2016 is here and there’s lot to plan and pray about.

And that includes the church budget.

So here’s a few thoughts I’d like to share with church leaders about budgeting for this year:

1. Remember that God’s vision is bigger than yours (Eph. 3:20)

2. Remember the widow’s mite (Mark 12)

3. Money spend on evangelism is not an expense, it’s an investment (Matt. 28:19-20)

4. Ask, “Is this a want or a need?” (Phil. 4:19)

5. Am I being generous to missionaries and other organizations doing important kingdom work? (2 Cor. 8:7)

6. Is the staff being compensated fairly? (1 Tim. 5:18-19)

7. Am I maxing myself out in my new budget and limiting what God can do through me? (Prov. 24:3-4)

8. Is our vision seen in what we are investing in? (Hab. 2:2)

9. Are the poor factored into the budget? (Lev. 25:35)

10. A budget is only a plan and God can change that any time He wants (Prov. 19:21)

I’ll try to share a few more insights tin the future on what I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) on church budgeting.

I know this process can be stressful, but your budget is your dreams in dollar form. So take the time to do it well.

If you want more ideas on how to run a tight ship without turning into the Titanic, you can get a resource I created called “The Cash Crunch” for free here: