ECCU Blog

A couple weeks back, I had the privilege of traveling to Nashville for two days to rub shoulders with 20 executive pastors from large Southern Baptist churches.

This group of leaders gathers annually at the Metro XP meeting to fellowship, network, and share best practices on topics related to the operation and administration of their organizations. This year, conversations ranged from staffing, budgeting, and leadership to volunteer management, organizational design, and worship style transitions.

While the topics themselves were not always exciting, what struck me about this group was the passion each had to his calling and the commitment to help one another. And the two days were anything but boring. There was plenty of laughter, camaraderie, and even some tears.

Here are a few take-aways worth passing along to you:

1. Don’t forget the big picture. It’s easy to get so immersed in the day-to-day of leading or managing your ministry that you forget what’s most important. This is true whether you’re the senior pastor, business administrator, bookkeeper, or youth pastor. Take time to connect back to your calling and mission.
2. No need to reinvent the wheel. Chances are, someone out there has been there and done that. Learn from the successes and failures of others. Implement and improve on someone else’s ideas.
3. Connect with others like you. You can find powerful encouragement from others who are in roles similar to yours. Fellowship with like-minded and gifted individuals will help to inspire and re-energize you.

There are a many great local and national associations for leaders and ministry professionals to connect with and learn from. Ask your denomination if you are part of one. Or, check out some cross-denominational organizations, such as the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA), Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA), and Willow Creek Association (WCA).

I like to scour the Web for posts or articles that might help ministry leaders make wise decisions. Since I work for a credit union, I usually find myself on finance-oriented websites or blogs. But this week I found something compelling on Paul Clark’s blog that I thought churches (I know, I owe non-church ministries a post, too) might want to read.

In his post Church Giving – Rules Have Changed, Paul piggybacks off Ben Stoup’s Spring 2010 NACBA Ledger article, which presented a shift in how church attendees assess the effectiveness of how their tithes are being utilized. According to Stoup, church attendees want to see the results that are being produced through their giving. They want to see ministry impact.

Paul uses this insight to springboard into a “scorecard” that may help churches determine whether or not their church is healthy. It also provides a means of showing congregations what their dollars are doing. Paul’s metrics are insightful, and sure to provoke conversation among church leaders.

So…why does a financial institution like ECCU care? Because our goal is the same as yours—to produce Kingdom impact. Item #10 in Paul Clark’s list is “[Church] budgetary needs are being met.” We work with ministries to ensure that their finances are sound, whether that relates to an upcoming loan renewal or ensuring a ministry has an appropriate level of cash reserves.

At ECCU, it has never been about profit. It’s about making ministries more effective. We play a small role in that, and we’re glad men (like Paul) and women across the world are looking at the bigger picture, because we love serving alongside those ministries.

What do you think of Paul Clark’s list? Is your church measuring any of these items? Are you planning to?