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What Should Your Church Do in a Money Crunch?

8. Call the staff in. 

If your church has a paid staff (or a strong team of great volunteers), start here. Meet with them and seek their input. They see things the pastor will not be aware of. 

Be prepared, preacher, to learn something about yourself you may not like: People are withholding their offerings because of something you did or did not do, your pet mission project is draining resources, you are not asking the people to give, that sort of thing.

If programs must be cut or salaries and expenses pared, better the recommendations be initiated by the ones leading those programs rather than a committee announcing whose programs will be canceled.

9. Should you enlarge the team?

At some point, you may consider inviting several of your godliest and most spiritual members—no more than half a dozen—to join the discussion. Emphasize the need to respond to this crisis in a healthy Christ-honoring way that will bless the church and not weaken it. The goal is to build the church, not to gut it.

The pastor should make clear up front that no decision will be made in this meeting. He will take very seriously everything said here (someone should take notes) and lay it before the Lord as he seeks direction.

10. Stand together.

When (and if) the pastor-led team has a recommendation to bring to the church, make sure everyone who has had input knows the details and, as far as possible, is on board.

Ideally, the pastor and staff and lay leadership will bring this to the church as a unified team. Their sweet unity will calm the congregation’s fears and help the church take a giant step toward solving the crisis.

However, in many cases, no action from the church is required. If the solution is a stewardship education program or a series of sermons on faithfulness in giving or such, the leadership simply does it without publicity.

11. Stay focused. 

Keep in mind one great truth: We do not teach stewardship principles to our people in order to meet the budget.

God’s work is far greater than what we are doing in this one congregation..

(I’ve known of pastors saying there is no need to preach tithing because “we’re meeting the budget.” That is extremely short-sighted.)

Churches must teach an ongoing program of financial guidelines in order to grow God’s children, help them break the bondage of materialism and to invest in Heaven (see Matthew 6:20). By our faithful and sacrificial giving, we honor God, fund the work of the kingdom, and set an example for the outside (and watching) world.

The pastor not teaching sound principles of kingdom-giving to his people on an ongoing basis is failing his people at their deepest level.