We’ve said before that a church’s budget tells the story of its mission - we’ve even highlighted ways to TELL your church’s story through your annual reports and financial statements. Looking at where money is spent reveals what a congregation values, what it hopes to accomplish, and the work it believes is worth sustaining.
…but that only tells the part of the story that has already happened.
By the time a budget is presented, most of the important decisions have already been made. We’re reflecting on what has been done, what has grown, what’s been invested, what we plan to do with or about the surplus or shortfall.
But have you considered how the church’s financial decisions could or should be influenced by its mission?
One of our team members recently attended a presentation on church financial health from Kindred Credit Union about how financial decisions are an extension of mission.
Here are some takeaways that might be worth reflecting on in your own context:
Not every church needs the same investment strategy, but you should know what you are investing in. If a church’s mission shapes the way it preaches, serves, hires staff, and cares for its community, why wouldn’t it also shape the way it invests? For example: a church involved in addiction recovery might think differently about investments connected to gambling or alcohol. Depending on how your church's funds are managed, you may not have direct control over every investment, but it's still worth understanding where that money is going and what choices are available to you.
Every investment carries some level of risk. The question isn't whether risk exists, but whether your church has intentionally discussed how much is appropriate (or whether those decisions have just evolved over time based on short-term goals).
Do you have an investment policy? An investment policy shouldn’t exist to add paperwork. It should help a finance team agree on the goals, values, timelines, and level of risk that should guide financial decisions well before those decisions need to be made.
What are you saving or investing toward? It's worth considering what your church hopes its financial reserves will make possible. Are you building toward a particular ministry goal, preparing for future needs, or maintaining funds without a clear sense of when or how they might be used? Those goals can help guide decisions about where money is held, how much risk is appropriate, and how accessible it needs to be.
Does a shared vision guide financial decisions, or are they left with whoever has the most financial expertise? Financial knowledge is important, but so is understanding the church's ministry priorities. Are your finance team and ministry leaders having conversations together about how the church's mission should shape its financial decisions? Or are those conversations happening separately?
Different churches will arrive at different conclusions, but these questions are worth asking. We spend a great deal of time discerning our mission, praying over it, and inviting others to participate in it. Maybe it's worth making sure that the conversations happening around the finance table are shaped by that same mission, too.