We live in a time when it’s easy to take for granted our incredible access to data. It’s everywhere, and thanks to the internet and our willingness to have our voices heard through surveys, it’s current. For example, in July 2023, Gallup posted their survey results on Americans’ faith in major societal institutions. For churches, the results had good news and bad news: the good news was that churches ranked in the top five of trusted institutions. The bad news is that the confidence ranking is a dismal 32%. That’s a massive drop from a 68% confidence ranking back in 1975. Since then, many high-profile and well-documented cases showcase the self-inflicted factors that contribute to the abysmal 32% confidence factor, such as sexual misconduct, political positioning, toxic leadership, mission drift, and financial failures like fraud and embezzlement. One way churches can combat these troubling trends is to be honest and transparent, especially regarding church finances.
While 92% of churches create financial reports, the information is often not effectively shared with the congregation, if at all. Considering all the communication methods available, churches must utilize as many as possible to increase financial visibility and build trust within the congregation. Here are some common approaches to sharing financial data with the church and tips to improve them.
The Church Bulletin
The church bulletin is the tried-and-true method for sharing information for generations. These stalwarts of the church have provided essential information for years. They can include upcoming events, milestones (births, weddings, anniversaries, deaths, etc.), song lyrics, volunteer opportunities, offering envelopes, and much more. Considering the amount of information included in a bulletin, it’s shocking that only 38% of churches share financial reports this way. As churches continue leveraging technology to communicate, fewer churches produce physical church bulletins. However, those who continue to invest in creating a church bulletin must include a financial update as part of the information. Because the audience of the bulletin ranges from visitors to long-time members, the information should remain at a high level.
The Periodic Newsletters
A newsletter is a periodic tool to share relevant and valuable information with the congregation. The church bulletin provides supplemental information related to the current worship service and is meant for everyone, regardless of their involvement in the church. Newsletters can target a specific audience and provide greater detail about the church’s financial status without making guests feel uncomfortable about the church’s financial position.
The Weekly Email
The proliferation of third-party mass mailing providers, such as Mailchimp, BombBomb, and Constant Contact, provides churches with easy and effective ways to share information with their congregation. These third-party solutions provide templates for quick deployment and ways to segment the recipients. Where bulletins and newsletters have limited physical space due to printing on paper, an email’s only limit is the reader’s tolerance for scrolling. Since emails can target recipients, the church can customize the level of financial reporting.
The Church Website
The church’s website lets the public view your church. Those looking for a church are far more likely to find it online than anywhere else, which means more guests than members view the church’s website. When it comes to sharing financial information on the website, strategic churches strive to provide information that builds trust, demonstrates transparency, and disciples the church on biblical giving. The church’s website needs more than a menu item on how to securely “give” digitally to support the church – it needs to answer “why give” from a biblical perspective. The church’s website can offer resources, like blog posts, on stewardship and generosity. The website can share annual reports and budget progress. While sharing this information on the website builds trust and demonstrates accountability, it should not be the website’s focal point; the mission should.
Churches must work harder than ever to regain the American people’s confidence. Let’s start by remembering what God requires: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). One simple way churches can quickly regain trust is by sharing their finances openly, transparently, and appropriately through any of the methods available.
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