As Christians, we are called upon to be faithful stewards. In churches, we should certainly use the talents of our staff members prayerfully, take care of the physical church plant, and faithfully preach the Word. But we must be careful not to overlook solid financial stewardship. In most churches, receiving the offering is the starting point of the church’s finances, and proper procedures should be in place from the very beginning.
The handling of offerings may be likened to links in a chain. Each link is important to the trustworthiness of the chain. The basic “links” of the offering chain are the contributors, the collectors, the counters, the recorder, the depositors, and the recordkeeper. This “chain of custody” of money given to God as an act of worship must be regained in churches. Increasingly, churches are being held to the same standards of financial accountability as businesses. The pastor should not handle the finances of the church personally (1 Corinthians 16:3). Instead, the pastor should ensure that procedures for handling the church finances are adopted and followed.
1. Those involved in handling the church finances should be approved as persons of integrity by the church body and then by the leaders.
2. The handling of the church finances should never be left to one person. Always have two or more involved in the “chain of custody.” This provides a twofold protection: shared strength against the temptation to dishonesty, and a witness in case of unfounded accusation.
3. The pastor should not treat the communication of the financial activities and status of the church as unimportant.
4. He should communicate with the people on the matter of church finances.
5. He should use both verbal and written means to keep the congregation informed.
If you ever face legal action related to your church’s finances, it will be very helpful to have a list of the people who collected the offering each Sunday, as well as a list of the people who counted the offering each Sunday. Keep in mind that you cannot verify who actually did the work by looking at something like the schedule for ushers because the day-to-day reality of church work often involves people swapping dates, not showing up at the last minute, etc. It is also important to bear in mind that the people who collect the offering should not be the same as the people who count it.
The people who count the offering should be carefully screened. The strongest links in the offering chain must be the counters. CLA strongly recommends that the following policies be adopted:
1. Always have at least two people involved in the counting of the offering.
2. Basic written counting guidelines should be made known by the pastor or the deacon board.
3. The counting room should be secured from the inside during the count.
4. There should not be any traffic in or out of the room during the count.
5. For security reasons and for best practices, have all the materials needed (such as bank bags and adding machines) for accurate counts.
Following procedures like these offers many benefits to you ministry. First, when these procedures are followed, the church is less likely to have some of its funds surreptitiously stolen. Second, and perhaps more importantly, if these procedures are not followed, it makes it easier for people to sue the church and perhaps impeach the character of church leadership, even if they have been completely honest and upright.
At the Christian Law Association, we have dealt with the issues that arise from financial situations for decades. We have several other steps and procedural recommendations in our resource, From Offering Plate to Disbursement. Please contact us today to get your copy so that you can be certain your ministry is taking the proper precautions with the finances. If you need any assistance, our dedicated legal missionaries will be more than happy to help you.