4 Keys To Rebuilding Financial Trust With Your Congregation

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Brian Dodd on June 16, 2015 in Generosity

There are few things as debilitating to a pastor as a loss of trust because of financial mismanagement.  To avoid this from happening to you, I recommend pastors proactively contact Bryan Miles.  Bryan is CEO & Co-founder of Miles Advisory Group (a parent company to the companies of eaHELP and MAG Bookkeeping) and is blessed to run this company with his wife, Shannon.
Recently he wrote an incredible post entitled 4 Keys To Rebuilding Financial Trust With Your Congregation.  I wanted to share his thoughts with you.  And after reading the post, make sure you check out MAG Bookkeeping.  Bryan and his team would be honored to help you retain the trust of your congregation and leadership.
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We mentioned in The Danger Of Designated Accounts the existence of multiple designated accounts can often indicate that your congregation does not trust the leadership when it comes to making financial decisions. If money is locked down in designated accounts for very specific purposes, then church leaders do not have access to it except for those expenses. But this means that thousands of dollars can be sitting in your accounts, unable to be used for immediate ministry needs.
So how do you, as a church leader, help rebuild trust around church finances and minimize the need your congregation might feel to restrict your funds? Here are four ideas:

1. Transparency – Make sure there’s transparency around financial decision-making and reporting. Each time your leadership team is making financial or spending decisions, let your congregation know. Make your proposed and approved budgets easily accessible to your congregation via your membership section on your website or through your church management software. If people know how you are planning to use their gifts, they will feel less compelled to restrict what you do with those gifts.
2. Vision – Cast ministry vision as part of your budgeting process. People want to give to ministries that will change lives – not to budget line items. Help your congregation see how your ministry efforts will make an eternal difference in your community, not just how much those efforts will cost.
3. Constant Communications – Incorporate a weekly reminder into your communications about how giving affects your various ministry efforts. Whether it is through your weekly email newsletter, a video in your weekend worship experiences, or an announcement from the platform, help your congregation see each week how their giving is expanding the Kingdom in your community and around the world.
4. Get Help – Make sure your bookkeeping, reporting and financial policies are rock-solid. If you are in any doubt about whether they are or not, contact MAG Bookkeeping and we’d be more than happy to talk with you about them!