Sep
9
2011

Finance Fridays: Leadership In Economic Turbulence

An article by Jeremy Moore Comments

Here we go again…

Just when we thought it was safe to go back into the water…

The last few weeks have stirred old fears and created some new ones about the ongoing outlook for our economy.

The S&P downgrade of U.S. Government debt and the ensuing market reaction have heightened concern that we may be in for a double dip or at the least put a damper on the growth of the economy for the foreseeable future.

It looks like we are in for a long slow recovery, perhaps longer and slower than once hoped, with unemployment not expected to drop below 8% before 2013!

So what should your church be working on now in order to better prepare for whatever the economy holds in the coming year?

Budgeting. This is always important, however frequent monitoring and updating of that budget is critical in times of economic uncertainty. Now is the right time to start involving your financial team in budget discussions to ensure that your money is enabling your mission.
Communicate. Stewardship will be increasingly important– clear, frequent, communication on ministry finances and impact will be crucial to sustainability. Take the time to evaluate your stewardship communication strategies now.
Educate Yourself. I will be presenting a free webinar for churches interested in learning about how to effectively build and use your ministry budget during times of economic uncertainty. The seminar is on Tuesday, September 20th from 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern. Participants can expect to come away from our time together knowing:

Why and how to build a better budget.
Who should be involved in the budgeting process.
How you can use your budget to monitor and adjust your investment in ministry throughout the year.

Please join me on the 20th, you can register for the webinar here.

What are YOU doing differently in light of the current economic situation?

About the Author: Jeremy Moore

Jeremy Moore was born in Germany to Missionary Parents and grew up in a Pastor’s home. He is married to the love of his life, Erika. He has two boys, Alexander and Benjamin. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Business and Theology from Lee University. He has done graduate and post graduate work at Auburn University, Northwestern University, and Colorado State University. His background as a Merrill Lynch Certified Financial Manager (CFM) and years as Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at one of the largest Banks in the nation, have given him the base of knowledge which he uses to now exclusively serve non-profits. He specializes in short and long term asset management and acquisition planning and execution, as well as creation and implementation of ministry strategy. He uses his relationships with hundreds of ministry leaders to discover and disseminate best practices in the areas of church and non-profit growth and management.