Money - A New Parish Ministry?
Everybody knows the old adage about two topics that a pastor should
avoid when preaching… sex and
money! The only problem with money is that
the perception of most people in the pews is that it only flows one way (away
from them and toward the church). What if
the parish started helping people save it instead? This could make us more attractive and enhance
our credibility.
Sure there are professional financial managers out there already but these services cost money. Some churches have cultivated a ministry of money which includes both crisis support and preventive services. This is especially successful as a ministry to young adults who are just starting life and prone to making the same needless financial mistakes that so many of us did (and which can reduce their ability to make voluntary contributions) for the foreseeable future.
The number one concern for all Americans regardless of religious affiliation is the same as the number one concern for their churches – making financial ends meet. Money has always been a central spiritual concern. Some estimates indicate that money comes up in one in ten Gospel passages (and one in five in the Gospel of Luke). Getting out of debt, saving for retirement, addressing children’s education or parent long-term care, unexpected health expenses and knowing how much to tithe or donate to charity are major concerns for most of us.
The parish can respond in big ways and small to help people with faith and finances. Why not…
1. Put on a pot of coffee – Some churches are replacing Starbucks and Tim Hortons as a place for people to meet and save money. This simple gesture of hospitality can save big dollars for parishioners and provide an opportunity for the parish to leave out information about such events as the upcoming Lenten series. Just put out a pot of coffee with some sliced bagels in the foyer of the hall each morning for harried commuters. A donation dish will usually recoup the cost of supplies.
2. Publish Money Saving Hints – These tips can be used as space fillers in the bulletin, website or facebook page. No matter how obvious these may sound, they are not.
1. Avoid grocery shopping without a list, when hungry, or in a bad mood.
2. Use cash whenever possible for purchases (makes the purchasing process more intentional and less impulsive).
3. Make a monthly budget and keep track of all expenses and revise the budget accordingly
4. Avoid eating out except on special occasions. Make lunch and coffee at home.
5. Switch utilities from electric to gas.
6. Use public transportation, walk places, use stairs and do your own yard work (it is good exercise).
7. Wait until that movie comes out in dvd.
8. Remove your landline if you never use it and reduce your TV cable plan.
9. Go through storage space. Sell or donate your extras. Put things on craigslist or have a garage sale. And use the proceeds for
savings (e.g. your Christmas club)
10. Refinance your house (cancel private mortgage insurance if you have 20% equity) and refinance the car now.
11. Comparison shop and renegotiation your contract on all regular expenses – phone, auto insurance.
12. Pay in cash or only charge what you can pay off each month. With large ticket items, ask for a discount if you pay with cash.
Avoid fees and interest payments. Avoid ATM withdrawals that include high fees.
13. Sell gift cards that you will be unlikely to use. Some people end up spending money just to use up a gift card. Sell it on
buffalo.craigslist.org or www.giftcardrescue.com.
14. Cancel services that you do not need. Take a look at the automatic withdrawals from your credit card and bank account.
15. Eliminate electronics and appliances that become energy vampires in your house by turning them off. Visit www.EnergyHog.org
or www.EnergySavers.gov for tips on eliminating energy vampires.
16. Explore possibilities in working free-lance and be prepared for the cost.
Get even more money saving ideas at: 25 Simple Ways to Save Money.
3. Host Soup Suppers – If putting out coffee is not an option, why not start Lent early with weekly soup suppers. Many parishioners have favorite recipes to share. Soups can be mixed for some interesting flavors. Different organizations can sponsor an evening and use the occasion to get better acquainted with the families and young adults who are among the most likely to devour the food.
4. Meals on Ice - Recruit volunteers from the great, retired cooks of the parish. Provide them with funds to buy groceries and prepare ready-to-bake dinners that can be stored in a freezer at the church. Parishioners can be informed that when someone has a crisis there are easy meals for pick up.
5. Financial Success 101 - Form a team from the parish of tax accountants, financial planners and lawyers from the parish, who volunteer as their ministry to the parish by sponsoring an informational program one evening each year. The experts form a panel and present answers to most frequently asked questions on how to prevent and survive financial crisis. The faith perspective of your experts will need little coaxing. This is a prime example of how a parish can start a ministry with young adults by making faith relevant in real life. The experts can be invited to stay around after the panel presentation to answer particular and personal questions. Reformat the advice and contact information for valuable resource agencies and republish it as bulletin tips which can start in advance to peak interest as well as afterward to educate those unable to attend.
6. Sponsor a Small Group or Short Course on Money - Consider Money and Faith: The Search for Enough by Michael Schutt (www.amazon.com), Money & Faith: Study Circle Handbook by Jan Sullivan Dockter (www.SimpleLiving.org) or Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominquez & Vicki Robin (www.newroadmap.org). The nexus of faith and finances is never so clear as when a small group gathers around. An ideal feeder program for ongoing small faith sharing groups is Heart in Focus: A Faith Focused Financial Course by Jeffrey Davis and David Kehl which helps people use their wealth for a Christian purpose in life.
7. Hairstyling Help. Getting a job is hard enough without the stress of looking your best for the interview. People short on money often try to save money by cutting their own hair (sometimes with disastrous results just when they need to look their best). Why not enlist the assistance of licensed hairstylists from the congregation and community to provide free haircuts for church referrals or once a month at a particular time and place for people in need. I knew a young man who was single, loved cutting hair and gave people with a church referral a deeply discounted rate as his personal ministry. While not everyone who took advantage of this service was a parishioner, everyone wanted to know who was paying the bill. Think about the outreach potential if the church took over a hair salon (gas station or any other business for that matter) just one day a year and provided free or deeply discounted service and distributed a thank you card from the parish with Mass and event times listed on the back.
8. Christians for Compliance – Many churches partner with municipal authorities to assist home owners who are unable to comply with housing codes (e.g. lead paint, yard care, deteriorating building, unsafe porch, etc.). There are often young adults or college students willing to donate a weekend during breaks to learn some construction and home maintenance under the supervision of a knowledgeable parishioner. This service saves tremendous amounts of money, pays priceless dividends in community relations.
9. Convene a Small Group for Those Between Jobs - It is full time work to be unemployed today. Many experienced professionals can be out of work for months and years. The emotional isolation, financial trauma and humiliation associated with unemployment can be devastating to people whose very identity has been interwoven with their work for years. It presents a crisis of faith which needs prayer, mutual support and faith witnessing. There are a variety of services for people in financial distress which include Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, One Stop Employment and Training Center, Everywoman Opportunity Center and Parachute Group. The Family Life Office has a packet for those out of work which can be obtained by calling 716-847-2210.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
Sure there are professional financial managers out there already but these services cost money. Some churches have cultivated a ministry of money which includes both crisis support and preventive services. This is especially successful as a ministry to young adults who are just starting life and prone to making the same needless financial mistakes that so many of us did (and which can reduce their ability to make voluntary contributions) for the foreseeable future.
The number one concern for all Americans regardless of religious affiliation is the same as the number one concern for their churches – making financial ends meet. Money has always been a central spiritual concern. Some estimates indicate that money comes up in one in ten Gospel passages (and one in five in the Gospel of Luke). Getting out of debt, saving for retirement, addressing children’s education or parent long-term care, unexpected health expenses and knowing how much to tithe or donate to charity are major concerns for most of us.
The parish can respond in big ways and small to help people with faith and finances. Why not…
1. Put on a pot of coffee – Some churches are replacing Starbucks and Tim Hortons as a place for people to meet and save money. This simple gesture of hospitality can save big dollars for parishioners and provide an opportunity for the parish to leave out information about such events as the upcoming Lenten series. Just put out a pot of coffee with some sliced bagels in the foyer of the hall each morning for harried commuters. A donation dish will usually recoup the cost of supplies.
2. Publish Money Saving Hints – These tips can be used as space fillers in the bulletin, website or facebook page. No matter how obvious these may sound, they are not.
1. Avoid grocery shopping without a list, when hungry, or in a bad mood.
2. Use cash whenever possible for purchases (makes the purchasing process more intentional and less impulsive).
3. Make a monthly budget and keep track of all expenses and revise the budget accordingly
4. Avoid eating out except on special occasions. Make lunch and coffee at home.
5. Switch utilities from electric to gas.
6. Use public transportation, walk places, use stairs and do your own yard work (it is good exercise).
7. Wait until that movie comes out in dvd.
8. Remove your landline if you never use it and reduce your TV cable plan.
9. Go through storage space. Sell or donate your extras. Put things on craigslist or have a garage sale. And use the proceeds for
savings (e.g. your Christmas club)
10. Refinance your house (cancel private mortgage insurance if you have 20% equity) and refinance the car now.
11. Comparison shop and renegotiation your contract on all regular expenses – phone, auto insurance.
12. Pay in cash or only charge what you can pay off each month. With large ticket items, ask for a discount if you pay with cash.
Avoid fees and interest payments. Avoid ATM withdrawals that include high fees.
13. Sell gift cards that you will be unlikely to use. Some people end up spending money just to use up a gift card. Sell it on
buffalo.craigslist.org or www.giftcardrescue.com.
14. Cancel services that you do not need. Take a look at the automatic withdrawals from your credit card and bank account.
15. Eliminate electronics and appliances that become energy vampires in your house by turning them off. Visit www.EnergyHog.org
or www.EnergySavers.gov for tips on eliminating energy vampires.
16. Explore possibilities in working free-lance and be prepared for the cost.
Get even more money saving ideas at: 25 Simple Ways to Save Money.
3. Host Soup Suppers – If putting out coffee is not an option, why not start Lent early with weekly soup suppers. Many parishioners have favorite recipes to share. Soups can be mixed for some interesting flavors. Different organizations can sponsor an evening and use the occasion to get better acquainted with the families and young adults who are among the most likely to devour the food.
4. Meals on Ice - Recruit volunteers from the great, retired cooks of the parish. Provide them with funds to buy groceries and prepare ready-to-bake dinners that can be stored in a freezer at the church. Parishioners can be informed that when someone has a crisis there are easy meals for pick up.
5. Financial Success 101 - Form a team from the parish of tax accountants, financial planners and lawyers from the parish, who volunteer as their ministry to the parish by sponsoring an informational program one evening each year. The experts form a panel and present answers to most frequently asked questions on how to prevent and survive financial crisis. The faith perspective of your experts will need little coaxing. This is a prime example of how a parish can start a ministry with young adults by making faith relevant in real life. The experts can be invited to stay around after the panel presentation to answer particular and personal questions. Reformat the advice and contact information for valuable resource agencies and republish it as bulletin tips which can start in advance to peak interest as well as afterward to educate those unable to attend.
6. Sponsor a Small Group or Short Course on Money - Consider Money and Faith: The Search for Enough by Michael Schutt (www.amazon.com), Money & Faith: Study Circle Handbook by Jan Sullivan Dockter (www.SimpleLiving.org) or Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominquez & Vicki Robin (www.newroadmap.org). The nexus of faith and finances is never so clear as when a small group gathers around. An ideal feeder program for ongoing small faith sharing groups is Heart in Focus: A Faith Focused Financial Course by Jeffrey Davis and David Kehl which helps people use their wealth for a Christian purpose in life.
7. Hairstyling Help. Getting a job is hard enough without the stress of looking your best for the interview. People short on money often try to save money by cutting their own hair (sometimes with disastrous results just when they need to look their best). Why not enlist the assistance of licensed hairstylists from the congregation and community to provide free haircuts for church referrals or once a month at a particular time and place for people in need. I knew a young man who was single, loved cutting hair and gave people with a church referral a deeply discounted rate as his personal ministry. While not everyone who took advantage of this service was a parishioner, everyone wanted to know who was paying the bill. Think about the outreach potential if the church took over a hair salon (gas station or any other business for that matter) just one day a year and provided free or deeply discounted service and distributed a thank you card from the parish with Mass and event times listed on the back.
8. Christians for Compliance – Many churches partner with municipal authorities to assist home owners who are unable to comply with housing codes (e.g. lead paint, yard care, deteriorating building, unsafe porch, etc.). There are often young adults or college students willing to donate a weekend during breaks to learn some construction and home maintenance under the supervision of a knowledgeable parishioner. This service saves tremendous amounts of money, pays priceless dividends in community relations.
9. Convene a Small Group for Those Between Jobs - It is full time work to be unemployed today. Many experienced professionals can be out of work for months and years. The emotional isolation, financial trauma and humiliation associated with unemployment can be devastating to people whose very identity has been interwoven with their work for years. It presents a crisis of faith which needs prayer, mutual support and faith witnessing. There are a variety of services for people in financial distress which include Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, One Stop Employment and Training Center, Everywoman Opportunity Center and Parachute Group. The Family Life Office has a packet for those out of work which can be obtained by calling 716-847-2210.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
