Continued from Part 1.

It is imperative that a ministry has guidelines that shape its financial decision-making. Simply, without sufficient overarching principles in place, making particular decisions about how monies should be spent and how budgets should be cut becomes very subjective and inconsistent. This becomes increasingly important in larger ministries where multiple people are making budget decisions. Therefore, the following principles are offered as examples that we are using to guide some of our financial decision-making at Mars Hill.

1. Spending

Spend money on those things that grow the ministry and not simply on those things that make it easier on your staff.

One is investment and the other is expense. There is always pressure from the staff to spend money on such things as improved working conditions and new technology. But with times being lean, all money needs to go toward welcoming as many people into the church as possible.

As an example, we outgrew our very limited office space at the Ballard campus and rather than renting nice, new, well-lit office space that was built next door, we have chosen to make due with what we have, which is not great. For example, my office is on the complete opposite side of the building from any bathrooms, has no natural light or fresh air, and is about 10 feet by 7 feet. It’s not big or pretty, and I lack my own private bathroom, sitting area, and eating area, which are common in megachurch pastors’ offices, but it works. Others on staff are making due in similar ways.

If we spend money on facilities, it has to be for increasing seating capacity so that more people can meet Jesus.

2. Pruning

Financial crunches are good seasons in which to make the cuts you have desired but have not had permission or timing for. Some will hear this as cruel, but it is in fact true. All of life and ministry is about pruning and then harvesting and then pruning again.

Without pruning, a ministry is wasting energy, time, resources, and leaders on proverbial branches that are no longer bearing lots of good fruit.

Because times are lean, there is no waste to be tolerated. Any ministry or leader that is not bearing much fruit may need to be pruned so that the proverbial tree can survive and continue to reap a harvest. Having consulted with a great number of ministry leaders, I can assure you that most—if not all—leaders know what needs to be cut. But they fail to act with courage because they anticipate fallout, people leaving, and hurt feelings. Sometimes God uses hard times to compel his leaders to make the decisions they need to make, and this is one of those times.

3. Core

Don’t make cuts on your core essential ministries but rather on your secondary and auxiliary ministries.

Tough times call for tough decisions. One of the toughest decisions is actually listing what your core ministries are. Those ministries need to be funded first and cut last.

To be continued.