturity. And in the case of a church, having a budget is a necessary approach to assure the church’s members their donations (tithes) are being stewarded appropriately. Finally, we’re moving on to the fun part—drafting the actual budget!

• A church budget is a financial plan that outlines how a church will allocate its resources over a specified period of time.
• The image below represents a simple church donation page hosted on Donorbox and used for accepting tithes and offerings online.
• If totals on utilities are lower than expected, adjust as you go along.
• You should also share your church’s success stories with people to help them visualize the impact.
• Budgeting and forecasting involve strategically looking ahead and anticipating ministry expenses.

Today, Joshua pastors at New Life Fellowship, a thriving church he helped plant in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Community partnerships are highly beneficial when it comes to how to create a church budget fundraising and growing your church. You should reach out to local restaurants, shops, and businesses with collaboration proposals. Most of them are interested in being a part of the local church’s events and programs. With text-to-give campaigns, your church can share a campaign ID and text number with event attendees or church members. Donors will then send your campaign ID to the shared number and receive a link to your online campaign page.

It’s about taking care of and managing our time, talents, possessions, resources, and relationships. Ticket sales, silent auctions, and raffles are a few fundraising options. A text-to-give campaign is an excellent way to encourage that. Emergency funds are not the only area of savings your church should include in your budget. Like any church, you want to look to your future and the potential for expansion.