Articles on Finance
Offerings. Tithes. Stewardship. Generosity. Giving. Sacrifice. Finance. There are many words that we use to describe the money that is received by the church for ministry use. There are also many facets to the Finance Department as they aid ministries by organizing the necessary funds.
WheatFields’ Report Card on Embezzlement
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, he uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate how the church is [...]
Red Flags of Embezzlement
This material is from The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, governance [...]
Areas of Risk Management
We have brought together material from Mike Batts and from Brother Mutual to see the scope of risk management. Mike Batts is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee. He has more [...]
9 Essentials of Avoiding Fraud
Fraud is just about losing money, right? Fraud does have negative financial implications for churches, but the impact goes far beyond money. Fraud and misuse of church resources can create sensational news—and not good [...]
Utilize the Experience of Your Insurance Agent
Charlie Cutler is the Managing Partner of ChurchWest Insurance Services and works with over 3,000 churches. He offers these thoughts from the perspective of an insurance agent. As ChurchWest says, “A good agent will [...]
An Insurance Company on Child Protection
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company has a free, 60-page ebook, Child Protection in a Ministry Environment: Guidelines for Ministry Workers. With sample policies and forms, the major areas of the book are: Identifying Abuse: Disrupting [...]
Tools for Averting Predators—Preventing and Discovering Fraud
These tools are provided by The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, [...]
How to Get the Most Out of Your Church Ratio Analysis
Effective financial ratios can give your church vital insight into your financial condition and trends. But once you’ve gathered all the data necessary to prepare a ratio analysis and complete your reports, what’s the [...]
Reflections from an Attorney on Sexual Offenders
Eventually most churches encounter a known registered sex offender who is either already in the congregation or desires to attend. Trying to determine whether or how to live with a wolf is dangerous and fraught [...]
Preventing Sexual Abuse in Your Church
Sex abuse claims remain the top reason churches go to court each year. Fletch interviews Matthew Branaugh, editor for Christianity Today’s ChurchLawAndTax.com, about this troubling ongoing trend in the church. What policies and protocols [...]
Top 10 Reasons Church Loans are Declined
Join Fletch and leaders from Thrivent for an insider’s look into church loans. Both Chris Lewis and Teresa Loker have extensive experience that can pull back the curtain on these issues. When your church is [...]
5 Building Blocks of Church Financial Integrity … with free ebook
Michael Martin and Fletch examine a vital topic of how to ensure your church has financial integrity. When you have a problem in this area, your donors get nervous and may stop giving. From his [...]
Digital Giving Trends
Fletch and Troy Pollock began an intriguing discussion at the 2019 XP-Seminar. Back by popular demand, this "state of digital giving" continues that discussion. From his vantage point of working with thousands of churches around [...]
Successful Church Project Planning
Getting a church loan is an area that most church leaders find murky and complicated. Chris Lewis from Thrivent has expertise from his years of helping churches with their borrowing capacity. The video ranges from [...]
First Person Report on an Internal Control Audit
This article is by a student in XPastor's Course MS-203, XP Boot Camp. To preserve confidentiality, the author will be listed as anonymous. One of the assignments for those taking the class for certification was: Take [...]
Borrowing Designated (Restricted) Gift Balances
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 Hey Fletch … Our finances have trended downward and we borrowed $20,000 from the unused balances of restricted funds. This caused some controversy on the church board. What is your counsel? [...]
Numbers Based on Operating Budget or Total Revenue
Hey Fletch … Do you have benchmark data that documents total compensation as a percent of total revenue (restricted and unrestricted), not just of the operating budget? I know over the years I have seen [...]
Seven Common Mistakes Churches Make When Performing a Ratio Analysis
Church board members are eager to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility and watch over the long-term economic health of the church. However, most are not used to reading nonprofit financial statements. This can make it [...]
How Can We Do a ‘Love Offering’
Hey Fletch … We occasionally receive love offerings for our senior pastor and other staff members. How should we handle these gifts? DRF—There are so many questions floating out there about restricted gifts to churches. [...]
Building Campaign that Falls Short
Hey Fletch … Two years ago we launched a building campaign for our church, but we fell short of our goals. Now the board has decided not to expand the building, but rather to use [...]
Supporting Missions Work
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 Hey Fletch … Our church provides direct support to several international missionaries. What are the issues we should look at to provide this support with the utmost integrity? DRF—There are so [...]
Mileage Reimbursements
Hey Fletch … Some of my fellow XPs have a variety of polices regarding mileage reimbursement for staff. I am wondering about best practices regarding this issue. Any help? DRF—Check the current IRS mileage reimbursement rate [...]
Giving to a Short-Term Missions Team
Monday, March 25, 2019 Fletch is back from his research break, writing Predators in the Church Hey Fletch … I’ve been tracking with Dan Busby’s comments in the Hey Fletch column. I know gifts [...]
ASU 2016-14 and Churches: Four Key Questions Church Financial Leaders Should Ask to Understand the New Liquidity Disclosures
Recent nonprofit financial reporting standards updates will result in several changes to external financial statements that church financial leaders should understand. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-14 is intended to [...]