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The Missional Budget

by PAUL DAVIS

Congregations have discussions about many important things. Perhaps none is more important than discussing the congregation’s mission and how it funds mission through the annual budget.

When the congregation has clarity about its mission, the congregation can then begin to develop a budget that more closely reflects its priorities for mission.

A budget that clearly reflects Christ’s mission will inspire generosity.
Every Community of Christ congregation is expected to create a budget every year. Most church members consider approving the budget at a business meeting to be necessary but tedious and uninteresting. For many congregations, the budget is just a routine accounting of income and expenses. How can congregations make a shift from accounting for income and expenses to planning mission and promoting generosity?

The church is challenged in Doctrine and Covenants 163:11b “to discern and pursue what matters most for the journey ahead.” Doctrine and Covenants 164:9f identifies “the mission of Jesus Christ” as what matters most. A missional budget engages the members by asking two kinds of questions: “What matters most?” and “How do we align our financial assets with what matters most?” The answers to these questions create a missional budget.

For many congregations the budget is the only written and formally approved plan the congregation has for carrying out its mission. Disinterest in the budget’s development may perpetuate through the year as lack of commitment to the mission the budget supports. If not committed to the mission, people don’t give to support it. On the other hand, people do give to support a mission to which they are committed.

If the budget is the congregation’s only written plan approved by the congregation to pursue its mission, what can the congregation do to make the budget process count? If cajoling, haranguing, pleading, and begging members to attend the budget meeting and pay attention has worn thin, what can we do?

Engage the congregation in pre-budget meetings to discuss mission and its assets. Schedule these meetings when the most people are willing to participate, for instance, following a potluck meal. Use various means to extend invitations: bulletin announcements, e-mail, personal letters, and phone calls from the pastor or a member of the leadership team.

At the congregation’s pre-budget meeting start with a blank piece of paper. Tell the congregation that it will develop budget priorities from scratch. Then ask the congregation this question: “What is the most important thing we will do as a congregation next year?” Ask participants to keep in mind that we are considering what matters most to Christ, not necessarily what we individually think is most important. Every next question will follow from the answers to this first one. Ask someone to keep notes of the meeting.

Perhaps one of the answers is “worship together.” Then the next question might be, “What do we need to do to worship together to fulfill the mission of Christ?” An answer could be (from the mission initiatives) “Worship develops disciples to serve.” If one of the answers is “have a church building to worship in” the recorder can write that down and leave all the details of having a church building for later. Most congregational budgets are heavy on the details of owning and maintaining a building. Right now the congregation is simply trying to surface the few things the congregation most wants to do in the coming year.

Next ask, “What else do we need to have to worship together well?” Answers could be, “a praise band,” “new hymn books,” “training in preaching,” “including children and youth,” and so on. Keep asking the question until you have a good list of what the congregation believes is necessary to worship together well.

When the congregation has fully explored “worship together” move to the next answer to that first question, “What is the most important thing we will do next year?” Repeat the process.

When the congregation has listed the three or four “most important things” and how to accomplish them enlist the congregation to estimate the costs to do them. It is important the congregational financial officer (CFO) has the current costs of operating the building, but resist the assumption that everything the congregation is doing now should continue in the same way from now on. This is one of the few moments when the congregation might be open to not doing everything the way it has always done it. It might be, for example, that “worship together” doesn’t have the present building as its first requirement.

When estimating the cost of doing the most important things is complete, ask if there is anything else the congregation will need to spend money on in the coming year. If any of those expenses do not support the priorities identified by the congregation this is the moment to explore if those expenses are necessary.

The congregation now has a rough estimate of the total expected cost of the mission priorities of the congregation. This gives members an opportunity to reflect on their own participation and consider their response to give generously according to their true capacity (Doctrine and Covenants 163:9) in accomplishing those priorities, perhaps in different ways than before.

When the congregation has a rough estimate of total costs, it then considers the ability of its members to contribute or raise enough money for the congregation’s priorities. If the congregation feels the estimates are sound enough, the CFO and leadership team can work together to prepare the budget to present at the budget meeting. If the congregation needs more information on cost estimates, adjourn the pre-budget meeting. Ask the CFO and leadership team to bring back to the next pre-budget meeting estimates and suggestions on how to support the priorities.

If the total estimated cost of the mission priorities is beyond what the congregation feels it can support, it may need to reduce the number of priorities or find other, less expensive, means of pursuing them.

Asking the congregations “What matters most?” and “How do we align our financial assets with what matters most?” provides the priorities for a missional budget. In addition, engaging the congregation in planning its missional budget promotes generosity to the congregation’s true capacity.

Members who join in this way of creating the budget should emerge with a simple, clear idea of what the congregation is trying to do, how they plan to do it, and what it will cost. In reporting the budget results to the congregation throughout the year, the line-item headings reflect the congregation’s mission—“what matters most.” Paying the electricity bill does not feel like what matters most, but worshiping together does, and worshiping with the lights on is preferable.

 

Here is a list of questions asked in this article:

• How can congregations make a shift from accounting for income and expenses to planning mission and promoting generosity?
• A missional budget engages the members by asking two kinds of questions: “What matters most?” and “How do we align our financial assets with what matters most?”
• If the budget is the congregation’s only written plan approved by the congregation to pursue its mission, what can the congregation do to make the budget process count? If cajoling, haranguing, pleading, and begging members to attend the budget meeting and pay attention has worn thin, what can we do?
• What is the most important thing we will do as a congregation next year?

		Dwelling in the Word*
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OBJECTIVE
To read and hear scripture as a spiritual practice that leads to new understandings. “Dwelling in the Word” is a practice based on our understanding that God continues to speak to us in the context of our day and calling. Listen for God’s voice in scripture to connect with God’s mission in Christ. Listen to the voices of others about what God is doing in their lives. This practice is not about gaining information about scripture. Rather, it is about listening to how God is speaking, calling, and sending us to join in Christ’s mission to our communities and the world.

PROCESS
Provide a printed copy of a scriptural text. A printed copy allows participants to hear and see the words for reflection. Read the scriptural text out loud and pause for a few minutes to allow people time to reflect on what they’ve heard.

Read the passage a second time. Ask people to make note of a word, phrase, or image they are drawn to as they hear it read again. After a short pause, form into small groups of no more than four or five people to provide opportunities for each person to share their responses to questions like ones provided below. If someone wishes to remain silent, that is acceptable. It is important to make sure the reflections are personal and do not become an exercise in biblical interpretation.

Here are some questions:

• Is there a place I feel drawn to dwell or explore?
• What words, images, or phrases are speaking to me in this text?
• What is God’s invitation to me in this scripture?
• What is God’s invitation to our congregation in this scripture?

This is a practice of discovery, be expectant that God’s mission in Christ is among you as you gain insights from listening to one another and to God.

Process Tip: Be patient with the practice. Encourage participants to remember it is a spiritual practice that invites scripture to transform our understanding and our way of being and doing. Do not let this become an intellectual exercise which will limit the transformative impact of this practice. Like any practice, this will take time to fully understand.

*Open the pre-budget meetings with the spiritual practice “Dwelling in the Word.” Use a passage that explores generosity or the mission of Christ. Scripture texts to consider are: Luke 4:14–21, Matthew 25:31–40, and Matthew 6:24–34.

		Generosity
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OBJECTIVE
To provide a setting where people can reflect on generosity and their personal discipleship. People guard about sharing how they use their personal resources, yet Jesus refers to stewardship and the use of money throughout his ministry.

PROCESS
In a Sunday school class or another gathering, read together Doctrine and Covenants 163:9. Provide pens and paper. Inform participants that what they write is private and will only be shared by them if willing.

1. Ask participants to write their responses to two questions:
   
   
   • How do you now share your financial or other valuable assets with others (World Mission Tithes as well as other contributions)?
   • How do you use your disposable income (such as, eating out, vacations, home improvements)?
2. After participants have had time to write their responses lead a discussion by giving opportunity for people to share (not specifically about their own giving and financial situations unless they want to) their thoughts on these two questions:

• Are we really giving to our true capacity?
• What keeps us from giving to our true capacity?

3. End the discussion with this question:
   • What is one new way you could share your generosity of giving in the week or month ahead?
4. Assign two or more people to plan a worship service that focuses on generosity. Encourage the worship planners to invite participants to share their testimonies of giving in new ways.