Finances

Each year, as a part of our stewardship campaign, we have men from our church give stewardship testimonies. We generally have a testimony every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night for a month, and two or three additional testimonies at our stewardship banquet.

There is no verse that says, “Thou shalt not shoot up heroine,” yet we know it is sinful because of Bible principles. Likewise, the Bible is filled with principles which make gambling undeniably sinful. In this article, we will examine several of those principles from God’s Word.

In today’s difficult economy, many are reducing expenses. While we all hate to be set back in any way, there are both wise and unwise ways to do this. Here are some thoughts that may be worthy of your consideration:

It has always amazed me, that God, who owns everything, allows you and me to be involved in meeting the needs of His church. Let me encourage you to evaluate your own stewardship and ask God to grow your faith.

“Is that all?” newly elected Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked his budget committee in 2009 during a meeting to find out exactly how much the government was spending. A series of financial scandals led to the ousting of the incumbent party and ushered in a new Greek government—one which would count the money it spent instead of assuming they spent what they had budgeted.

We greatly value people who can do it all in a local church. These versatile members of the body seem to thrive no matter what responsibility they shoulder. They are precious gifts from God to the local church, but we would be unwise to let them do it all, especially when it comes to matters of church finances. In financial discipline in the local church, there are duties that are incompatible for the same person to do.

Very few independent Baptist churches have a written missionary policy. Most of our churches have a burden for missions. However, only a few have taken the time and effort to put their mission purpose and policy in writing.

Handling the financial pressures of a church are without a doubt the toughest task we face as pastors in our churches, especially when the expenses of our ministry have increased, and the income has leveled off or even decreased.

Money is a tool, not an end. It is a help, not a salvation. We should never base final decision upon finances, but rather, on wisdom.

Bob McQueon, a former congressman from Ohio who is also a Christian, tells this story about taking his son to McDonalds.

While I was on deputation, I took advantage of the extra time I had to read. There are many good books on church planting, and I was able to read about ten of them before starting Hermosillo Baptist Church.

Financially speaking, 2008 and 2009 will be remembered as two of the most troubling years in recent history. I was not alive in October of 1929 when the Great Depression came to America . . .

Most young missionaries have no idea how much their relationship with other missionaries can affect their own work. Hudson Taylor was an excellent example of how . . .