The Finance Committee Part 2: Your Finance Calendar

The Academy Awards are Sunday! Not to brag but I’ve seen all ten nominated films for Best Picture. 10/10! Oh, how I wish there was one clear winner. Barbie: Most Fun. Oppenheimer: Biggest Spectacle. American Fiction: Smartest Adult Comedy. Flowers of the Killer Moon: Best Shining Light on History. The Zone of Interest: The One that Continues to Haunt Me. Here’s to the magic of movies that can entertain and change you.
 
Back to the Finance Committee. Last week’s post encouraged you to think about and develop some Guiding Principles to steer your work. Just this morning I came across a wise adage that can only come from a Panda Express fortune cookie: “Your principles mean more to you than any money or success.” Amen Panda Express. Amen.
 
Now, to make this practical.
 
Sara Goetze, the Assistant Treasurer/Controller for the OR-ID Annual Conference of the UMC, attended the National Association of Annual Conference Treasurers in September of 2023. David Stotts, the Mississippi (the hands-down best state to spell) Annual Conference Treasurer, presented a year-long calendar for Finance Committees to follow. I have added my own notations and links to relevant blog posts.
 
You can see the calendar below and access it for your use here.
 
A calendar like this would have helped in my work as the Finance Chair at my local church. We may not have checked every box in the calendar, but it would have helped to know what things should have been done and when.
 
One thing that becomes apparent while looking at this calendar: the Finance Committee is about more than just facts/figures/spreadsheets/numbers. For most medium-to-small churches, there’s no separate generosity/stewardship committee. Rightly or wrongly, that becomes the de facto job of the Finance Committee. Embrace it.
 
The Finance Committee has a lot riding on its shoulders. What you do is critical to the vitality and health of your congregation. Thank you for your ministry.
 
Is there anything that’s missing from this calendar? Anything you’d delete? Let me know.
 
Now, if you’ll forgive me…I’m heading to Goodwill to find my gown for the Academy Awards. Wish me luck.

Photo Credit: JCamargo @pixabay.com

Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations.

Take a listen to this moving piece that’s been nominated for Best Original Song from Flowers of the Killer Moon: Wahzhazhe (Song for My People) from the Osage Nation. It’s beautiful.
 
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered!
 
Schedule a meeting now.
 
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