Those changes also impact Christ the King. For instance, we have levels of inflation not seen in the last 40 years. Things ebb and flow, and what’s different today is unpredictability. It comes from rapid cultural change, shifting demographics, rapidly evolving technology, and an interdependent global economic climate. As a result, CTK faces challenges requiring more strategic and visionary thinking and action than in the past. Moreover, we must continually face evolving finances within our communities that could change on a dime due to inflation, recession, or even another pandemic. Some economic realities resulting from a Horizons’ church giving and worship survey I read, include good, bad, and ugly news.
The Good: Churches with annual ministry spending plans of greater than $500,000 reporting growth in giving increased from 43% in 2021 to 48% through June of 2022. The percentage reporting declining giving remained flat at 28%.
The Bad: Churches with annual ministry spending plans of under $500,000 experiencing increased giving declined by 4% to 37%, and the percentage that reported falling giving grew from 41% to 44%.
The Ugly: Churches with annual ministry spending plans below $100,000 reporting growth in giving fell from 37% in 2021 to 14% in 2022, while those that reported a decrease in giving grew from 31% to 49%.
More Ugly: 2022 worship attendance (in-person, online, and on-demand) in churches of all sizes fell in 49% of reporting churches.
As a result, Christ the King needs to reconsider how we'll handle rough waters financially to plan instead of reacting when things get tough. The following represents six ways we at CTK are preparing financially to ensure we are able to grow disciples and fund ministry.
1. SETTING OUR MINISTRY spending PLAN ON OUR VISION
2. BUILDing A ROBUST PLAN FOR SUSTAINING MINISTRY TODAY—AND TOMORROW
3. IDENTIFYing, ENGAGing, AND DISCIPLining FINANCIAL LEADERS AND HIGH-CAPACITY DONORS
4. AVOIDing FINANCIAL MISTAKES AND LEARNing BEST PRACTICES
5. REMAINing FUTURE-FOCUSED REGARDING FINANCES
6. UNDERSTANDing OUR GIVERS AND THE CONCEPT OF GENEROSITY
The world is changing, and churches are no exception. Church stewardship must be flexible and pivot when things get challenging. At the same time, we must be strategic about managing our resources to prepare and plan for the future. This means discerning a clear vision and measurable goals, aligning resources, setting financial goals, developing financial leaders, avoiding financial mistakes, remaining future-focused and understanding our givers.
Aubrey Novak, Finance Manager