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June 26, 2009
Should churches rely on one stream of income?
NationalChristianPoll.com recently released Church Budget Priorities Survey Executive Report. Page 3 begins exploring "Church Income and Operating Budget."
"33% of all churches say all (100%) of their principal sources of income are from tithes and offerings."
I immediately began shaking my head. Why would an organization dedicated to such an important task willingly place themselves in such a risky position as to rely completely on the weekly tithes and offerings of those in attendance? (Notice I didn't say membership. The regularity of member attendance is shifting. Gone are the days when you can expect even your "best" members to be present every week.)
No one builds a sustainable business on one good customer. Why? Because circumstances change. Executive Management changes. Competitors change. There are numerous reasons why it's better to spread your business income over multiple clients instead of one. You shouldn't need an MBA to know that. It's obvious.
That being the case, I'm absolutely amazed at the lack of concern many church leaders have when it comes to funding the churches they lead. Any leader who derives his income from the generous giving of church members ought to consider multiple streams of income to, at the very least, ensure he is able to feed his family, pay his bills, and survive in the midst of any change in church giving habits. Any leader who understands that others who benefit from social ministries such as food or clothing ministries, addication support services, etc. out to seek out multiple streams of income to ensure those who deeply depend on the church for help aren't left to fend for themselves in the event the church "runs out of money." (Can you imagine how difficult it would be to tell a hungry family - face to face - that the church doesn't have money to stock the food pantry any more?)
As the demand for more complex ministry solutions increases, more money will be required to fund the ministries that will meet those needs. There comes a point in the lifecycle of every organization when it becomes fiscally responsible to add additional streams of revenue to support the growing ministry of the church.
How much ministry is left on the table simply because we limit our ministry capacity to one source of revenue?
Posted by bstroup at June 26, 2009 11:33 AM
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