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Ten Tips for a Church Financial Crisis
Is your church facing a financial crisis? Here are ten tips to help you handle the crisis (and yourself):
1. Remind yourself that this crisis is likely “about” more than money. Ask yourself, “why now?” What else is going on in the life of the congregation?
2. Review your own purpose and goals as well as that of the congregation. While priorities may shift in a crisis, it’s important to keep your eyes on the horizon.
3. Find someone outside the congregation to be a sounding board. You are likely too close to the crisis to see it clearly. Look for someone who is calm and asks good questions.
4. Look for the calmest leaders in the congregation to connect with. Don’t take your cue from the most anxious. Anxiety is contagious, and so is calm.
5. Maintain your own prayer practice through this time. Now more than ever it’s important to provide spiritual support for yourself.
6. Share information appropriately with the congregation. Don’t keep the crisis a secret, but don’t spread panic, either.
7. Keep your head. Do what helps you stay calm: go to the gym, listen to music, crochet or watch a ball game.
8. Focus on facts. Get information that is as clear and accurate as possible. Share those facts with others, both leadership and the congregation.
9. Ask someone in your family of origin for their thoughts on the crisis. You may be surprised at the solid help you get.
10. Define your own views on the crisis, to yourself, and to others, at every opportunity. ("That's just how I see it...")
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years. Get the free mini-course, "Five Ways to Avoid Burnout in Ministry" at http://margaretmarcuson.com/.
1. Remind yourself that this crisis is likely “about” more than money. Ask yourself, “why now?” What else is going on in the life of the congregation?
2. Review your own purpose and goals as well as that of the congregation. While priorities may shift in a crisis, it’s important to keep your eyes on the horizon.
3. Find someone outside the congregation to be a sounding board. You are likely too close to the crisis to see it clearly. Look for someone who is calm and asks good questions.
4. Look for the calmest leaders in the congregation to connect with. Don’t take your cue from the most anxious. Anxiety is contagious, and so is calm.
5. Maintain your own prayer practice through this time. Now more than ever it’s important to provide spiritual support for yourself.
6. Share information appropriately with the congregation. Don’t keep the crisis a secret, but don’t spread panic, either.
7. Keep your head. Do what helps you stay calm: go to the gym, listen to music, crochet or watch a ball game.
8. Focus on facts. Get information that is as clear and accurate as possible. Share those facts with others, both leadership and the congregation.
9. Ask someone in your family of origin for their thoughts on the crisis. You may be surprised at the solid help you get.
10. Define your own views on the crisis, to yourself, and to others, at every opportunity. ("That's just how I see it...")
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years. Get the free mini-course, "Five Ways to Avoid Burnout in Ministry" at http://margaretmarcuson.com/.
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Margaret Marcuson
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years.
