Good money management is good ministry
by Angela Emerson
Mountain Echo, April 2009

Whether the account(s) is called an endowment fund, building fund, savings account, memorial fund, or restricted fund, most congregations in the Diocese of Vermont have one or more such accounts that are in addition to the operating account. More importantly, in many congregations, a balanced operating budget is dependent on the interest or some portion of the principal of these accounts. This scenario begs the question, “What happens when we spend all the money in these accounts?”

This very scenario, coupled with the downturn in the economy, challenges the church to take more seriously the stewardship of financial resources. Stewardship is not simply about raising more money; it is also about the responsible and purposeful use of the resources already under the control of the congregation. Spending all the funds available, albeit slowly over a period of years, is not good stewardship. It is akin to withdrawing money from a retirement account rather than reducing current expenses or supplementing income.

In many cases, the existence of such funds reflects the practice of generosity. Congregants who may now be among the communion of saints valued a spiritual home and wanted to secure its future through generosity. The gifts represent a love of God and sacred space and commitment to the continuation of God’s work through the particular church. The gift and the spirit behind it deserve respect and honor.

Good stewardship begins with two basic components: celebration of the gift and the giver and a clear vision of the work God has given the congregation to do in this time in history. Celebration means knowing the source of the funds and memorializing the giver in some public way. This will require some research but will yield interesting stories that are part of the spiritual fabric of the congregation. Some congregations begin “societies” and engrave the members’ names on a plaque that is displayed in a highly visible fashion. The members of the “society,” which includes people who notify the church of intent to make a testamentary gift, are recognized annually in some fashion.

The generosity of such gifts is best honored by using those funds responsibly, joyfully, purposefully, and intentionally. Written policies need to be developed that protect the corpus of the gift and guide the use of the interest generated each year. Uses in varying percentages may range from building maintenance, to outreach, to operating budget, to special projects. Periodically, congregations may need to deviate from these guidelines, but such deviation should be sporadic and accompanied by a plan to “pay-back” the principal.

Using all of the interest and/or encroaching on the corpus to balance the operating budget year after year does not honor the gift nor promote joyful giving and commitment among present members. Alongside the development of guidelines for investing and spending should be a plan to reduce expenses responsibly and a commitment to improve the annual commitment program, thus increasing revenues. The two key components of both reducing expenses and increasing the annual commitment are 1) an appreciation of the abundance of gifts within the congregation and 2) a clear vision of mission and ministry and an ability to articulate that vision.

Christians are by nature generous people. God’s people are made in the image of a God who gives generously. Recent scientific studies show that spontaneous and generous giving to help another person is physiologically beneficial—no surprise there! But people do want to know that the gift will be used to help others. So begin by improving the leadership’s ability to tell the stories of how gifts to the church help others now, and tell the stories of how the future of the church is about helping even more people in new and exciting ways. In short, tell the vision of the church.
Good money management is good ministry.

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