I came across this blog entry today from Tony Morgan. He details the story of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL and how they budget. Here are some excerpts from the blog:
“The church sets its annual budget as 90 percent of the previous year’s income, to leave a 10 percent cushion in case of an economic downturn, and limits salaries to 35 percent of the total budget.”
I’m familiar with many, many churches who take a look at the previous year’s income and then add a percentage based on their projections, prayers and hopes for what the future will look like. That may be described as the “faith factor”. I’m a man of faith as well, but I’d rather deal with the the problem of determining how to invest the extra money that exceeds a disciplined budget than deal with the challenges, stress and frustration that results when our “faith” exceeds God’s provision. (See Luke 14:28-30.)
Some of you out there have control over setting your own budget. I’m not necessarily recommending you do this but it’s something to think about.
