I was consulting with a church once on organizational health. One of the tools we used was face-to-face individual interviews with congregants at all levels of maturity and commitment. In an interview with an average congregant, I was surprised when the congregant told me that he didn't think the pastor needed to know his giving level. This was a large church, and I knew the pastor didn't get involved in those details, so I asked him why he thought the pastor knew his giving level. He said it was because in every giving statement the pastor included a letter or note. He thought the pastor was the one who was stuffing the envelopes for his giving statements! That got me thinking.

Contributions are the financial life blood of churches and ministries. Our task as ministry managers includes looking for ways to help our constituents improve their financial stewardship without alienating them. Many ministries have found ways to use contribution and pledge tracking software to help them in this task as well as to help them project cash flow.

Ministers are considered self-employed when it comes to social security taxes (SECA). The IRS doesn't allow churches to withhold ministers' social security taxes and pay it on their behalf along with other payroll taxes. Instead, ministers file an IRS Form 1040ES every quarter and send in their income taxes (FWT) and SECA taxes at that time. This is difficult for many in ministry as few are able to put that kind of money aside so it's ready when needed. Here's a strategy that is legal and can really help.

The unfortunate statistic heard among those in Christian management circles is that more than half of church splits are caused by financial questions and concerns. I'm not certain who came up with that statistic, or what research it is based on, but my observation as a ministry management specialist for the last twelve years is: I believe it! And the striking fact is that those splits are not based on financial problems, they are based on questions and concerns.

The unfortunate statistic heard among those in church management circles is that more than half of church splits are caused by financial questions and concerns. I'm not certain who came up with that statistic, or what research it is based on, but my observation as a church management specialist for the last twelve years is: I believe it! And the striking fact is that those splits are not based on financial problems, rather they are based on questions and concerns.