Smart Church Finances
A Pastor’s Guide to Budgets, Spreadsheets, and Other Things You Didn’t Learn in Seminary
george m. hillman jr. and john reece
Smart Church Finances: A Pastor’s Guide to Budgets, Spreadsheets, and Other Stuff You Didn’t Learn in Seminary
Copyright 2020 George M. Hillman, Jr. and John Reece
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
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Print ISBN 9781683593744
Digital ISBN 9781683593751
Library of Congress Control Number 2020931422
Lexham Editorial: Matthew Boffey, Danielle Thevenaz
Cover Design: Lydia Dahl
To a generation of ministry leaders
who allowed us to come along
and invest in their journeys
Contents
Chapter 1: Stewardship and Joy
Chapter 2: Mission and Vision Casting
Chapter 4: Budgeting and Program Planning
Chapter 5: Stewarding Staff and Volunteers
Chapter 6: Stewarding Resources and Facilities
Chapter 9: Reporting and Forecasting
Chapter 10: Engaging Business Leaders
Field Notes
Field Note 1. State-of-Your-Church Assessment
Field Note 2. Mission Prompter
Field Note 4. Continuum of Business Planning
Field Note 5. Strategic Planning Prompter
Field Note 6. Operational Planning Prompter
Field Note 7. Sample Job Description
Field Note 8. Compensation Checklist
Field Note 9. Performance Review Form
Field Note 10. Square Footage Guidelines
Field Note 11. Sample Church Budget
Field Note 12. Program Impact Assessment
Field Note 13. Capacity Development Assessment
Field Note 14. Church Metrics Assessment
Field Note 15. Statement of Activities Example
Field Note 16. Statement of Financial Position Example
Field Note 17. Statement of Cash Flow Example
Field Note 18. Performance Dashboard Example
Field Note 19. Leader Engagement Assessment
In a way, this book is over thirty years in the making.
Decades ago, one of us (John) went to a Christian university to become a pastor. But there he rediscovered his love for numbers, became a math major, and soon entered the business-finance world. George, on the other hand, went to a large state university as a biology major and ended up with a social work degree and stumbled into pastoral ministry. As the two of us joke, John is a “business guy who loves Jesus” and George is a “ministry guy who doesn’t know a thing about business.” We guess it’s true—opposites attract.
Fast forward twenty years and the two of us are living literally blocks ...
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About Smart Church Finances: A Pastor’s Guide to Budgets, Spreadsheets, and Other Things You Didn’t Learn in SeminaryWhat can the Church learn from the business world? You’re a leader of a ministry, nonprofit, or church. You trained to be a faithful counselor, preacher, interpreter of God’s Word—so why do you find yourself spending so much energy on administration tasks that threaten to drain your time, energy, and joy? Look to this book for the coaching you needed, yesterday. Written from years of ministry and business experience, Smart Church Finances is built on a solid foundation of business principles but—unlike many business books—in a straightforward style that anyone can grasp. You’ll learn how to: • Communicate vision and strategize with a team • Steward resources well (yes, including budgeting) • Prioritize goals, wisely make decisions, and evaluate outcomes based on vision and data • Leverage the existing talents of men and women at your church, many of whom don’t fit in “traditional” ministry roles This field guide to building a holistic, sustainable system for your church will both help you address the business needs of your church and free your leaders to serve, fully and joyfully. |
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