The income of churches comes mostly from donations from members who offer money to God with love and faith. The money should be used properly in order to let God's family be supplied and God's name glorified. For this, CCD interviews Rev. Wu Bing from Dalian to talk about church financial management, covering why financial problems exist in churches, biblical teachings about financial management and how churches set budget systems to be a better manager of God.
For churches in China, senior pastors are usually the first-hand persons in charge, also the administrative head of churches, who have large authority. If there is lack of supervision system, they are easily to "make mistakes". Rev. Wu says no uniform regulation for church financial management has formed in China. For their own specificity, churches can't "copy" the financial management experience of social organizations nor adopt the financial management of foreign churches. Thus, Chinese churches have to explore a new way in the financial management patterns.
First of all it should be clear that church finance that comes from the congregation's donations should be never used casually but on the ministry of God to supply God's family and glorify God's name, which is recognized by every church. But what principle to follow? For example, suppose a preacher thinks 10% of the income should be used for mission ministry but the church council disagrees with it and thinks it's better to saved to build churches. So there is a conflict between them. How to figure out a problem similar to this?
Churches are based on the Bible which teaches financial management. Rev. Wu holds that there are at least three crucial principles in the Bible:
1. The common wealth of churches shouldn't be used on pastors. In the Old Testament, the Levites don't have inheritance while God's servants need supply in the New Testament. But it is unchangeable that preachers who serve God don't gain personal profits first. The embezzling by Rev. David Yonggi Cho (senior pastor & founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church ) and Rev. Kong Hee (senior pastor & founder of City Harvest Church in Singapore) on their family members violates the bottom principle. Except on supplying the living of pastors, the common wealth of churches shouldn't be used on pastors but on the ministries of God.
Wu suggests churches should learn to make budgets under the guidance of both preachers and the council because spending money temporarily is much likely to cause problems. "Churches may argue on the financial budget, but once the budget is decided, everyone should carry out it."
2. In the New Testament, the apostles got the recognition of the congregation on spending money. Like Paul donated to help churches in Jerusalem, which was approved. Nowadays pastors should follow their example.
For example, a pastor has wisdom at this: once his chapel was to be renovated, which needed millions of money. He divided the renovation project into several small projects. For instance, a small project began with installing windows that costed not much, of course the members didn't mind it. When the chapel was getting renewed, the members saw the new house and understood his intention.
3. The Bible also shows church members should understand pastors.
If a pastor determines the church ministries, church members should support him with money but not restrict the ministries with it. While the current situation is that sometimes members don't understand what preachers want to do so pastors have to raise funds privately, which is an abnormal phenomenon, easily to cause misunderstandings between pastors and the council.
Wu says although the New Testament doesn't give us a perfect financial system, the different church management from the worldly one reminds him of a quotation from Josh McDowell's, ”Discipline without relationship leads to anger.”It can be changed as "relationship is prior to system". If there is a relationship of mutual faith and trust between pastors and members and pastors are integrated and frank, it's convenient to execute the regulations. Otherwise, it will go wrong even if better system is built. Church financial management relates closely to the relationship between pastors and the congregation.
Currently, churches in Hong Kong and Taiwan do better in financial management. They make financial budgets and inform the congregation of the ministries to do and finance distribution and the expected sum of donation in the beginning of the year and also publish the wages of preachers and the received donation sum, which makes people know about the things to do in this year.
Rev. Wu emphasizes that it's quite necessary to include budgets into church financial management system.
He also suggests that if the "first-hand" of a church is a pastor then he should be leader not manager and church should set up administrative manager staff appointed by pastor, who are under the supervision of church members. Pastors had better not touch finance but hand it over to administrative managers.
