After working with several churches recently I found an interesting trend that I wanted to share. As we were preparing budgets for the upcoming year, we found that most of the churches initial draft contained most of the line items from the previous year with an adjustment for the upcoming year.
While this is exactly correct, we found an area that many churches were leaving out and not considering.
A friend of mine has added a line item to his budget each year which he uses as contingency. He purposefully budgets for opportunities that may arise throughout the year. By adding this money into the budget, he is better able to make decisions as ministry opportunities arise. He is also able to side-step potential landmines if unexpected bills should appear.
For most committee driven churches, the very idea of a contingency budget line will send most finance committee chairs into a frenzy. However, I’d contend that the lack of this line could be more detrimental to your flexibility for ministry.
Take a minute and review your budget this upcoming year. Have you budgeted to allow God to move and bring opportunities your way?
