Yesterday, we talked about the costs involved in ministry, and – as is appropriate in a church – we started with people. Today, we’ll talk about money and fairness.

Believe it or not, I’ve actually heard statements like this in a church environment: “It’s not fair that ‘Ministry A’ is getting more money than ‘Ministry B.’” Fairness, in that sense, is childish at an elementary-school level. Effective budgeting is an area where churches can learn from businesses and non-profits: unless your church has endless funding (lol), it will face the limitations that every other organization faces, so the best strategy will be to put the dollars where they are needed to achieve the overall goals of the church.

To do this, take into account the realistic costs of effectively running your various ministries. Production, for example, is going to cost more than other ministries, simply because the gear required is expensive – the same goes for facility costs, heating/cooling, cleaning, etc…

Lastly, here’s a hard truth: you just can’t do everything. Churches are notorious for being spread too thin – we don’t like to say “no.” But the likely end result of over-committing to ministries and events is that none of them will have the support they need to be truly effective. Sometimes doing less things – but doing those things really well – is the way to go.

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