STARTING THE BUDGET FOR YOUR NEW CHURCH
I was shocked the moment I learned I was responsible for compiling and creating my ministry's budget in my first year on church staff. On top of the myriad of daily responsibilities was the expectation I had to create and manage a budget in the new fiscal year.
The process of starting the budget felt overwhelming and misaligned from my vision of the ministry.
Have you ever felt this way?
Did my initial feeling of shock subside? Sure. Did the budget process get easier to create every year? Maybe. Does creating a church budget need to be difficult or confusing? No way!
When a church is getting started, there are a lot of expenses and very little, if any, income, creating a massive gap between income and expenses.
As a church gets established, expenses come down (there’s not as much capital being purchased), and people start attending and giving, so income increases. The gap comes closer together.
In this short article, we're going to you tips to give you that “I can totally do this" moment when compiling your new church plant’s budget.
What's the point?
A budget does three things that will help bring the gap closer together. A budget:
Decreases or stabilizes expenses
Sets priority-percentage giving goals
Sets fundraising goals
Start with Vision.
Have a big vision! Who do you want to be as a church?
Develop Steps Toward Your Vision.
Work backwards from your big vision and list tangible, easy steps you must take to accomplish your vision. Plan all the things you want to “launch” along the way (small groups, Sunday services, children’s ministry, youth ministry, etc.).
For each step toward your vision, assess what the step will physically and financially require. For instance, if you want to start small groups, you may need an administrator, leaders, hosts, teachers, curriculum, etc.
Decide which steps will be the most effective and the most financially sustainable early on. For instance, you may want to start a Sunday service, but you see that it could cost up to $1 million. You may not be able to do that right away.
Next, determine what level your income needs to reach to make each step possible. This helps you set goals for priority-percentage giving. If there is a gap between the cost of the step and the income goal, then rearrange the steps, or set a fundraising goal for that step.
Set goals for the dates when you would like to reach each step.
Assign the Work.
Assign names to those who will physically do the work of each step, and get started!
Raise Funds.
Every new church must do some fundraising. Your budget is a clear picture of your gap between expenses and income goals, and a clear picture of the building blocks to accomplishing your vision. This makes it easy to present your plan and ask people for money.
It’s easy to get people to buy into your church when you can show them that you are starting small, but you have a plan for growth.
Enlist Help.
This budgeting plan empowers your church to do what is logical, functional, and effective. Dime can lead your church through this process. But what we do best is to come in behind this process and partner with you to implement and execute your plan. The accountability and support we provide will give you financial peace of mind and will allow your donors to give with confidence.
Still confused? Don’t know where to start? We totally get it. Contact us today. We’ve seen it all and would love to help you.
By: Ben Habeck and Jordan Gandara