8 Signs of a Financially Dying Church

Podcast Episode #276

Church financial issues can sometimes precipitate church death. So today we cover a post by Art Rainer on the warning signs that a church may be dying financially.

Also, we’re collecting church budget data for a massive research project. If you’d like to participate, email your church budget to [email protected]. Every participant will receive a free copy of the research once it releases, and the first 10 submissions will receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Stewardship is part of the discipline of Christian life, therefore we should preach on it.
Pastors should not apologize for preaching on money and stewardship.
If members do not trust the church leadership, they will give less.
Consider starting your church budget process with your ministry expenses—not personnel or facility costs.
Offering more options for giving typically means all types of giving will increase.
Churches should constantly be evaluating how they are spending their money.
Churches should be taking steps of financial faith, not financial foolishness.

The eight signs of a financially dying church which we discuss on the show are:

Failed to preach and teach stewardship.
Took on too much debt.
Was not transparent with finances.
Used very few dollars to reach and minister to the community.
Did not have multiple options for giving.
Did not constantly evaluate how funds were spent.
Never took wise steps of financial faith.
The church relied on a few big givers.

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