So often, the treasurers of our urban congregations hide in the background. Seldom do we hear of, and less often do many of us understand the import of their work. When a congregational treasurer makes headlines it’s usually because of a $1.6 million theft of congregational funds over several years time, leaving a church in desperate financial and legal straights.

With our June edition, we’re focusing a bit more closely on what treasurer’s do in small city churches, some of the issues they face, and discovering a few ways in which their work can and should be appreciated. Hopefully, we’re also bridging some gaps that may occur between ministry staff and financial administration.

This summer is turning out to be a transition season for CityVoices, as we merge our monthly publishing with the work of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE), also here in Chicago. While you’ll continue to receive regular editions of CityVoices, look forward to see an expanded array of available resources for urban pastors in the future.

God’s grace and peace today,
Roger Johnson, Editor – CityVoices

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Treasurer: Most Important for the City Church

Think quickly. Who’s the most important officer in the operating structure of your church? Congregational chairperson? No. Educational chairperson? Probably not. Trustee chairperson? Let’s try again.

Obviously, it’s your church treasurer. No city church (or non-profit) can exist without the competent skills and service of a treasurer, and most likely a good financial secretary as well. It’s a role that has always been important, but in days of limited resources (coupled with high priorities for urban ministry personal, church programs and facility maintenance) becomes absolutely strategic to the city church’s ministry.

When we think about a small city congregation; the treasurer’s role raises itself in importance, while actual finances that person has to work with are often far less than needed. He (more often she) has to make do on less resources, while institutional bills continue to grow. In other words, the treasurer must be somewhat of a magician, consistently pulling financial “rabbits” out of a very small hat.

In recent years, expectations have run high. The treasurer must possess good financial skills and character beyond reproach. The treasurer must also be well-versed in IRS regulations, tax law, several different types of accounting methods, and computer software to make the bookkeeping, bill paying and financial reporting tasks move along in swift, errorless fashion. In other words, the treasurer’s job is at least a part-time position, done by a volunteer with the necessary time and skills. It’s the most difficult role in which a lay person, with little professional training, can serve the city church.

Entire books are written outlining the duties and expectations of a church treasurer. Major (and minor) denominations devote numerous pages of their websites’ “pdf. files” to educating treasurers in the nuances of their tasks. Major nationwide conferences are now staged to help church treasurers and administrators in their continuing education.

Yet, the fact remains that the role of treasurer remains a largely unappreciated job in the context of the small urban church. Why? Over the course of time, a treasurer is bound to offend most anybody (or everybody) due to the hard decisions that he or she has to make. The details of a treasurer’s monthly, quarterly or annual reports are often mystifying, even to clergy most responsible for the costs of ministry. The treasurer’s work also remains largely behind the scenes, hence unappreciated by those who see only a church’s public (or more “spiritual-looking”) ministry.

The fact of the matter is that money (including the budgeting, raising and handling of church finances) is as spiritual a part of a local church ministry as anything. It’s often said that money is literally the life-blood of the city, and hence the life-blood of a city church’s ministry. When a treasurer budgets wisely, conducts their work with honesty, accuracy and care, and helps give the congregation a clear and understandable picture of current financial realities, they’ve gone a long way towards making all of that local church’s ministry run effectively.

We’d all know who to talk to if the heat or electricity were suddenly turned off. We’d all know who to talk to if an insurance policy were suddenly canceled for lack of payment. Every city pastor knows who signs his or her paychecks. Should we appreciate the treasurer’s work? Certainly. Should we value and honor what’s often considered a mundane church office? Absolutely.

Contact: Roger Johnson, CityVoices, 1242 West Addison Street, Chicago, IL 60613, (773) 477-8163, roger@cityvoices.com

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Dealing With God’s Money: A Lively Conversation

The treasurers of our city congregations are real human beings. While they may seem to think and act with different priorities than clergy and ministers, their commitment to the mission of their own congregation is every bit as intense. That’s why they spend time with the details: often as bearers of bad news, sometimes speaking in cautionary tones. They care that staff gets paid, utilities remain on, and the local church continues its work. Several city church treasurers recently responded to questions directed their way. Their anonymous, yet forthright, responses follow.

When you look at the formal roles of a church treasurer, how do think we have to alter these roles and expectations for a small city church?

Treasurer # 1: A small church has to evaluate their needs. They may not be able to follow all of the procedures in detail, like a large church does. Small churches have to tailor the expectations to fit their needs. The treasurer has to be accountable to the task, without spending too much time on it. Newer versions of church and non-profit software have really helped in the accounting and reporting work.

What’s the most difficult thing about being a treasurer for a small urban church?

Treasurer # 2: I think the most difficult thing is accounting for the pastor’s salary. The pastor is actually a split personality, according to Social Security and the IRS. By the one, they’re considered self-employed, and by the other they’re considered an employee of the church. So, just getting that straight, and how to account for it on the church’s quarterly and annual reports, is by far the most difficult thing I face.

Treasurer # 2 The most difficult thing I have is paying the payroll and the federal taxes. And that’s because taxes have to be paid at a certain time, there’s no negotiating that. If you’re late, they start penalizing you. Payroll, twice a month, and taxes, twice a month, are the two most difficult things.

Treasurer # 1: The hardest thing about being a small church treasurer is cash: not having enough money. Saving and planning ahead are always difficult. Deadlines are always important. Inevitably, there are a lot of executive decisions that a treasurer has to make.

What are your priorities when it comes to paying church bills?

Treasurer # 3: My priorities are utilities: gas, electric and phone, and also salaries and related taxes around the church. There are times when other bills are put off being paid, but that’s due to my own time commitments: not anything to do with our church finances.

Treasurer # 3: After salaries and taxes, utilities and insurance are the top priorities: health insurance, liability insurance, gas and electric. Those are pretty near non-negotiable as well. Other bills get paid as I have the cash flow. It may not be fair, but that’s the best way it works. I’d like to pay these other bills on a more timely basis, but the whole priority is the cash flow.

Treasurer # 1: At the beginning of the month, I make a list of unpaid bills that have to be paid during that upcoming month. I know I’ve got salary and taxes, utilities and then insurance comes quarterly. Extra bills, like building repairs, may not be a priority. I find myself doing a lot of projections on income, and that helps me do my monthly budgeting.

Is there anything you would wish other people could appreciate about the work you do as treasurer for your local church, that perhaps they simply don’t understand?

Treasurer # 2: The only thing I wish is that people could understand how things that are spent must match the categories we’ve budgeted for. Sometimes people give me a reimbursement form and they have no clue where this money is coming from. We have a budget, and this has to come out of the budget somewhere. That’s simply part of my being an accountant: understanding general ledgers and things like that. Otherwise, I think people are pretty appreciative of what I do.

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Church Money – Where Does It All Go

From 1991 to 2001, the average annual budget among churches increased 85 percent, from $205,000 to $380,000. The U.S. economy grew at about half this rate, or 44 percent, during the same period of time. Meanwhile, the number of churches with budgets of $500,000 or more nearly tripled in that same time period. In 1991, six percent of churches spent more than $500,000 a year; in 2001, 17 percent of churches spent that much. In fact, seven percent of churches surveyed now have budgets exceeding $1 million.

The biggest slice of the church budget is by far the payroll, which accounts for 42 percent of the average church spending. Payroll expenses vary little by church size, except in the smallest churches (annual budgets of $75,000 or less). In these churches, an average of only 29 percent is set aside for payroll, with a larger share of the budget going to building expenses.

With many churches growing, taking on building projects or refurbishing their current plant, it's not surprising that facilities are the second largest part of the average church budget. More than $2 out of every $10 goes to building expenses.

The average percentage of church budgets utilized for missions has remained at a steady 15 percent for the past decade.

Under church program expenses, we asked churches to include Christian education, youth ministry, and related efforts (excluding staff costs). Across the board, churches of all sizes designate more than one-sixth (16 percent) of their budget to church programs.

Theological perspective has a significant impact on budgets for two groups—those who describe themselves as "fundamental" and those who describe themselves as "traditional confessional." Fundamental churches spend more on missions (28 percent instead of the average 15 percent) and less on payroll (29 percent compared to the average 42 percent). Traditional confessional churches spend more on payroll (51 percent) than the other types of churches.

(Excerpted from “Where Does the Church's Money Go?” by John C. LaRue, Jr., in Your Church, September/October 2002)

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Ten Principles for Good Neighborhood Design

Cities are cooperative human enterprises and artifacts that exist to promote the best life possible for their citizens, and a fundamental unit of urban design is the neighborhood. The moral, economic, and environmental benefits of traditional urban neighborhoods are greatly influenced by certain formal features. Good neighborhoods exhibit most or all of the following ten characteristics, which may be regarded as guiding principles for good neighborhood design.

1) A good neighborhood has a discernible center, usually a public square and / or a main street, typically bordered by civic buildings, shops, and / or residences.

2) A good neighborhood has a more or less discernible edge where the neighborhood ends and another neighborhood or a public park or the rural landscape or waterscape begins.

3) A good neighborhood is pedestrian friendly, and accommodates not only automobile drivers but also those who choose to walk or who are unable to drive. Most of the residences in the neighborhood are within a five-to-ten minute walk of the neighborhood center.

4) A good neighborhood has a variety of dwelling types. In addition to detached single-family houses, these may also include row houses, flats, apartment buildings, coach houses, and / or flats-above-stores. The consequence is that the young and the old, singles and families, the poor and the wealthy, can all find places to live.

5) A good neighborhood has stores and offices located at and / or near its centers, and along the primary streets that connect neighborhood centers. The stores should be sufficiently varied to supply the weekly needs of a household.

6) A good neighborhood has an elementary school and parks to which most young children can walk. The walking distance to the school should not be greater than one mile. Small parks and other recreation facilities should be dispersed throughout the neighborhood.

7) A good neighborhood has small blocks with a network of through streets. This network would include major and minor streets, commercial and residential streets, arterial and local streets; but is emphatically not a system of feeder roads and dead-end “cul de sacs.” Streets within the neighborhood have curbs and sidewalks, are relatively narrow, and are lined with trees.

8) A good neighborhood places its buildings close to the street. This creates a strong sense of the neighborhood’s center and streets as places, and of the neighborhood itself as a place.

9) A good neighborhood utilizes its streets for parking. Parking lots and garages rarely front the streets, and are typically relegated to the rear of buildings, accessed by lanes and / or alleys.

10) A good neighborhood reserves prominent sites for civic buildings and community monuments. Buildings for education, religion, culture, sport, and government are sited either at the end of important street vistas or fronting neighborhood squares or greens.

(Excerpted from “The Heavenly City, the Earthly City, and the Parish Church,” by Philip Bess, in The Humanist Art Review, http://www.humanistart.net/city_church/city-church_p.htm)

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Recommended Reading!

The Back Door: An Experiment or an Alternative, by Carl DeLine, 2001

Throw out the conventional wisdom. Throw out the theories of those who know how to solve problems. Forget moralizing about what people out to do and how they ought to act. This book is about something else. Do you want the hopeless to have a shot at hope, even if they are undeserving? Are you willing to help somebody get it together if they are not grateful to you?

That’s the territory Carl DeLine touches on in “The Back Door.” A bunch of people in Calgary, Alberta realized that there were people who simply weren’t making it. People who had dropped out of families and society, who had no use for the ordinary structures of life, schools, jobs or relationships. They were literally the lost – appearing as panhandlers, derelicts and substance abusers.

DeLine and his group, THE BACK DOOR, continue their work of opening up doors where there are no paths, finding ways for the drifters and hopeless to begin making first steps toward health. Contact CityVoices (773 / 477-8163) for a free copy of “The Back Door.” DeLine’s book, too good to be sold, is distributed only in complementary fashion.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith, by Eric O. Jacobsen, Brazos Press, Grand Rapids, 2003

Eric Jacobsen, Presbyterian pastor in Missoula, Montana and member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, successfully combines his two passions in concise, but thoughtful book that should have a lasting impact on students of cities and urban theology. Jacobsen is concerned about good zoning and good design. He’s also clearly interested that biblical priorities be brought into proper focus as we face America faces an increasingly urban future. He wonders out loud, with his readers, as to what the good city should actually look like. He takes the priorities of the New Urbanism school very seriously, and sets them forth in an easy-to-understand manner for his readers. Professors, make sure your students are reading this text in upcoming classes.

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Thanks for Reading CityVoices!

Next month’s CityVoices newsletter profiles the inspiring and practical ministries taking place in Newark, New Jersey. America’s third-oldest urban area has often fallen on hard times, and simply been buried in the shadow of Manhattan. Nevertheless, God continues to work in dramatic ways in urban New Jersey.

Remember to contact CityVoices for the very best in resources for city ministry. “Transforming Power” by Robert Linthicum ($14), “The Expanded Mission of City Center Churches” ($10), and “A Biblical Word for an Urban World” ($10), both by Ray Bakke can be purchased by calling CityVoices at (773) 477-8163. Also, look through the Bookstore section of the CityVoices website (www.cityvoices.com) for a complete listing of all available resources.

Thank You!
Roger Johnson – Editor, CityVoices (Chicago)
1242 W. Addison Street, IL 60613-3825