Podcast Episode #195
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We discuss nine specific ways churches might be wasting money. As tight as finances are in many churches, these nine points of evaluation might be helpful for many churches to free up more funds for ministry.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Churches often waste money by doing things the way they’ve always done them.
- We often staff our churches the way it’s always been instead of what’s best for the church.
- Staffing is one of the biggest expenses you have, and if you don’t constantly evaluate it, you will spend money you don’t have to.
- I see any staff departure as an opportunity to evaluate if that position is needed for the future.
- Facebook ads are one of the better uses of advertising dollars for churches—instead of media ads or billboards.
- The arbitrary payments made to many instrumentalists often confuses pastors and church members.
- Having policies in place for benevolence giving and accountability is a must for churches.
- Do not expect people in the pew to be good stewards of their money if the church leaders are not stewarding church funds well.
The nine ways churches most commonly waste money are:
- Not evaluating staff needs
- Ineffective paid publicity
- Arbitrarily paid instrumentalists
- Paid child care
- Unevaluated mission giving
- Benevolence with no accountability
- Underwriting trips
- Church vehicles
- Ineffective programs and ministries
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of I Will.
I would like to add inefficient facilities. Boilers, air conditioning, furnaces, etc. if old/inefficient can cost a fortune to operate. Old duct work can leak. Insufficient insulation can also be a problem. Sometimes the cost of replacement can be recouped in a year or two.
Excellent addition. Thanks, Mark.
Totally agree here. Inefficient HVAC equipment, Windows, and even insulation can cause an incredible increase to excess item budgets. Unfortunately, many view this expense as a long-term goal, and it is, but it has incredible short-term benefits of freeing up necessary funds for the church to do real ministry. There’s nothing worse than being held back from reaching the lost due to abnormally higher utility bills which need to be reigned in. Churches need to look into state energy efficiency programs which can greatly reduce the church’s out-of-pocket for such work. You may be amazed at the savings and get some financial freedom in your budget for what is really necessary.
He is making sence
Another very common area where churches waste big money, is the sound system. Many churches buy their sound system three, four, or even five times before they get it right. In trying to save money by not hiring am expert church sound consultant to do the job, they end up wasting many times more than what the consulting fee would have been for doing that. Many churches rely on well-meaning but “ignorant” musicians, audiophile members, or members with some background in audio or music production. I mean “ignorant” in the sense that they don’t have the necessary knowledge or experience to be able to spec a church sound system, nor to supervise the installation, nor the configuration or calibration. The problem in most churches is not just the sound system itself, but also the acoustics of the sanctuary. If the acoustic problems are not corrected, no sound system will ever sound good, no matter how much money you throw at it. Designing a church sound system is as much about acoustics as it is about speakers, mics and consoles. Without that specialized knowledge (a combination of acoustic engineering and sound engineering, plus an intimate understanding of church worship services and other activities) churches are doomed to continue wasting vasts amount of money on buying audio gear that is wrong for their sanctuary. The fee that an experienced church sound consultant charges is well worth the investment.
Good insights. Thank you, Stuart.
Especially if the building is long, made of stone, and has high ceilings.
Great episode, as always! Sorry if I’m self-promoting my blog, but I just thought this would help, pertaining to Facebook ads. Last week, I wrote a post entitled, “How and Why Churches Can Use Facebook Ads.” It is really practical: http://jeremyroberts.org/why-and-how-your-church-should-utilize-facebook-ads/
Mr Rainer, thank you for the book autopsy of a deceased church. Our family is now battling what to do about our dead church. It is so hard to see our church dying but no one seems to care. Weve tried to revive it but most are so blind. Very frustrating.
“Do not expect people in the pew to be good stewards of their money if the church leaders are not stewarding church funds well.”
The assumption being made in this statement being that the only way for someone to be a good steward of their money is to give it to the church.
I disagree with your reading in that assumption. The goal of good stewardship is to always be available to respond to God’s promptings to give because we have been wise with what we have been given. Yes, giving to the church is important, but I want those under my care to be free to meet needs in other arenas as well without worrying about how their response to a need may create a great need in their life.
I agree with your take on stewardship, but I disagree that it is the point that the statement I am quoting is making.
Whether the churches own poor handling of funds is seen as a bad example, or if it is seen as losing the trust of the body, I can’t say that I have met anyone who was a generous giver, that became a poor steward just because their church didn’t manage finances appropriately.
If I were in your church and found out that you are mismanaging our offerings, and consequently decided to use those funds to help a friend who has just lost their job, or give to an organization that I trust, would that make me a bad steward?
There are so many Free and Cheap ways to help people find your Church. I would also say cleaning up your online reputation is a good use of either volunteer time or paid resources. When it is easy to find your Church, more people will potentially attend. That can translate into more funds for the Church in the long run. On the other hand, when you have old and outdated information floating around online it is confusing and easy for people to miss out on finding your Church.
Another costly mistake is not having someone in charge of building and grounds. Therefore you find people fixing the walls, only to realize the ceiling needs fixing, with which the walls get messed up again and need fixing some more.
In our church, the flower room was organized before the ceiling was repaired, the library was established and bookcases fastened to the walls before someone decided the room needed to be painted.
Some of the cost was “only” in disgruntled congregational volunteers, and other times, it was also a huge financial loss.
I’m actually very encouraged when a church is giving a significant portion to missions work, and especially to individual missionaries. It’s a barometer of a church’s leadership to be giving outside of their direct influence and ministry.
That being said, I completely agree that there needs to be constant evaluation of the missions work that is being supported on a regular basis to assess if the giving maintains strategic and appropriate.
Better leadership always gives better output to particular firm.
Strong leadership always leads their followers to the right path and it should be strong enough to make decisions without any fear.