One of the most difficult subjects for the church to address is the issue of congregational stewardship – not how much you give as members, but how we, as the leadership, handle the tithes and offerings you give to be used to support the work of the church. It can be a very touchy subject because everyone, and I mean everyone, puts a different value on a dollar. What one person would spend their money on, another person would never think of spending money on. This is why we have taken some time to pray over and determine a long-term stewardship strategy for Crossroads.
With our perilous economic times, it is even more critical that we have a solid, wise, and long-term strategic plan for the church finances. We believe we have such a plan that addresses our current situation and will make our position better in the future. It incorporates a lot of expert advice and wise counsel. It is based, in part, on Dave Ramsey's “Financial Peace” principles of money management.
The strategy can be understood best as a five-legged stool that is well-balanced on all five legs, where each leg supports the weight on the stool. The five legs of this stool represent our five stewardship priorities. These priorities have been prayerfully and carefully established in a specific order.
1.Tithing to Missions
We are committed to tithing ten percent (10%) of our general fund income to support missions. We cannot ask our members to tithe of their income if we, as a congregation, are not trusting God by doing so ourselves. We believe this ought to be our first priority and that God's blessing will follow our faithfulness.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. It is a mistake to believe that simply increasing this percentage arbitrarily demonstrates our spirituality. As our congregation grows so will our income, and in turn, so will the amount we tithe.
2. Reducing our Debt
We are committed to putting three percent (3%) of our general fund income toward additional mortgage principal each week. It is extremely important that we eliminate our debt as quickly and responsibly as possible. With our recent refinance, we did lower the rate of interest and our payment. We want to use part of that savings to accelerate our repayment.
If we can maintain our weekly offering of $4,000 or more, this three percent (3%) applied to the principal of our mortgage would shorten the term from twenty years to fifteen years. It would also save us over $110,000 in interest over the life of the loan. This is money that could be used for expanding our ministry, as well as funding the final phase of our master building plan.
In the future, we will carefully consider increasing this percentage, but only after we are fully funding our other priorities. We cannot starve our ministries for resources, because they produce the growth in our congregation. There is no wisdom in paying off a building that will be empty.
3.Proper Financial Management
Properly managing the finances of the church is critical. The leadership team must submit a budget that demonstrates wise and thoughtful planning. It must take into consideration past giving trends and current financial conditions. It must be rooted in the practical realities of our community. It must be an attainable goal for our congregation.
Having a reasonable budget is only half of the equation. There also must be a reasonable system established to handle the appropriation of the funds when they are received. Not everything in the budget is of equal importance. Just as in your own personal or family budget, there are essentials which must be paid FIRST. Only after these have been funded will funds be made available for discretionary spending. Every dollar must be spent carefully and effectively, and never before it has been received.
Meeting and exceeding the budget will be seriously pursued by the leadership and the ministry teams. As God blesses, any funds received in excess of the budget will NOT be considered a surplus until the end of the budget year. At that time, the leadership team will determine the best use of the funds for the good of the congregation.
To support proper money management, we have created a "contingency fund" of $5,000 for emergencies. Should the church need funds for an unplanned expense, these would come from the contingency fund. At that point, funds going toward debt reduction would be diverted to the contingency fund until it reached the previous balance, at which point the funds would go back toward debt reduction. This eliminates scrambling for funds in an emergency.
4. Separate Funding for Benevolence
As a Christian Church, we believe that the budget of the church must be funded by the tithes and offerings of the membership. We do not have fundraisers to pay salaries or the utilities or the mortgage. These are the operational expenses of God's church and therefore the responsibility of God's people. God's work is not the responsibility of the unbelieving.
However, in the case of benevolence, all the funds spent are for the benefit of those who are NOT members of the church. This is why the decision was made to establish a separate fund for community benevolence. This way, we can raise money through various means to build up resources for benevolence requests.
Each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, ALL of the money received on that day will go to support our benevolence ministry "My Brother's Keeper." We will report to the congregation on the number of people that have been helped and how they were helped. The objective is to build up enough resources that when times are tough and money is tight in the church budget, we will still be able help those in serious need.
5. Special Projects Funding
Our recent special offering on Easter Sunday demonstrated the kind of generosity God can provide through His people. We have decided that every Easter, we will have a large special project or several small projects that we want to ask the congregation to give a sacrificial offering to cover. These projects would include, but not be limited to, capital improvements in the building and grounds.
The goal and the project(s) will be announced in time for members to prayerfully consider and make such personal sacrifices as they deem necessary to give generously. The proceeds of the offering will be used strictly for that purpose and that purpose alone. However, it will give one and all the opportunity to give as the Lord leads.
We believe that by having and following this stewardship strategy with dedication, Crossroads will continue to be financially strong and able to meet the challenges of the future successfully. With God's blessing and your faithful generosity, we will have the resources to achieve our mission and fulfill our vision.
