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Budgeting for a Healthy Church: Aligning Finances with Biblical Priorities for Ministry

Jamie Dunlop

4.45 · Rating details · 163 ratings · 43 reviews

Many pastors conceive of the church budget as primarily a financial tool, but in fact it is primarily a pastoral tool. A church's philosophy of ministry is locked into its budget, and so the budget will either stifle or accelerate any attempts to move a congregation toward a biblical model of church health. As such, the church budget is a far more potent pastoral tool than ...more

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Paperback, 176 pages

Published April 2nd 2019 by Zondervan

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Oct 07, 2019 Matt Tyler rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

This book is surprisingly excellent.

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Jan 29, 2020 Dr. Z rated it really liked it

Really helpful! Wish I had this when I was a new pastor.

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Nov 21, 2019 Mark Donald rated it it was amazing

Incredible work. Highly recommended.

As a pastor I am both challenged and encouraged by this work. It’s both theologically sharp and practically rich.

I’m sure I will return to this time and time again as I seek to both personally and as a church leader seek to show off the goodness and glory of God in how I steward my own personal resources and help lead the church in stewarding what God has provided for his name sake.

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Apr 19, 2019 H.b. Charles rated it it was amazing

I trust 9Marks resources. I do not always agree. But I trust their perspective. Their writings are rooted in scripture. They view everything through the lens of the gospel. And they hold and promote a high view of the church. All of these things are true, as Jamie Dunlop writes about church budgets and finances! I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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Nov 28, 2019 Aaron Carpenter rated it it was amazing

May I give this a 6th star? Simply the best book I've read on the subject (though I haven't read many). The author answers all my questions, but he teaches me to ask better questions, and then he answers those too! ...more

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Aug 28, 2020 Elease rated it it was amazing

My perspective: Going into my first year as the chair of our OPC (orthodox presbyterian) church's budget committee in my role as Treasurer. We have about 200 communicant members and about a $500,000 annual budget.

I'm not a pastor (or even a man!), but I found this book so very insightful and helpful. I was having a fair amount of "in over my head" feelings about chairing the budget committee prior to reading this book. I love managing our household budget, I love all of the bookkeeping and finan My perspective: Going into my first year as the chair of our OPC (orthodox presbyterian) church's budget committee in my role as Treasurer. We have about 200 communicant members and about a $500,000 annual budget.

I'm not a pastor (or even a man!), but I found this book so very insightful and helpful. I was having a fair amount of "in over my head" feelings about chairing the budget committee prior to reading this book. I love managing our household budget, I love all of the bookkeeping and financial work I do, but I've never helped craft a church's budget before...especially in uncertain economic times! Reading this book really put the entire undertaking in perspective, and I feel much more centered and confident as we start our budget process.

The book's intro promises a mix of the practical and the theological. I mean, really, all solid theology is "practical" in the purest sense, but you know what I mean. There are concrete examples for abstract ideas. There are checklists and downloadable worksheets. There are clear and thorough scriptural references. The chapters are very readable in one sitting. I would read the chapter and then the next day write out notes from it to review and solidify the ideas I found helpful. Not all of the book was directly applicable to me, but I'm still glad I read the whole thing. It's heavily addressed to pastors, and while a member of Session has to be on our budget committee, I wouldn't say that our church's budget development process has been particularly spiritual. I'm hopeful that, even as a layperson, I can direct our committee to keep the church's purpose in mind with each line item. The notes I've taken from this book will be very useful.

I did buy a copy for our senior pastor (who might end up being that Session representative on the committee this year!)--not to pressure him with "homework," but because I think that, whenever he gets around to reading it, it will help his ministry. I'm also considering buying copies for each committee member (budget committee book club, anyone?!) so that we're all on the same page going into this budget season. Our budget process and budget structure have a lot of growth potential. I'm excited to see where things end up for 2021.

Highly recommend for pastors and for anyone on a budget/financial church committee. I'd even recommend it for anyone who spends money on behalf of a church (at our church: trustees, committee heads, pastors, admin personnel) or who gives money to a church (understand how to pray for the dollars you give, for the wisdom of those stewarding those dollars, questions to ask at budget meetings, etc.). Read it! ...more

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Sep 19, 2019 Jon Pentecost rated it it was amazing

Shelves: church, 2019, pastoral-ministry

Tremendous. It is all too easy for church leaders and members to think of the budget as simply a practical necessity. Dunlop does what he excels in—examining ways our actions and protocols confirm or deny what we extol in the pulpit. Want your church to grow in a healthy, joyful giving, and members in a robust sense of their responsibility for one another and the lost world around them? Your church budget is not the main or most important way to teach that. But it is probably one of the main pla ...more

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Dec 21, 2019 Josh Miller rated it it was amazing

Excellent book on church finances! Every pastor, deacon, elder, or church leader would benefit (and also help benefit the church) by reading and heeding the principles contained therein.

Thank you Mr. Dunlop for this book!

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Mar 24, 2019 Matt rated it it was amazing

Stellar. I am so glad this resource now exists.

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Jan 24, 2020 David Bruyn rated it really liked it

Very helpful, practical, and pastoral. However, it should have been titled, "Budgeting for a Healthy American Church". ...more

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Jun 25, 2019 Peter Vik rated it it was amazing

A very good approach to church budgeting. Dunlop focuses on the theological and ministry principles behind the church budget rather than dealing only in raw numbers.

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Jun 17, 2019 Eric Durso rated it really liked it

Shelves: pastoral-ministry, church, finance, 2019

Fantastic.

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May 22, 2019 Ransom Maggard rated it liked it

Helpful. The opening chapters especially are good at orienting thinking on the message that the church budget is a pastoral issue not one for committees, this is a terrific aid to preparing the church budget. The sample questions and evaluations were also terrific.

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Sep 13, 2019 Eric rated it it was amazing

Jamie is a baptist minister in a church with elders and deacons so the adjustments are fairly minor to a presbyterian setting. In our church the congregation doesn’t approve the budget, the elders do. That’s part of the reason congregation elects elders. But we have been seeking how we can communicate more with the congregation so they can be informed. Jamie’s book is chock full of helpful information on just how to do that.

There is a lot of confusion about how church budgets work and what they Jamie is a baptist minister in a church with elders and deacons so the adjustments are fairly minor to a presbyterian setting. In our church the congregation doesn’t approve the budget, the elders do. That’s part of the reason congregation elects elders. But we have been seeking how we can communicate more with the congregation so they can be informed. Jamie’s book is chock full of helpful information on just how to do that.

There is a lot of confusion about how church budgets work and what they should look like. There is also troubling history with giving and budgets. I know of a woman who told a pastor at her church, “This church belongs to Jesus and me.” She said this because she gave a lot of money specifically to cover the monthly mortgage. But as Jamie points out faithfulness, godly giving, is not about how much you give as it is about how you give. Similarly, a budget is not more spiritual because it is big or because giving is up that year. The truth is not in digits but in the hearts of the people.

Jamie’s fundamental point is that the church budget is spiritual. It reveals what the church believes and is committed to. Jamie argues that a budget is a tool for effecting the Great Commission. Further, the budget itself is like a spiritual mutual fund. It is the local church’s plan for investing in the work of making disciples.

I was challenged to take more leadership in teaching about giving in the church. I have taught on it in the past, but I am pressed to consider ways in which I can continue to teach on the place of giving in the Christian life.
The chapter on income was a great corrective as it puts the focus not on how much is given or even if we are meeting the budget. Rather the focus on giving is faithfulness. Jamie offers a lot of wisdom in the chapter on hiring staff and the chapter on operations is pure gold.

My favorite part of the book was in chapter 8 and learning to use the budget as a pastoral tool for discipleship. It is an opportunity to help Christians grow in their faithfulness to Christ.

Bottom Line

If you serve as a church officer, on a church finance committee or the like you should read this book. It will bring the budget out of the shadows of obscurity and clarify how exactly it fits within the mission of the church. I highly recommend this book and will likely be using it in officer training in the future.

...more

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Sep 06, 2019 Randy rated it really liked it

Shelves: religion, leadership

I think this book should be on a required reading list for those in church leadership, especially as it talks about budgeting and it relationship to the proper work of the church. While I come from a Lutheran perspective and am not in full theological agreement on some of the methodology that the author recommends (our church polity places the pastor at a little different position in the budget process than what the author recommends, although certainly not in disagreement that the pastors suppo ...more

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Sep 26, 2019 Coyle rated it really liked it

"I suspect that I am typical of most Christians in that I don’t think about the church budget more than once or twice a year. After all, shouldn’t we just turn all that “money” stuff over to the church leadership? And since most pastoral training doesn’t involve finances (so says my uninformed view of pastoral training–I also assume they’re not taught how to plunge toilets or change a fuse, both of which are also critical skills, especially in smaller churches), shouldn’t the church leadership j ...more

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Jun 20, 2019 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: church-ecclesiology

Comprehensive overview of what it looks like to develop and sustain a church-budget that is Biblical and Christ-exalting.

I found the particular instruction to invest most of the funds in teaching ministries to be particularly helpful, as this will lead to all other areas of growth across the church.

Thanks Jamie!

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Oct 28, 2019 Anthony Locke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

Appreciate much of Jamie Dunlop's wisdom and vision for the church budget process. A lot of the material was familiar with me because of my time at Hinson, which I was pleasantly surprised to see held up as a model mid-sized church budget process at the end of the book. If I ever become an elder or pastor, I'll be sure to revisit this resource. ...more

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Nov 13, 2019 Angela Edge rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fantastic

As with all the 9 marks books it is insightful and helpful without being long-winded. As a pastor of a church plant who has to make lots of hard decisions on budgeting issues, I found this to be incredibly helpful and a useful tool to use as I plan with the elders of our church.

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May 28, 2020 Jeremy Mueller rated it it was amazing

Don't be fooled by the title....it's a better read than it sounds! A church's finances reveal its heart. In this book, Jamie Dunlop helps examine this truth and gives practical, biblical wisdom for how we can align our church's budget with the heart that God has for our church. You'll be helped by this book. ...more

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May 24, 2019 Ryan rated it really liked it

This is an incredibly helpful resource for those who give attention to church budgets and processes. I wish I would have had it a few years ago when I began administrative work at my church, but we will be looking at this frequently as we manage the Lord’s money going forward.

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Jun 05, 2019 Allen Cox rated it it was amazing

Shelves: giveaway, ministry-philosophy, required-reading

Delightfully unlike any other church finance book I have previously read. Dunlop focuses heavily on the "why" of church finance that challenges pastors to consider how they are shepherding their congregation to invest their temporal goods the best they can for the glory of God. ...more

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Jun 12, 2020 Mindy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Looking by at church budget in a new way

Good read. Useful tips & worksheets. Thought provoking. Helped me thin about church budget in New ways. Have me conversation points to have with leadership.

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Sep 16, 2020 Travis Agnew rated it really liked it

I thought this book was a great volume to provide enough scriptural big picture ideas to process while offering tangible, practical insights as well. This read is great for a pastor or finance team member to overhaul or tweak a healthy system.

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Apr 05, 2019 Ivan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ecclesiology, finances

A unique book on an overlooked topic that is foundational for a healthy church. Every pastor should read this.

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Apr 08, 2019 Deven K rated it really liked it

This is a quick read. It’s a good mix of theology, ecclesiology, and practical steps to forming and presenting a church budget.

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Apr 13, 2019 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent

This book addresses so many issues that arise in this process, and how to approach them biblically and pastorally. Thank you.

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Apr 17, 2019 Danny Joseph rated it really liked it

Very solid advice. Contains both pastoral reasons for giving, having a budget, and budgeting well as well as more nuts-and-boltsy stuff that's always useful in a book such as this. ...more

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Apr 20, 2019 Kaleb rated it it was amazing

Jamie outlines a number of practical items churches should think through when preparing their budget. Very helpful resource for those who are involved in decision making for a churches operations.

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