Day 2 Church Growth & Managing Church

Finances Vryheid Church of Christ

Workshop: Church Finances 16 & 18 June 2011

Facilitator: Sabelo Mdlalose Buhle Park Church of Christ www.buhleparkcoc.co.za

Answers to Ind. Exercise 2

1. Christians are to give MORE than Israel (more than 10%) and with love in our hearts. Our giving must exceed of the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20)

2. Yes! Because they must focus on evangelising & put more work on our spiritual needs

3. We should assist them as there are no soldiers who fight and also fund themselves (1 Corinthians 9:7-11)

1.Church Growth through Giving: Introduction

Church?

Growth?

Group of people (Men, Women, & Children)

gathered for a specific purpose/ or “Called out”(Acts 9:2)

Its an organisation!

A NATURALLY occurring phenomenon whereby an

Organism/organisation increases in QUANTITY & QUALITY

There are NECESSARY Pre- conditions in order to promote

growth! E.g. A tree needs water, sunlight,

nutrients to grow

A by-product

occurrence

Church Growth Defined

Church Growth

This is the aggregate/increasing progress of Christians and the

Church in…

Quantity (number of church members)

Quality (Spirituality) Level of maturity in knowing

Christ & doing His will

Organization (Leadership) Elders, deacons, church programs,

visibility in the community, etc

When the church does not grow in these 3 aspects, its in a

process of dying!

Stages of Church Growth

Time

(years, decades, etc)

Gro

wth

(Num

bers

, S

piritualit

y, &

Leaders

hip

)

0

Decline Stage

Stagnation Stage

All churches are at one of these stages

Group Exercise 1

Separate yourselves into 2 groups.

Each group discuss & answer the following questions.

1. Mention pre-conditions that exists in each stage.

2. And state how you would encourage growth in each stage

Nature of Church Growth

For Church growth to occur the must be correct/favourable

conditions

Most important conditions: UNITY (John 17:20-23) & LOVE (John 13:34-35)

Unity as of the Body

(1 Cor 12:8-28)

All members are therefore

responsible to promote church

growth

Evangelism is the BEST

VEHICLE for church growth

All energies, plans & finances MUST focus/ Centre on

Evangelism

Churches exist to & for

EVANGELIZING (Act 2:47)

Too much focus on internal church

programs will hinder Growth

Church growth & Giving

Growth brings with it Financial Obligation

Example: -we need to extend our building,

membership has increased -We need a Sunday school

teacher, number of children has increased

Churches of Christ are set to be

Autonomous

Each church is self-governing, self-

propagating and Self-supporting

Financial needs of a local church are a responsibility of that local church!

Mature Churches are at this stage

Foreign Financial aid must be TEMPORAL!

(e.g. starting a new church)

Therefore GIVING/Contribution of local church members becomes a serious issue in the church

Disadvantages of foreign aid (Banard Howel, Creating Independence, Gospel light 1987)

1. At times no much work is done because the preacher is not answerable to the local church (neither to the elders above him).

2. It becomes difficult to distinguish between genuine preachers and those who are preaching because of foreign salary.

3. It tends to excite a mercenary spirit and to increase the number of mercenary Christians (325).

4. The supporting congregation becomes the “master” while the native preacher, “the servant.”

5. Evangelists may not act until they find out what their master thinks. (They will teach what the supporting congregation believes. Going contrary may cost one‟s salary).

6. It tends to thwart the voluntary work of unpaid members.

7. It tends to take away the congregation‟s freedom to function and operate as they judge wise and acceptable in their society (326)

Recommendations (Mathew Muchingani, Church Growth, School of Preaching, Mutari, Zimbabwe, 2011)

1. Those who came before us have been blamed for the way people give, however, Lets look forward. It has to be understood that this was a missionary strategy used in many places.

2. The methods being used to teach giving need a lot of revision.

3. People need to be taught budgeting.

4. The concept of stewardship need to be continually taught.

5. The concept of seeding is vital but should be correctly applied.

6 There is need for purposeful giving, sacrificial giving, proportionate giving, planned giving and reasoned giving.

7. One‟s giving shows the level of our knowledge and corresponds to God‟s grace within us (cf Macedonian churches). It shows how God‟s doctrine has been accepted within a person. Tithing is not a solution though we recognize that our giving is far below it. N. T. giving goes beyond 10% and a lot of teaching is required. N.B To whom much is given much is also demanded.

END of Session 3

Lets give more to ensure that the church grows & becomes fruitful

2. Managing Church Finances

The Church Is a

Kingdom (Col 1:13)

It has Subjects: Christians (1 Pet 2:9)

A King: Jesus Christ

(Eph 1:21-23)

Therefore it‟s a Nation with specific

goals/ Mission

In order to fulfil its goals, money is one

of the requirements

Improper management of these funds will compromise the mission of the

church

Mission „Preaching Christ (Mark 16:15-16) and

Caring for communities & Church members (Mat 25:35-40)‟

A Need for Managing Church Finances

A person might ask …why is there a need to do all this work?, anyway we are a small church & our funds are not that much, this

is for big churches, but Christ says…

„…you have been faithful with few things; I will put

you in charge of many things (NIV)‟ (Mat 25:23)

Stewardship is for all churches, big

or small. If you do well in small

things then u will do well in big

things

Stewardship is expected from a person with 5 talents, 2 talents,

& 1 talent (Mat 25:14-30)

Basic Necessities for managing church finances

1. Church Banking Account

For Payments and banking incomes

of the church

Preferable a Business Cheque

Account Requires:

• Church constitution • Resolution letter •3 signatories

(Church Leaders)

2. Recording Books

For All incomes & expenses. Must

have a storing file for all proof of

payments/receipts

Includes: •Recording book for weekly contribution •Petty cash book

•Cash receipts book

3. Volunteers

•Banking of weekly contribution •Book keeper

Managing Cashflow

Cash Planning Through

Budgeting &

Needs Analysis

Allocate a budget for church work/

needs & programs

What is the most

important program?

EVANGELISM

Income of the Church

Expenses/Needs

Sources: 1. Sunday Contribution 2. Pledge 3. Investment Income (Mat 25:27, Parable of Talents)

Leaders & Book Keeper, This session must be done

on regular basis

Depends on the needs of a local church, but a budget for evangelism MUST not be left

out

Modern way of Pledging

Pledging is the most effective way of giving

(can plan better)

A Pledge list of brethren becomes important in

planning (Managed by the Book Keeper)

Pledging to the Church Account

through: Electronic Banking

-Stop order -Internet banking

Modern Financial Reporting

Why is the a need for financial

reporting?

Informs the Church of its

Financial Status

Helps in future

planning (Budgeting) Can motivate

church members to give more

Must be made available to all

church members

Reporting must be on regular basis E.g. quarterly,

yearly, etc

Financial reports

Financial Statements are

Church Financial Statements

Financial Statements Prepared by the Book Keeper

Income Statement

Balance Sheet Auditing done by

Church Leaders

Provides financial summary of the church‟s operating results during

a specified period

Actual total operating church incomes and

expenses

What the church has in terms of Assets and what

the church owes (debt/liabilities)

Summary statement of the church‟s financial position at given point

in time

E.g. of Church Financial Statements