Making the most of Scarce Resources: Are the resources which your church has at its disposal working as they should?

At whatever point your church has reached in its financial year, a fundamental issue should be in the minds of the governing body. For most, if not all churches, the demands made upon them from the various internal activities and missional requirements will exceed the resources available.

This begs the question, to what extent are the available resources being used as effectively as they should? The underlying issue, which trustees frequently forget is that the charitable status of their churches requires them to be managed in a businesslike manner.

For business-like read efficiently and effectively. The use of the word “business” in a church context can be controversial. However, the importance of good management within our churches should be a priority. In this respect, borrowing a phrase from St Paul, we should always “strive for excellence.”

The brief article seeks to question whether the resources which are available within our various churches, irrespective of size, are working as effectively as perhaps they could.

What are the priorities which the resources of your church support?

The first question to ask is what are the priorities of your church and the resources needed to support them? All churches should have a plan, however simple, identifying its priority present and future objectives, and how it is proposed to achieve them.

Larger churches with a more vibrant membership may have a more detailed strategic vision embracing development and growth in addition to missional objectives for the local community and beyond.

These priorities may be as uncomplicated as being to:

• Maintain the historical tradition of worship and keep the doors open.
• To continue being a christian witness in the village or local community.

What resources does your church have?

The resources available will probably fall into several obvious categories. Financial, People, Suppliers, Buildings. The effective use of these resources will depend on the needs of the church.

1. Financial
   • Annual income needs. The amount of money needed annually to maintain the church, keep it open and meet the general running costs.
   • Larger capital sums needed for the replacement of equipment, major repairs, and development of the buildings.
   • Funding for growth initiatives
2. People
   • An effective governing body comprising people with appropriate leadership skills and experience.
   • Paid Staff. Larger urban, and city centre churches may have administrative, or ministry-related paid staff.
   • Volunteers. All churches irrespective of size will have volunteers, without which they would cease to exist.
3. Contractors supplying products & services.
   • Companies and individuals providing services mostly building-related or who supply worship materials.
4. Buildings
   • What buildings does the church possess other than its worship space?
   • Are they in good repair?
   • Are they adequate for the needs of the church?
   • Are the buildings hired out?
   • Are they used for trading purposes (lunch clubs, sale of tea & coffee etc)

The likely internal needs of your church.

The internal needs of your church may be summarised as those which enable it to continue as a place of worship, encouraging, and growing its membership.

• An effective governing body with a clear view of its priorities and how to achieve them.
• A worshipping congregation concerned for its own numerical and spiritual growth.
• Staff and volunteers paid and unpaid committed to the leadership’s vision.
• Spiritual leadership committed to the means of encouraging spiritual growth.
• A missional approach to its local community and beyond.
• Buildings which are appropriate to the needs of the church
• Adequate finance to support the work of the church and its development.

The external demands on your church.

These could be viewed in very simple terms as being to fulfil the “great commission” “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matt 28:19. As I’m sure we are all too aware, the expectations of our churches in the twenty first century by a secular society are perhaps not as high as they once were. That is not to say that the expectations aren’t there.

• Is the church an accepted part of the local community?
• Does the church make an active contribution to the local community?
• Do residents, infrequent worshippers, feel welcome when they do attend events?
• What support is available from the church for those in the community who struggle economically and socially?

How effective are the resources your church has at its disposal?

It’s not always easy to evaluate the effectiveness of the resources which a church has at its disposal. At one level judgements might be purely subjective. One person’s view may be very different to that of another.

A central theme of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is that the skills (or resources) God gives us, prayerfully used, can and should yield substantial results. In fact, there is a divine expectation that such resources are used for the mission and ministry of our churches. How else will we see growth and development?

Effective use of church resources could be demonstrated as noted in Acts 2:47, that the church was added to daily.

• Are you seeing genuine growth and development?
• Is that growth both numerical and in the spiritual life of the church?
• If so it is a sign that the resources at the church’s disposal are being used effectively.

Evaluating the effective use of our resources, can be a challenge. A few thoughts,

Financial

• Is expenditure closely monitored, with the most competitive prices sought for purchases and contract services such as energy and insurance?
• Are members aware of the church financial needs and priorities?
• Is planned giving a feature of encouragement and biblical teaching?
• Are funds, not currently required, held in interest bearing accounts?

People

• Are church members encouraged to become as involved as they are able in the various activities and outreach events?
• Is there a culture within the church of ready volunteers?
• Is the membership outward looking, believing that God will bless the work?
• Is the church a welcoming place for all?
• Are church members involved in other local community organisations and events?

Buildings

• How are the church buildings used particularly during the week?
• Do they generate sufficient income to contribute to their costs?
• Are there trading related opportunities being missed? Simple activities, hospitality related, or the sale of cards, books etc.
• Are the buildings used by local community groups on a regular basis?
• Are the buildings warm, welcoming and in reasonably good decorative order with presentable facilities. There’s nothing worse than toilets that would have been out of date in Noah’s Ark.

Promotion – Telling the Story.

The Church is arguably not very good at  “telling the story.”  We live in a digital, media focused world. It has never been easier to demonstrate our churches are committed to transforming our communities, by who we are and what we offer.

A church, seeking to use all the God given resources it has, should have a story to tell.

The secular world is all too aware of the benefits of advertising and promotion of products and services. There is no suggestion that promoting the Christian gospel and the work of our churches is to be equated with adverts for electric cars or fabric conditioners.

However, the early church provides an excellent example. Acts and the Epistles are evidence that the Church flourished because it built up its members spiritually and was totally committed to the transformation of the communities where it was located and beyond.

First-century Christians were not afraid to tell the known world the “Good News” and in so doing the church grew. Two thousand years on we have untold resources to continue that work. How effectively are we using them?