Effective Church Finances: Fund-Raising and Budgeting for Church Leaders - Hardcover

"The more you develop healthy habits of effective church finances, the more likely you are to advance your mission. The two go hand in hand. They help one another. The more successful you are in one, the more successful you will be in the other."—Kennon Callahan, Effective Church Finances

"Money follows mission, not the reverse. This is a shorthand way of saying that the stronger the congregation's relational characteristics, the easier it is to raise money. The stronger the congregation?s mission, visitation, worship, groupings, leadership, and decision making, the stronger the giving." —Kennon Callahan, Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church

Congregations who practice effective finances have a stronger mission, help more people, and are able to raise more money, according to Kennon Callahan. The more effective they are with church finances, the less time they must invest in money matters and the more time they have to devote to their real mission. The stronger the congregation's mission, the stronger the giving.

With depth and insight uncharacteristic of books in this field, Effective Church Finances offers church leaders a comprehensive guide to setting and achieving financial goals through well-planned budgeting and fund-raising. Complete with charts and questionnaires, this book shares practical suggestions, insights, and wisdom that have been tested and proven during the author's many years of consulting in thousands of churches.

Written for committee members, key leaders, pastors, and church staff, this detailed study explores

• developing the church budget—how effective church finances advance mission, how to set a four-year plan, how to invest wisely in your congregation's mission
  
• fund-raising for the budget—how to organize giving campaigns and develop campaign strategy objectives and organizations, plus tips on selecting fund-raisers
  
• setting giving goals for the congregation—how giving patterns fluctuate, how to pinpoint your congregation's giving pattern, how to develop a baseline budget projection, how unexpected developments can affect your congregation's giving
  
• growing the giving from year to year—how it is easier to raise money than to cut the budget, how to practice the gift of encouragement, how to understand and develop differing practices of giving, and how to develop an enduring gifts program.

Combined with its companion volume, Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church, this step-by-step guide to healthy habits of church finances will help church leaders focus their best creativity, leadership, and energy on advancing their mission. "The congregations who do the best in church finances have a rich, full, abiding compassion for mission," writes Callahan. "They are motivated by a theology of service, not a theology of survival. Their compelling, driving spirit is one of giving, serving, loving mission."