The Theology of a Budget: Why Stewardship Is More Than Spreadsheets
This article originally appeared on Chris’s Substack — a space where I share honest, humorous, and practical reflections on ministry, mission, and the messy beauty of church life. If you’d like to read more pieces like this one (and maybe laugh a little along the way), you can find it here: Chris’s Substack
I’ve met very few pastors who entered ministry because they loved spreadsheets. Most of them felt called to preach, shepherd, and reach people for Jesus, not to color-code expense reports. But whether you pastor a church of 50 or 500, budgets are spiritual documents. They tell the story of what we actually value, not just what we say we value.
Every year about this time, churches start drafting budgets. There’s usually a deep sigh, a cup of coffee, and someone saying, “Well, let’s start with last year’s numbers.” That’s not a bad place to begin. It’s actually wise. But here’s what often gets missed: church budgets aren’t like bank accounts. They’re projections.
Budgets Aren’t Promises, They’re Plans
A church budget isn’t fully funded when it’s adopted. It’s a roadmap based on last year’s giving patterns and prayerful projections about what should come in. The keyword there is should. You can’t assume every dollar you list in a budget will magically appear.
And here’s where it gets risky. If half of your church’s annual giving comes from one generous member, you don’t actually have a $100,000 budget—you have a $50,000 budget with a $50,000 variable. If that person moves, passes away, or faces financial hardship, your entire ministry plan has to pivot overnight. I’ve watched churches scramble to cover salaries, utilities, and missions commitments because they built a “faith budget” that relied more on optimism than stewardship.
Faith is not ignoring math. It’s managing resources with both trust and wisdom.
A Healthy Budget Reflects Healthy Priorities
One of the most eye-opening conversations I ever had was with my friend and colleague, George Bullard. He told me, “If 80 percent of your budget is spent on overhead, you’ve turned your church into a museum, and the pastor and staff are the curators.”
That image stuck with me. The lights are on, the displays are polished, the programs keep running—but no one’s actually being transformed.
To avoid that trap, every church needs to carve out at least 20 to 25 percent of its budget for missional endeavors—things that reach beyond the walls. That includes missions, outreach, evangelism, and ministry that touches lives outside your regular attenders. A church that doesn’t invest in God’s kingdom beyond itself eventually turns inward, and inward churches always shrink.
Don’t Forget the People Who Make It Happen
If you’re a pastor or staff member reading this, you know ministry isn’t just about hours—it’s about heart. You pour yourself out week after week, often while juggling side jobs or bi-vocational work.
Churches need to build in annual cost-of-living adjustments for their staff. Inflation doesn’t skip the parsonage.
A slight 2 to 3 percent increase each year not only helps with real costs, it communicates something bigger: “We see you. We value you. We’re in this together.”
Start with Vision, Not Line Items
Before numbers appear, ask, “What do we want God to do through us this year?” If your vision is to start small groups, partner with a local non-profit, or launch a community ministry, then your budget should reflect that.
When the mission drives the math, people catch the vision. But when numbers lead without purpose, the church drifts toward maintenance instead of movement.
Choose a Budgeting Model That Fits Your Church
Not every church should budget the same way. Here are a few approaches that work well in different seasons of ministry:
Line-item budgeting: Start with last year’s numbers and adjust. Simple and familiar, but easy to stagnate.
Program or ministry-based budgeting: Organize by ministry areas like youth, missions, or discipleship, so you can see how much actually fuels your mission.
Zero-based budgeting: Start from zero each year and justify every dollar. It forces you to cut programs that no longer serve their purpose.
Narrative budgeting: Instead of listing “supplies,” tell the story. “This $2,000 equips our children’s ministry to reach new families.” When people see ministry behind the math, they give with joy.
Involve Broad Input Without Getting Stuck
You don’t need a crowd to approve every purchase, but ownership matters. Let ministry leaders participate in the process. Ask them to submit requests and talk about outcomes. Then let the finance committee and leadership team filter those requests through the mission, not sentiment.
Healthy churches also use benchmarks to keep things balanced. Generally, staff compensation should be 45–55 percent of the total budget, facilities and operations 15–20 percent, ministry and outreach 20–25 percent, and savings or reserves 5–10 percent. You can adjust based on your size, but if your mission line item is microscopic, it’s time for a rethink.
Build and Maintain Reserves
Budgets need margin. Churches should carry three to six months of operating expenses in reserve. That cushion allows you to respond to opportunities and emergencies with calm instead of panic. Consider also creating a smaller “opportunity fund” to seed new ministries when God opens unexpected doors.
Plan for Debt and Future Needs
If your church has a mortgage or other loans, your budget should include a line for principal reduction and a plan for capital maintenance. A roof leak or air conditioner failure shouldn’t derail your mission. Proactive planning keeps you free to focus on ministry, not repairs.
Review and Adjust Regularly
A budget is a living document. Every month, compare actual income and expenses to your projections. If giving dips or costs rise, adjust early. Don’t wait until December to find out you’ve been overspending since June. In the business world, that’s called a rolling forecast. In the church world, it’s called stewardship.
Tell the Story, Not Just the Numbers
When the time comes to present the budget, don’t hand out a spreadsheet and hope people stay awake. Tell stories. Show how giving changed lives. Use visuals and testimonies. When people see that their dollars fuel ministry, generosity grows.
Budgets don’t have to be boring. They can be testimonies of God’s faithfulness and tools to rally the church toward its mission.
Stewardship Is a Spiritual Discipline
So the next time someone says, “We’re just talking numbers,” smile and remind them that Jesus did too. He spoke about coins, talents, and counting the cost. Budgets aren’t the enemy of faith. They’re the framework that lets faith flourish responsibly.
A wise church doesn’t spend to survive. It budgets to advance the gospel.
And maybe the next time your finance committee meets, you’ll smile a little when you open that spreadsheet. Because behind every number is a story of God’s provision—and an invitation to write the next chapter together.