Budgets - Ministry's Goals              0011-01   ZZall

                                                - - - Rejoice in the Lord always ... again I say Rejoice !!! - - -

                               TO:  Interested Ministries                                                                                                          FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired CPA-Auditor
                                                                                                                                                                                        FILE:  0011-01/all

                               RE:  Budgets - Ministry's Goals and Budgets                                                                       Originated:  November 1998                                        

            A Christian Ministry's budget MUST be consonant with it's goals.
            Some have said that the financial budget (usually the time frame is annual) is an expression in dollars of it's goals, or a personification in dollars of the Ministry's Mission Statement and plan of action.
            Goals help you to be specific about what God wants the Ministry to be. They help you to look forward instead of licking the wounds of the past. They're like posts or stakes in the distance that help you plow a straight furrow. Goal-setting should not be man made strategy for a "bigger and better"  Ministry, but a serious attempt to discern the will of God for His Ministry and people. Properly understood, goal-setting accomplishes a number of tasks. It helps people discover where they are now, in terms of their relationship to Christ, to each other and to their efforts. It also helps a Ministry place priorities on its concerns and make "measurable, accomplishable" goals for a short-range period. And it provides a basis on which to select or create programs to achieve the goals and know exactly when they have been achieved. How does it work?

  •     A goal should be a response to a need. Needs are multi-dimensional and usually come in bunches, but they can be identified without too much difficulty. Educators speak of felt needs and real needs. As I understand it, felt needs are those which people recognize themselves, like a new summer coat or a salary increase. Real needs are more basic and fundamental, but not always recognized by people. Accepting Christ as Savior and Lord is a basic need. Goals need to take into account both kinds of needs.
  •     A goal is a picture, or image, of how the future might be. This image should stir the imagination. In helping Christian Ministries, one writer uses a chart in which constituents describe where they are now and where they believe God wants them to be. This "imaging" is a major step in the process.
  •     A goal can be accomplished. Goals must also be measurable. They must have a time factor and a description of what is expected when the goal is achieved. Here goal-setting gets tougher because people have to start "pinning things down." This exercise can be a healthy experience for a Christian Ministry. Instead of living with fuzzy generalities, you can see some practical expressions of basic biblical guidelines.
  •     Once the goal is measurable, then the progress toward the goal must be measured. A complete goal will always specify intervening steps that can be used to measure progress toward the ultimate goal. One Church Ministry used goal-setting to determine its most significant needs and took steps to meet them. A first step was to emphasize the family for an entire year. Getting families together and helping Fathers take leadership were the goals. The program to meet the goal included evening service messages on all aspects of family life, neighborhood discussion groups for parents, and a church sponsored family activity each month.
  •     A real danger in goal-setting is that "people can become goal-centered instead of Christ-centered -- goals then become idols when they need to be servants." Ministries that utilize these servants will discover that obeying the Lord in practical, tangible ways brings glory to God and deep satisfaction to the believer and to the Ministry. Goal-setting Ministries will uncover a new enthusiasm as they discover who they are, what their mission is and how to accomplish it today. Remember, the purpose of organizing is to accomplish something. Goal setting is a process. Jesus said, "I am come to seek and to save them that are lost." His was a "mission by objective." Let us follow in His steps.

  Please Click Here and Here for more Budget information
  We wish you good Budgeting, yea the expression in dollars of your goals, or a personification in dollars of the Ministry's plan of action.  

  The bulk of this Publication originated in November 1996 and  UPTD: May 02, 2008  

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     (1) An Online Document, or WRIT (Writing), may be applicable to all Ministries, or it may be designed for just groups like: Evangelical Church, School, Missionary Agency or Organization, Christian Camp / Conference, or other named group.
       (2) WRIT formats include the perspective of   Jim@bcidot.org  via IOMs (Inter-Office Memos) to the Ministry Finance Team (MFTeam); THRDs, a hypothetical Online conversation with members of the MFTeam; GLEANINGS, or Scripture within context of the MFTeam; FWIW; A periodic editorial (For What it is Worth); TRUISM, or believed Ministry Finance principles; and FAQ, response to Frequently Asked Questions