Information about the church’s Finances
Too often, budgeting for a church is simply an exercise “in making the numbers work.” Church budgeting should be much more.
Any church budget process requires a great leap of faith. Without adding faith into the mix, the budget becomes meaningless for the church. There must be faith that God will help the church reach the projected income and there must be faith that God will help the staff keep the expenditures in line.
Making the numbers work and a leap of faith are both required.
At Journey of Faith, we use a narrative budget. It provides a glimpse of how we as a congregation are living out in practical ways the broad brush strokes of the church’s mission statement. This narrative of who we are as a church unfolds in Scripture, in the life of Jesus, and in the places of the world in which we live.
NOTES
We use a “Narrative Budget” to represent a line item budget in descriptive terms. Hopefully, this approach makes clear the congregation’s priorities and commitment to advance God’s kingdom.
2020 BUDGET
Projected expenses were based on actual expenses incurred in 2019. We strive to make sure that the funds God has provided are being stewarded faithfully and wisely.
HOW YOUR MONEY IS SPENT
We provide the congregation with an annual budget breakdown, detailing specific expenditures, like salaries, and estimated expenditures for events or programs the church has planned for the year. We believe it's important for the congregation to have an understanding of the church finances and information on how their contributions are used. That means the church's finances should be visible to everyone — the church’s leadership, people who attend and those outside the church who support its work.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
April-May 2020: We’ve had success in broadening our impact and increasing financial support from other sources. We’ve expanded our outreach; the new Food Pantry activities are examples of this. We’re evaluating our financial processes and approach based on feedback from a financial consultant. We’ve begun the work to develop a 3-year strategic plan. We want to deliver a financial approach that is trusted, accountable and transparent, and has adequate safeguards in place for staff and volunteers.
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." — Matthew 6:21
