Private businesses make financial mistakes all the time. They order too many widgets, fail to charge enough or do not anticipate market conditions properly. It affects their bottom line.

Well established businesses can simply learn from their mistakes and make adjustments.

Churches do not have that luxury.

Most churches do not have deep pockets from which to draw. Churches make financial mistakes, too. The difference is when you are handling other people’s money the mistakes can reflect poorly on the church, damage the staff and deter the purpose of the church.

These are the most common financial mistakes I see:

1) No consensus in church budget.

Proverbs 11:14 says “…in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”  Having a group of wise Elders review the budget on a regular basis protects the church in many ways. Wise men with varied experiences can look at the budget in ways one person can’t.

2) Purchasing a building instead of renting one.

When a church buys a building the focus can quickly change to the building and away from the Gospel. A long-term lease with a build out is a surprisingly effective alternative.

3) Not enough eyes on the checkbook.

The person writing the checks should not be the one reconciling the accounts. In addition, having countersignature requirements over a certain dollar amount is another means of accountability. I have had several claims for embezzlement that could have easily been prevented if two people were aware of how the money was being spent.

4) Failure to perform background checks on people who handle money.

Tithes and offerings require extra accountability. While people can be forgiven and restored it is not wise to put someone with a history of theft, fraud or forgery in a position to handle other people’s money. Rotating the people who count can also be another layer of security.

5) Paying staff to perform functions volunteers could do.

This is my pet peeve. Many churches pay people to perform functions the body should be doing.

Example: Paying musicians for leading worship at services when there are willing and able people sitting in the congregation qualified to participate.

I understand the “paid professional” may be slightly more polished but is that what the church wants to project? Let the member exercise their gifts and talents. It may produce a more genuine experience because the paid professional may not have an affinity for the church.

What about the paid “Visitation or Outreach” Pastor? Really? Think this through. Someone from church is sick or in the hospital. Who should go visit them? Why the person the church is paying to do that should! That’s his job!  Wrong. That is our job.

The Elders biblical mandate is to teach church members to do good works. Next time volunteer to go with the pastor if you are unsure what to do. Soon you can teach others by taking them with you.

The American church is willing to pay someone so they do not have to go and grow spiritually.

That is a shame and unnecessary expense.

6) Not making church financial documents available to members.

I remember being in annual church congregation financial meetings. I think root canals are more fun. With that said, people who give tithes and offerings want to know how it is being spent. Having a pie chart with percentages for missions, salaries, maintenance, etc. should be sufficient. I am not saying the individual salaries should be disclosed. The Elders should review that.

Church budgets should be approved by Elders. I do not think taking suggestions from members will do more than create animosity and conflict. I give then trust God will move through the Elders and church leadership to make the proper decisions.

7) Not providing a way to giving online.

Churches (especially those with older congregations) have been slow to embrace technology. Growing, vibrant churches have jumped in with both feet. People do not like writing checks or carrying cash. Having a systematic, secure and seamless way of giving will benefit the donor and the church. Consider having a way to set up giving goals with the ability of the donor to see where they are quarterly, mid-year, etc.

8) Not paying the teaching pastor enough.

This mindset is changing but is still a problem. For some reason churches felt being a pastor was akin to a vow of poverty. How sad. Your teaching pastor wears many hats especially in a small church. His responsibility is to be a husband and father first. I Timothy 5:17 “…he is worthy of double honor.”

9) Mistreating members/vendors by not using them when viable.

Imagine.. The church needs a new A/C. A member has an A/C company so you have him provide a quote along with another company. One quote is $4500, while the member’s quote is $4800. The pastor decides to go with the non-member to save $300 and “be a good steward.”

When you consider the church member tithes $6,000 a year and would be readily available anytime day or night if there were an issue – does the $300 savings make sense? Obviously no.  Now if the differences are really large the church should ask why and maybe there is a good reason. The point I am trying to make is the church can be penny wise and pound foolish not counting the relationship damage.

10) Hiring part time workers yet expecting them to work much longer hours with no compensation.

Some churches hire many part time employees with the expectation this person will work longer than agreed because it is their “Christian service” to help at their home church. When the employee pushes back they are made to feel as though they are not a team player. Or their priorities are misplaced because they chose to do something with the family inside of showing up at a church event. This type of intimidation is wrong.

Spreading Accountability

In closing, most financial mistakes can be avoided by having accountability spread through multiple people. Whether in counting, accounting or budgeting. Those churches without adequate oversight place too much responsibility on a small number of people.

Church staff and volunteers deserve our best practices.