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IN THE PREVIOUS EDITION, we laid the foundation by describing the church as an example of a Christian organization and explaining the concept of financial management. We also discussed the possibility of financial mismanagement and theft as a problem in churches. In this edition, we want to examine internal fund control and other important issues that many see as challenges in most churches today.
According to Yaa A. Akotia, “A common misconception among most church leaders is that internal control exists only for the purpose of detecting and preventing fraud. This misconception has often discouraged religious leaders or religious organizations from implementing sound control policies because they do not want to appear suspicious. ”
She further states: “When you look at the use of internal controls in churches today, in relation to secular organizations, it seems these churches are far behind. Why don’t churches use proper financial control procedures? Currently, a major problem in churches is that they do not use appropriate professional methods in carrying out the administrative activities of the church, especially in the area of finance.
Many churches feel that all Christian workers can be trusted, resulting in many cases of theft and fraud that go unnoticed.
Donors also have the perception that they are contributing to God and not to man and all they want in return is “blessings from God”, therefore they are not interested in knowing what is for. their contribution.
Dag Heward-Mills noted that “Money is a very sensitive subject. Many of the criticisms leveled at ministers relate to finance. We cannot avoid criticism but we must minimize the opportunities people have to speak out against us ”.
Today, reported stories of mismanagement of church funds involving ordained ministers have dealt a serious blow to the integrity of Christian leadership which is believed to be the guardian of morality and ethics in serving God. and humanity with a clear conscience. As a result, ministers lose the respect and credibility associated with their holy, heavenly, and high calling.
The situation also robs ministers of their moral aptitude to reprimand wrongdoing in society while they themselves live in a greenhouse. The situation has hurt income generation in most churches as most church members who feel cheated and exploited by theft have become apathetic to giving. In another book, Heward-Mills points out that “church members lose interest in giving when they feel they are just funding the way of life of their superman pastor.”
However, this challenge of financial mismanagement in most churches can be reduced if the pastors who lead the churches are skilled in financial management. In Ahortor’s words, church organizations, although not for profit, mobilize financial resources from members and non-members for their activities. For religious organizations to achieve their goals of extending the Kingdom of God and preserving God’s sheep through prayer, the ministry of the word, and the promotion of welfare, they must not only use their financial resources wisely. purposefully, but also make them grow over time.
Thus, in the face of an ever-increasing demand for resources to carry out projects as churches become mega-churches, it becomes imperative that churches adopt good financial management practices in order to increase their income generation and income. control their spending.
Effective implementation of financial management principles in the church is necessary because it has the ability to create and promote integrity in the church. The church is the salt and the light of the world. Therefore, its integrity cannot be thrown to dogs and compromised. But it is important to stress that a pastor can only apply the principles of financial management in organizing the church to achieve integrity if he has acquired knowledge and understanding.
Studying financial management would familiarize the pastor with the ability to interpret financial information. By doing this, he will appreciate the need for financial discipline and thus maintain the credibility of the leaders and of the church as a whole. It will also help create goodwill for the church and the pastors.
He will play a significant role in helping those in charge of the church’s public relations department improve its image and reputation. The reputation of a church is an important asset. Once destroyed by poor financial management, it becomes very difficult to rebuild it to gain the trust of the public.
Another need for financial management in a Christian organization is that it informs better and appropriate fundraising. Helping achieve the aforementioned goal, Heward-Mills urges ministers “not to personally count the offerings, to take the offerings home as it would appear that all the offerings are turned over to the pastor.” He claims that if the money had been stolen from the pastor’s house it would have created a nice little scandal. There will not be much to say in defense of the pastor ”.
In addition, financial management is necessary in a Christian organization like the church, as it is a duty to account for the stewardship of the respective leaders, including the pastor. Knowledge of financial management in a Christian organization reminds ministers that they are only stewards of God’s resources entrusted to them. These resources include church money and being accountable for its use both before God and the church board and congregation.
To be continued…
By James Quansah
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