Budgeting and Sustainability

Budgeting and Sustainability

Welcome

This course was created with videos from the webinar Church Budgets in the Xennial World: Pursuing Sustainability in 2023 with Jim Elrod and includes guiding questions created by YDS alumni the Rev Erica Avena for small group discussion or for journaling. Through the use of this course, you will use congregational vision and mission statements to align budget communication with generational values.

Section 1 – The Role of Vision and Mission

This session focuses on the importance of vision and mission in the budget process, with consideration for changing generational shifts and the communication priorities of Xennials. 

Talking About the Budget

“You can do your congregation a great service by becoming a ‘squeaky wheel’ about your congregation’s budget, reviewing and articulating it in plain language…” What experience do you already have with this? What have been your obstacles and successes? What would you like to do more of in this area, and less of? Find someone in leadership in your congregation to talk this over with.

Vision and Mission

  • Jim Elrod describes what a church’s vision and mission is. Vision is a foundational value, often established at its founding; the statement is about the future of the congregation. The mission of a church is about today – what the congregation is doing practically to realize and implement its vision. As you reflect on your congregation, find out what its vision and mission statements are.
    • If your congregation has had one or more in its history, what values are reflected in them? Are there things included or left out which surprise you?
    • If your congregation does not have one, spend some time looking at its Constitution and Bylaws, and/or church covenants or prayer books. What values are reflected in them? Are there things included or left out which surprise 21st century readers? How do these documents describe the congregation’s purpose (its “why,” or vision) and its practice (its “how,” or mission).
  • What can you identify in your congregation’s mission statement which would incur costs to implement?
  • How does your church budget reflect these priorities? Can you identify ways to align the connection between your mission statement and your budget more clearly for the congregation and community?

Generational Shifts

  • What stands out to you in the charts which Jim Elrod shares describing the changes in the current adult generations in the United States? Does this data strike you as good news or bad news? Are there causes for concern here? Are there opportunities? Discuss your answers with a small group or reflect on them in your journal.
  • As you reflect on the makeup of your congregation, do you anticipate a generational shift that will be taking place where one generation is overrepresented from others? At what point in time (e.g. 10, 20, 30 years out?) will that likely take place in your context?
  • Jim Elrod observes that the shift in population will accelerate between the years 2028 and 2033 in the graph “Projected population by generation.” He says that if our budgeting does not anticipate this generational shift, and if a church is supported disproportionately by people over the age of 50, a day of reckoning may not be far off. As you think about giving trends in your congregation, what kinds of alignments could be implemented now to connect with Xennial values, in order to prepare for this accelerated generational shift?

Changes in Generational Giving

Think about the differences that Jim Elrod describes between how Boomers and Xennials approach charitable giving:

Causes, not organizations

Radical transparency

Plentiful receipts

Holistic engagement

Opportunities for feedback

How can your congregation adjust its communication style about its mission and budget into alignment with Xennial values? What hindrances would you anticipate? What opportunities do you see here?

Changing Giving Behavior

In conclusion, Jim Elrod says: it is not the out-of-pocket cost that is the problem, the challenge is changing behavior.

-to share financial results publicly

-to repurpose information about your programs

-To share new stories and different stories

-to share goals and missteps when goals are not reached

  • It may be unrealistic to expect to suddenly change and do all of this if none of it is currently done in your setting; what are one or two practices which you could implement in your congregation now? Who will be your partners in this work?

Resources to Dig Deeper

Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, https://lakeinstitute.org and charitywater.org

Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion 

Gil Rendle YDS CCE video

Books

Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World, by Scott Harrison, and Lisa Sweetingham 2018 by Charity Global, Inc.

Countercultural: Subversive Resistance and the Neighborhood Congregation by Gil Rendle 2023 by Rowman & Littlefield

Quietly Courageous: Leading the Church in a Changing World by Gil Rendle 2018 by Rowman & Littlefield

Continue to the next session here.