Demystifying Church Administration
(and the Mechanics of Stewardship)

Q. Who knows how much I've pledged?

A. The amount pledged is seen only by two people, the church secretary and a long term member of the church who tabulates the pledges to allow us to budget and prepare the statements of giving. This church member has done this for a number of years and holds the information in strict confidence. The position is not one that rotates as the session does but one in which we try and maintain a constant presence due to the sensitive nature of this information.

Q. Does the Pastor know what I've pledged?

A. It is a core belief of ORPC that giving and the pastoral relationship are unrelated. Pledges are not shared with the Pastor, other than total numbers that are shared with the Session, of which he is the moderator.

Q. Is any information about giving shared with the Pastor?

A. Our Pastor receives a quarterly report that highlights members whose giving has changed by a significant amount. We believe that a significant change in giving can be a sign that Pastoral care may be needed by a member for a variety of reasons, and have asked the Pastor to contact these members to determine if there is any opportunity for Pastoral care. In these situations the Pastor is informed only of the members whose giving has changed, not of the dollar amounts involved.

Q. What happens to my time and talent submittal?

A. Time and talent submittals are entered into a data base and the information is given to the leaders of each core ministry to contact those interested in serving in an area. The core ministry is responsible for contacting members who express an interest in helping to determine the best opportunities based upon the members interests and the needs of the committee or ministry. For church wide activities such as church work days, individual members may not be contacted as these events are open to all and will be publicized in advance. There is no need to wait until you are contacted to get involved in an area of interest. Please call the core ministry leader for the area of interest. All core ministry heads are printed on the back of the Sunday bulletin.

Q. What happens to my offering after it goes in the tray?

A. After each service the offering is counted and recorded on a paper form by two elders (elders who are currently on session). The church secretary then confirms the written entries and enters the information into our church management system. This process insures that our contribution information is accurate and provides for the preparation of the quarterly statements of giving.

Q. Can I give electronically?

A. Absolutely. ORPC is set up to both receive electronic bill payments from banks that have electronic payment and to 'pull' from our bank. To pay electronically, you can set ORPC up in your bank account as you would any of the other accounts. For convenience, you can also set up automatic payments.

Q. Can I see the church budget and attendance records?

A. Absolutely. Please contact the church secretary who can either email an electronic version or mail a hard copy. If you have any questions regarding the budget, please contact the chair of the finance core ministry, Don McIver, or Dave Slinkard.

Q. Does the church have an audit?

A. Yes, the last full audit was done in 2007. In 2008 a spot audit was done to confirm that all procedures were being followed and that all funds were accounted for correctly. It is our policy that either a spot (trial) audit or a full audit is done annually, the type of audit is at the discretion of the finance committee with agreement from the session.

Q. What happens if I need to change my pledge?

A. Should you either win the lottery or come into a financially challenging time and need to change your pledge, please contact the church secretary and let them know that you will be changing your pledge. This will allow us to ensure we are taking the correct steps to predict church wide giving and manage the budget accordingly. A pledge represents a commitment made under certain circumstances, and should these circumstances change we understand that a change in your pledge may be required.

Q. Can I give the church stock rather than a cash offering?

A. Yes, and in some cases this may be a preferred means of giving due to how this is handled from a tax perspective (consult with your accountant). It is our policy that any stock received is sold with in 7 days of receipt as we do not believe it is good stewardship for us to 'play' the market with offerings.

Q. In 2008 the church spent more than it took in, why and what is our policy on this?

A. In 2006 the session developed a strategic vision that encouraged spiritual growth of both members and non members. To achieve this growth, in 2007 and 2008 we moved ahead with establishing the preschool and hiring a full time Director of Christian Education. It was anticipated that these two activities would required funding from the churches reserves for one to two years. The preschool is expected to be break-even in 2008 and to show a small surplus in 2009. Our membership continues to grow and we anticipate a balanced budget in 2010.

Q. How much of a deficit can the church have?

A. Our current policy is that the church budget should not have a deficit greater than 30% (preferably 25%) of the available cash reserves, which are currently about $100,000. It is our strong preference to run a balanced budget with no deficit and to protect our reserves for future needs, such as major building investments.

Q. How do I determine what to pledge?

(taken for Carl’s Corner in recent ORPC Newsletters)