Why are Salaries and Overhead Important? Mission.
Many thanks to those of you who attended the “Pledge Campaign Best Practices” webinar Julia Frisbie of the Faith Foundation Northwest and I led last week. We had fun! If you’d like, you can access the recording right here.
We had time to take a few questions. One of them I hear quite frequently.
Let me set the context: Julia and I emphasized that one of the key things that congregations must do during a pledge campaign is to talk about the mission of your church – what it stands for and why it exists.
Then this question came in:
“The focus on mission is critical. Yet how do you deal with the reality of operating expenses, including salaries, which is the major part of our budget?”
This is a great question.
And the answer gets me excited about the critical work you do:
Everything in your budget supports the mission of your church.
This includes but is not limited to your…
Pastor’s salary
Water, electricity, heat, and air conditioning
Printing
Youth Director’s salary
Postage
Janitorial services
The list could go on, but you get the point.
The pastor (with ample help from laity) provides leadership for ministry to happen. Your clergyperson is central to meaningful worship. Your pastor inspires people to proclaim the Good News. They provide solace in time of need. They are the public face of your congregation to the community.
Without water, electricity, heat, and – if you’re lucky enough – air conditioning, your building would not be open and ready serve your community.
Printing provides bulletins, letters, and valuable information about your work.
Your Youth Director is ensuring that young leaders understand the importance of a faith that moves beyond the doors of the church. They provide a refuge for young people to explore their understanding of God and feel accepted.
Without a stamp, getting the word out to the community and to your congregation about mission work, sending cards to the homebound, making people feel welcome with a “glad-you-were-here” note won’t happen.
And if you want your building to be one that people – both the congregation and community – want to return to, one that is clean and in shape, having a janitor is a huge part of your ministry.
Reframing how you view line items in your budget can be thrilling…if you acknowledge that everything you do is about mission and ministry. It may not be glamorous. It may not make the local news or become an internet sensation, but if you look at it in just the right way, it can make you proud.
Most important, it will make it much easier to answer that question, “How do we get our people to pay for operating expenses and salaries?”
For more on this topic, check out:
The Value of a Building
They Don’t Want to Give to the Electricity Bill
Photo credit: Diane Helentjaris @Upsplash
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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 millions of dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations. For some reason, this very short clip with Will Ferrel and Steve Carell has her laughing.
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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