Show Me Da Money!
You may be wondering why in my last post about the Executive Reports there was no mention of those reports containing any financial information. And before the questions and comments start, I’ll just answer it upfront. The answer is actually pretty simple: they’re overrated.
Now I’m not suggesting that your financial position is irrelevant, but my belief is that most churches put more emphasis on the finances than they do the ministry. We crafted the Executive Reports to show us the condition of our ministry efforts. Not our checkbook.
Sure, someday we’ll probably include some trending on giving and try to figure a way to get a handle on tithing statistics, but for now it’s not important. We’d rather know how we’re doing at life change. Plugging people in. Getting them connected to Christ. You know, what the church is supposed to be doing.
I think when a church concentrates too much on the finances it limits the dreams and the vision. The leadership starts to automatically scale back and only attempt what can be readily paid for. (No, I’m not advocating going into debt.)
You need to dream your dreams and cast your vision with all the anticipation and excitement that God has given you. Plan big. Go for it. Dare to think what your community will be like as you make a difference and transform it. And then, and only then, look at the finances. Because the only thing your finances will tell you is how much of your vision you can accomplish at this moment. It’s not a mandate to scale back. It’s only a measurement of how much of your dream you can currently do. Plan phases. Be strategic. But never, ever, limit the vision based on da money.
2 comments:
While I agree with you that getting too stuck on the financial stats can be a detriment to dreaming big and casting vision, I think that the health (or "un-health") of a church's financial situation is a direct reflection on the spiritual maturity of the congregation. I think looking at your congregation's giving is a valuable way to determine how people are growing in their faith.
I have really enjoyed your posts so far; keep up the good work!
Hi Jon, I just found your blog and I'm hoping that you will continue writing. I've been doing ministry as a paid career for just one year after 11 years in higher education, where part of my job was to develop systems to assess program effectiveness in the area of Student Affairs. Slowly, but surely, I'm developing systems to basically assess "do we do what we say we do and how effective are we". It's definately not about just the numbers, but are we having a real impact for the Kingdom?. Hope to hear more of your thoughts in the near future. Blessings!!
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