Page 104 - Ecclesiology Textbook Masters

As God find us faithful, He can trust us with more.

I Corinthians 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

How can we be good stewards of God’s money if we fail to account for where we get it and how we
spend it? A steward is one who manages another’s affairs, property, and finances. We would not be
good managers if we do not know where our money goes each month. For on the Day of Judgment, we
will be required to give an account of our actions on earth, including the type of steward we were of all
the God has blessed us with.

The church must live on a budget to properly account to God.

A budget is a plan the church makes on how to best manage the resources God gives each month. It is a
tool to manage how much income is received, and how much of the income the church will plan to
spend, save, or give away.

Just as the rich man’s manager was required to give an account of what his possessions were and how
they were used, God requires the church to keep a good account of what is received and spent.

Luke 16:1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his
possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your
management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

A budget is a plan in order to keep track of our management of resources so that we can be ready to
give an account to God.

I Peter 4: 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Budgeting

In a budget, the church must first order her priorities. For example, the priorities of most churches in
the US is 1) Salaries (47%), 2) Buildings and Maintenance (22%), 3) Programs for the members (10%),
and then 4) Giving, some to Missions (5%). But the early church, as we discovered, prioritized most of
the spending toward helping others, missionary travel, supporting workers, and a small amount on
church activities. A church cannot create a budget without determining on what are the most important
items that they should spend contributions.

Once that is created, the church can estimate total contributions that may be received from general
giving of the membership. Most churches base these numbers on previous giving records and on the
size of the congregation. Once a number is accurately projected, the church now has the income side of
the budget.

The bulk of the budget will be the expenses of the church. Of course, these are all self-generated by the
desires of the leadership and membership. We create the expense side based on our wants and needs.
The Bible suggests three ways to manage expenses:

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