Today, I hired a new church consultant to look over our bookkeeping practices. As church planters we need to know that every penny counts and how these pennies are accounted for matters big time. Over the past four years we have worked hard to keep our books in order and have done better and better every year.
As our fiscal year runs April through March this is a new beginning for us. It is a great time to make sure that we are doing things the “right way”. As The Journey North finance team met it was determined that we can do better at utilizing QuickBooks, but no one on the team new how to take us to the next level.
It is important to understand your personal and group limitations and then decide if the factors warrant some kind of outside assistance or is muddling along and learning as you go good enough. In some areas it probably is…with the funds that people are giving to God and intrusting into our care, we better have “Best Business Practices”.
There really is a difference between “Good” and “Best”. It is time for us to move beyond good. The temptation we have fallen into in the past was to be satisfied knowing that our bookkeeping was improving, we were getting better. The stakes have never been higher for us and the amount that God has given us to manage has continued to go up.
With each new program, initiative, outreach opportunity, staff hire comes layer upon layer of financial complexity. We can have finance teams, finance elders, bookkeepers, auditors or any number of other wise people around us. But listen up Pastor…you are seen by the congregant as the CFO of your church. You better know that the money is being taken care of and managed well. You MUST know!
Don’t settle (as I have in the past with good…start and maintain great financial practices and bookkeeping procedures). If you want to follow my lead in this, get it right before it causes you ANY pain. Thankfully we are a few steps ahead of the game. I am committed to keep it that way.
