What gets cut first?

Yes, we are still in that position of cutting our budget. We have cut our local associational giving, gone through every expense to see where and how much. (We were able to cut some out of Bible study literature by making certain that we didn't order 5 extra quarterlies.) We have cut out outside paid help for some lawn and maintenance stuff and kept it in house. We use volunteers rather than a secretary.

But as a church, they decided that several items would not be cut. We would not cut our missions giving nor would we cut ministry salaries. Not cutting missions giving was my challenge. They responded with not cutting staff salaries. We have not had a raise in the last 2 budget cycles and won't again next.

Now we are faced with a major roof repair. We have no roofers in the church and local zoning (and practical wisdom) means that we have to have a licensed contractor. We cannot do it now with the almost daily summer rains here in florida so we are using this time to ask for sacrifical giving so hen the dry season comes we can pay cash for it.

This sounds personal to you though, ABCGrad. Can we pray about anything?

 

When I was a pastor, we did arrive -- we thought -- at that juncture a couple of times. But typically those who were panicky were overruled by those who had faith and vision. In twenty years there was only one year when giving did not exceed the previous year, and that was after a difficult period surrounding the call and then too-soon resignation of an associate pastor.

In my experience in denominational work, too many churches decide that missions is the thing to cut because "others" will take up the slack. I successfully argued that giving to missions is not about whether the denomination can pay its bills but is about meeting the missions challenges out there, and is also about a local church's willingness to live in faith. It worked!

On a couple of occasions, when things looked tight, I volunteered to forego an increment in salary, provided other staff were not treated that way. My salary as senior pastor, while certainly not monumental, was well above that of other staff. However, only once did the committee accept my offer!

Of course it helps too if the church is living out of a growth perspective, believing that it should, can, and will reach new people -- not just as givers, but as people in need of Christ. Once the trend of growth is established, the argument is no longer about where to cut to pay the bills, but about what new initiatives can be undertaken and funded.

 

In my experience (churches I've served and churches I know), the overwhelming majority cut missions/benevolence giving first, staff salaries a close second....or usually both. In more than one instance, this was done intentionally. "We can't cut missions any more, preacher, so you'll have to give up some pay." So then if the pastor (or anyone) refuses or complains, then you're against the gospel.

Most churches waste more money than they realize. Rare is the church that cannot afford some sort of salary and mission. And as someone has said, churches don't have money problems, they have giving problems.

Another random thought: too many use the budget as a weapon. I can take you to a local church that, every pastor's third year, cries doom and gloom, and cuts the pastor's salary by 25-35%. The pastor typically resigns. Then a new man is brought in at the previous pastor's starting salary or a little more. Then, year three comes, and the so does the cut. This cycle has been repeated since the mid 90s.

 

We got your back in prayer for the meeting tomorrow night.

 

Been praying for you all.. let us know if we still need to keep praying... Or bail ...

 

Are you both happy with the result? I agree we have to trust the Lord but it seems like they are asking you alll to trust the Lord while they're trusting their bank account.

How would being paid twice a month mean they have time to recover the funds?

 

So it's in advance.. that's better than i had thought. I still think they're demanding that you walk by faith.

Praying for you all.

 

Very, very ture.

I don't mean to pile on here, but this shows something that is very true: we show by our datebook and our checkbook what we really believe regarding finances. It's a shame that churches undermine words with actions.

I once led a business meeting where the church spent almost $300K in 5 minutes. The next motion was to spend $250 to take our kids to a Bible camp for one day just an hour away. We discussed that motion for over 25 minutes! Amazing.

I too will be praying for y'all. I've been there. I know what it's like.

 

In our case, the doughnuts were the first thing to go...

Seriously, we have cut back on A/C and lighting. Cut back on the usage of the facilities by outside groups, cut back on staff- some moved on who we have not replaced, and one was fired (unfortunately).

So far we are doing okay. I would (probably) be the first to go if push came to shove since the deaf pastor is considered an unnecessary expense in most churches.

Unfortunately our economy is barely hanging on here in S. Texas. And the drug wars just south of here don't help.

 

The key is creativity in cutting like getting staff to answer their own phones or putting the thermostat up a degree or down a degree depending on the season. We no longer provide bottled water for the pastor :tear: . They say I can drink out of the water faucet like everyone else or I bring it from home.

But too often we cut that which is reaching people. Our youth and senior adult ministry is a protected species. I'd rather do without bulletins than slow down a ministry reaching the unsaved.

But doing without donuts is way too much of a sacrifice. :tongue3: