Articles on Finance
Offerings. Tithes. Stewardship. Generosity. Giving. Sacrifice. Finance. There are many words that we use to describe the money that is received by the church for ministry use. There are also many facets to the Finance Department as they aid ministries by organizing the necessary funds.
Finance 101 in Brief: A Quick Dive into Key Topics
Join Fletch and Mike Lee as they break down the key essentials every XP needs to know about internal financial reporting, managing financial health, debt considerations, and data security practices. [...]
Developing a Healthy Stewardship Ministry in the Local Church
There is an enormous transfer of wealth coming in the near future. It totals in the neighborhood of $68 trillion! It is important for your church to have a stewardship and generosity [...]
Church Giving 2025
Church leaders need to know generosity trends in 2025. That's the starting point for this discussion. Then it will get really up-close and personal as Brad talks about how to inform, inspire, [...]
How to Restructure Budgets and Free Up Resources for Debt Payoff
Are you ready to take control of your ministry's finances and accelerate debt payoff? Join us for a practical and engaging webinar designed for Executive Pastors and ministry leaders. Discover proven debt [...]
Federal Judge Rolls Back the DOL Minimum Salary Level
XPastor brings a special, late in the season, webinar on a very hot topic! On November 15, 2024 a Texas federal judge rolled back the Department of Labor’s salary threshold for managers [...]
3 Ways to Budget in an Uncertain Environment
It’s time to prepare your 2025 budget. Unlike most years, we’re in a unique phase in the economic cycle. Interest rates are beginning to fall, financial markets have been volatile, and it’s a presidential [...]
Alternative Investments—Accounting, Auditing, and Tax Considerations
Are alternative investments right for your church? More and more churches are investing in alternative investments. These alternatives are often structured as limited partnerships or limited liability companies and are often treated [...]
IRS Issues Employee Retention Credit Disallowance Letters and Releases More Warning Signs
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a fully refundable payroll tax credit designed to assist employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide a significant refund for eligible employers. In September 2023, the [...]
Internal Controls: Practical Steps for Churches to Implement
Effective internal controls are vital to helping your church safeguard your resources, ensure financial integrity, and foster trust. We’ll share the latest research on how organizations are affected by fraud and discuss [...]
Keeping Your Expansion Project on the Rails
Many factors are coming together to present challenges to current construction projects. During our time together, we will be discussing the most common derailers such as: ill-timed capital campaigns, lack of financial [...]
Artificial Intelligence Brings Legal Liability
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool for churches. Many are using AI to ethically research sermon ideas. Others use it to redact a 45 minute message into a 1,000 word article for [...]
Practical Church Risk Management
In many churches, risk management can become an after-thought as the tasks and needs of day-to-day operations take center stage. But this can open the door to unnecessary risks—an avoidable accident, allegation, [...]
Church Financial Health, A Lender’s Perspective
Ever curious about what happens to all of the financial statements that you submit when applying for a loan? Or how church lenders view the financial health of your church when you’re [...]
Estate Planning for Churches in the 21st Century
Estate Planning is an often overlooked financial tool when evaluating church funding now and in the future. National surveys tell us that over 65% of our church members don’t have any type [...]
Debt, Financing, and Lending Readiness
Despite uncertainties in the financing market, your church may be in a place where you are considering financing for renovations or new building projects. We’ll discuss what many churches overlook about lending [...]
Options for Churches Seeking Audits or Other Accountability Measures
Churches desiring to employ an audit or other accountability measure with respect to their financial operations may opt for various approaches, depending on their size, scope, and complexity. Audits and other financial accountability activities [...]
Trademark & Copyright 101: Protecting your Church Brand
In this webinar, we will discuss what trademark and copyright is, the importance of filing for protection, and the trademark and copyright application process. Brianna Nevels, Associate Attorney with the firm, will [...]
The Employee Retention Credit—The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) started out as a lesser-known relief provision contained in the CARES Act passed into law at the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020. Over the [...]
How to Activate Your Church Buildings for Greater Community Impact
Has your church considered ways you could use your buildings for greater community impact during the week? Join us for a look at how to do this in a financially sustainable way. [...]
Data Erasure vs. Risk Management
The Clash of Privacy and Protection of Vulnerable Populations Protecting Personal Information Everyone has a story about personal information fraudulently obtained by a security breach, Phishing email scam, or sold by a vendor gathering [...]
Budgeting Effectively During Economic Uncertainty
The unknowns of the economic uncertainty we face—including a possible recession and higher interest rates—can create challenges as well as potential opportunities for church leaders as they work to develop an effective [...]
7 Reasons to Offer Estate Planning at Your Church
Most church leaders don’t have a will or an estate plan. So it is easy to see why church leaders don’t encourage congregants to get one either. So many say, “I don’t [...]
End-of-Year Letters Are Vital
Year-end letters are vital to the life of your people and church. They can share stories of ministry and remind people of God’s great work during the year. A number of years ago, my [...]
The Top 5 1/2 Questions XPs Are Asking about 2023 Giving Trends … with Surprising Answers
We had the pandemic and that raised lots of eyebrows about giving. Now we are in a post-pandemic era. There is angst about economic uncertainty and changes in core giving engagement. What [...]