Friday, October 05, 2007
September 07
Stewardship E-News, September 07
Bob Tallent, RGTallent@Comcast.net, 856-778-6117
bobbybaptist.blogspot.com
I get a barrage of mail advertising legal information and/or services for churches. I am sure you do too. We live in an increasingly litigious society. The hazards for churches are real. Churches should be very careful about safety issues. Wet floors, tripping hazards, dangerous children’s toys, etc. We also need to be careful about who we put in charge of children. Crime histories need to be checked. Confidentialities need to be protected. Pastors need to be covered with counseling insurance. And we need to take precautions in how the church’s money is handled. And, of course, there are tax issues. Are you filing the proper forms with the IRS and your state?
But if we are not careful, we will become so careful that it will stymie our ministry. In financial matters, our State Convention has materials that will meet most needs. If you don’t already have a copy, I encourage you to get a copy of The Church Treasurer by Randy Tompkins. We also have a series of small pamphlets that outline the job descriptions of various church officers such as the Financial Secretary, the Counting Committee, etc. Call Belinda at 1-800-451-6599 and she will be glad to send you materials. The bottom line is “due diligence.”
Time Magazine (4-2-07) reports that a University of Penn study shows that churches supply services to families in Philadelphia that if supplied by governmental entities would cost a quarter billion dollars!
Church Management Software is now in a revival. At one time there were over 250 kinds of church software on the market. But this had dropped to only 37 offerings. Now the number is up again to about 70. How do you choose software? Well, you can go to Christian Computer Magazine’s survey (www.ccmag.com and click on “Back Issues, ” then the October 2006) for an extensive tabulation of various features. Many are now on-line so you can work on it anywhere you have access to a computer and the internet. One useful feature may be the ability to download the data to your PDA (Palm Pilot or other hand held computer). Some programs will facilitate phoning automatically using programs like the PhoneTree. Of course you can do mailings with mail merges. And you can send multiple e-mails with programs like Constant Contact. …Smaller churches may prefer to set up their own program using Microsoft Excel.
A personal testimony: Every once in a while someone tells me that they are going to raise money for some project: land or a building or some other capital need. I always caution them not to try to do it in a “half way.” We can help. Contact Stan Smith at the State Office… Recently, at the little church where I am filling in, they discovered that they needed a new roof. Without telling me they quietly began asking people to give to the “building fund.” When I discovered what was going on, I led them to have a full-fledged capital campaign. I preached on the need. We had testimonies and posters and letters and commitment cards were sent to everybody. In two weeks we received 50% MORE than our goal that we needed to replace the roof!
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Bob Tallent, RGTallent@Comcast.net, 856-778-6117
bobbybaptist.blogspot.com
I get a barrage of mail advertising legal information and/or services for churches. I am sure you do too. We live in an increasingly litigious society. The hazards for churches are real. Churches should be very careful about safety issues. Wet floors, tripping hazards, dangerous children’s toys, etc. We also need to be careful about who we put in charge of children. Crime histories need to be checked. Confidentialities need to be protected. Pastors need to be covered with counseling insurance. And we need to take precautions in how the church’s money is handled. And, of course, there are tax issues. Are you filing the proper forms with the IRS and your state?
But if we are not careful, we will become so careful that it will stymie our ministry. In financial matters, our State Convention has materials that will meet most needs. If you don’t already have a copy, I encourage you to get a copy of The Church Treasurer by Randy Tompkins. We also have a series of small pamphlets that outline the job descriptions of various church officers such as the Financial Secretary, the Counting Committee, etc. Call Belinda at 1-800-451-6599 and she will be glad to send you materials. The bottom line is “due diligence.”
Time Magazine (4-2-07) reports that a University of Penn study shows that churches supply services to families in Philadelphia that if supplied by governmental entities would cost a quarter billion dollars!
Church Management Software is now in a revival. At one time there were over 250 kinds of church software on the market. But this had dropped to only 37 offerings. Now the number is up again to about 70. How do you choose software? Well, you can go to Christian Computer Magazine’s survey (www.ccmag.com and click on “Back Issues, ” then the October 2006) for an extensive tabulation of various features. Many are now on-line so you can work on it anywhere you have access to a computer and the internet. One useful feature may be the ability to download the data to your PDA (Palm Pilot or other hand held computer). Some programs will facilitate phoning automatically using programs like the PhoneTree. Of course you can do mailings with mail merges. And you can send multiple e-mails with programs like Constant Contact. …Smaller churches may prefer to set up their own program using Microsoft Excel.
A personal testimony: Every once in a while someone tells me that they are going to raise money for some project: land or a building or some other capital need. I always caution them not to try to do it in a “half way.” We can help. Contact Stan Smith at the State Office… Recently, at the little church where I am filling in, they discovered that they needed a new roof. Without telling me they quietly began asking people to give to the “building fund.” When I discovered what was going on, I led them to have a full-fledged capital campaign. I preached on the need. We had testimonies and posters and letters and commitment cards were sent to everybody. In two weeks we received 50% MORE than our goal that we needed to replace the roof!
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# posted by Bob @ 11:26 AM 
