Imagine that it’s a week or so before Thanksgiving. You’ve invited your entire family, including the in-laws. You want everything from the decorations to the menu to go perfectly. After all, Thanksgiving is the ideal time to show gratitude and thankfulness for all God provides. It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and you’re going over your checklist, and it hits you. You forgot to thaw the turkey because you didn’t purchase one. What an incredible oversight; how can that happen?
Maybe that exact scenario hasn’t happened to you, but something similar happens to churches every year. They forget to budget for an essential part of “doing church.” This year, a church in Southern California (yes, it’s where I work) completed the budget on time, celebrated our hard work, and shared the information with the church. Then it happened. It was time to start promoting VBS (Vacation Bible School) when it was obvious that the church budget did not include funding for VBS. While missing a line item of this magnitude is a big deal, how to respond makes all the difference.
How to Respond to an Overlooked Essential Budget Item
Undoubtedly, there are many responses to any major oversight, such as forgetting to budget for VBS (or buying a turkey for Thanksgiving). Depending upon your personality, frustration, anger, remorse, and creating a new policy to ensure this doesn’t happen again are options. But if we’re honest, most of them are not beneficial. So before you cancel VBS (or Thanksgiving), take a moment, get a team together, and brainstorm options. Here are a few tips that may help in the process.
Determine the Cost: Before proceeding, gather the key stakeholders to determine the cost of whatever is missing from the budget. In this example, it’s VBS. Put together a detailed list of everything needed to pull off the event—labor, advertising, t-shirts, curriculum, games, prizes, etc. Use last year’s budget as a guide, but do the work to get an accurate cost. Once the full cost of the event is determined, it’s easier to take the next logical steps.
Review the Church Budget: Now that the church understands the dollar figure it’s looking for, pull the key budget stakeholders together to see if there are areas in their budget to reduce or eliminate to ensure that the overlooked item (VBS) can happen. This meeting would have occurred during the budgeting process if the item hadn’t been missing, except now, it may feel like a bigger loss to some areas. Navigate the meeting carefully, focusing on the church’s mission and vision. It may be possible to find the money in other areas that are running under budget. Some churches have an “opportunity cost” line item in their budget for unforeseen opportunities during the fiscal year that were not on the radar during the budget process. After searching the budget for money to cover the cost of the overlooked event, it’s time to make it known to the church.
Ask for Donations: Not everyone gives the same. Some people are tithers; they give faithfully and joyfully every time they get paid. Some people are motivated by special projects and have no problem dropping large donations to support a project they believe in. Then, there are those who give spontaneously when a cause moves them. Without providing opportunities for all types of givers, the church can miss out on allowing people to support what God is doing in their church. Unashamedly, tell the church of the situation and see what happens. People will rise to the occasion, especially if it’s not a common practice of the church.
Ensure it Doesn’t Happen Again: This goes without saying, but at some point, there needs to be a discussion on how this happened and what the church can do to prevent it from happening again. Maybe have the church leaders list all essential events that need to happen every year (Christmas Eve, Good Friday, Easter, VBS, Trunk or Treat, etc.) and then check that each has an associated budget line item. Lead the meeting with grace and understanding; this is not a time for accusations and belittling.
Even the most prepared people can sometimes overlook important things, even in a church budget. When that happens, how we respond matters. Instead of getting frustrated and angry, take a practical approach to resolving the problem by determining the cost, reviewing the budget, asking for donations, and ensuring the oversight isn’t repeated next year.
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