Simple, Financial Disclosure- Why Not?

    Today, as I was leaving church, I was handed a Quarterly Financial Report! Everyone that left through the front door was offered one, even the lady in front of me, who was a first time visitor! Wow, not only annual financial reports from this church, but QUARTERLY! Is this a great idea or what? I was stunned at the openness about the tithes and offerings received and the telling folks how the money was spent. The name of the church is Grace Community Church located outside of Marion, NC

      Since it has been years since I had seen a church quaterly report, I reviewed it closely. Here is what I found… This report covered January, February and March of 2010. The first section was titled: Exalting Christ. In that section were listed different basic statistics from the ministry to different age groups. Areas of ministry reviewed included Children’s ministry, Youth ministry, and Prayer ministry as well as stats showing numbers who attend and how many are actual members. The average attendance on Sunday mornings during the quarter was 639. The number on the membership roll is 525. There were 5 new members during the first quarter.

      The next section was titled, “Transforming Lives” . This section revealed the direction of different groups. Some bullets listed upcoming events and some listed activities that had taken place. There was a bullet about the students from a local college that attended as well as listing different mission trips and how many folks participated. The last bullet said that Adult Bible Fellowship had grown by 41% during the last year.

     On the back page was a section titled. “Embracing a Community”. Here was listed bullet points explaining some of the outreach projects to the local community, also telling about some of the missionaries who were supported. The Student Ministry had started supporting a child through Compassion International. 312 boxes had been distributed through the food pantry. 29 families were helped through the benevolence ministry. The support given to a family when their house burned was listed. There was bullet point for the number of families active in the prayer chain as well as new baptisms in the period. The church also participated in the “Buckets of Hope” ministry to Haiti. And get this; there was a recap of the offerings and budget needs. There was also listed a balance in the New Building Account! Actual dollars! They are actually planning and saving for a new building! What a great idea!

   

    At the bottom of the back page was the most shocking thing. There was an announced meeting at 5:00PM  to FIND OUT MORE about the report! It was announced for all who had questions to come and there would be someone there to answer their questions! Can you believe that? Not only is there a WRITTEN disclosure of the finances, but there is a meeting to help answer questions. No one declared that it was for members only! Anyone could have gone. No, I did not attend. But, next time, I just might.

     Can you understand what a shock all of this was to me?  You may be thinking, what is the big deal? Don’t all churches do that? At Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), there are NO written financial reports handed out at any door to regular members, much less visitors. At least, there were none in the 16 years that I attended services. It was mentioned from the pulpit by Sam Whaley, that they needed $20,000 a week to cover the bills. Jane Whaley took up a $50,000 special offering one time (see link. http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=245   ) Things may have changed, but I suspect that news would have come back to me – somehow.

     Why would there be no financial disclosure at WOFF? Maybe Jane Whaley thinks “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”… For all these years, there has been no disclosure, why start now? Well Jane, what is there to hide? Maybe Jane thinks that the majority of folks would not approve of how much was spent on who knows what? So, since she does not have to tell what was done, then why start? The sad part is when folks in leadership don’t tell what is done with other people’s money – trust is eroded. Yes, I know WOFF members are  told when they give to WOFF,  they are giving to GOD. That nails home my point! God is not in the hiding business…remember, “no hide-n-seek”, especially with His money.  Certainly Jane would not think she is spending her money? Jane could disclose a truthful report and the majority of members totally “agree” with her decisions on how the money was spent. Then the allegiance and trust in Jane Whaley would soar. But, since there is no disclosure, Jane must not suspect that people would agree with her decisions… Sad.

    Last spring a member of WOFF called me to say I was committing “spiritual suicide” by attending Grace Community Church. Their point was the type of music played at this church was something I had walked away from in the past. Certainly the way folks dressed did not excite the caller. This person determined all of this from the church’s website. Seems to me, this church is ahead of WOFF in several areas even though I saw no one dressed this morning as if they were attending a wedding or funeral. On stage there was even a fellow playing a banjo during one of the songs! Yes, the pastor wore JEANS this morning. Can you believe that? Yes, that shocked the leftover “WOFF-ness” in me when I first saw that…. But, I think I will go back to that church. Among other reasons; I will know how and where the money is being spent. Do you think these folks in leadership at Grace Community Church want to earn and keep the trust of the people who attend? Trust is not demanded, it is earned.

    Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. It could very well save their life. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) This is post number 97.

3 thoughts on “Simple, Financial Disclosure- Why Not?”

  1. Yes, the chuches I grew up in had a monthly business meeting after Wednesday night service. As I have stated ONCE A MONTH!! With a written finanical statement given. It listed everything that was given to the church and everything cent that was spent and for what is spent on. If there was any business that needed to be voted on only members could vote. The finanical was always read ALOUD and EXPLAINED and then voted on. THE PASTOR’S SALARY AND HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES( that the church covered) were disclosed. Now some churches don’t do that.WHY?

  2. Not referring to any specific organization, but referring to IRS documents about tax exempt organizations, these are some things that might be considered with regard to your observations:

    From the IRS: (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf)
    To be a tax free organization (501(c)(3)):
    ? the organization must be organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific, or charitable purposes,
    ? net earnings may not inure to the benefit of any private individual or shareholder,
    ? no substantial part of its activity may be attempting influence legislation, (tests are found on pages 8-15).
    ? the organization may not intervene in political campaigns, and
    ? the organization’s purposes and activities may be illegal or violate fundamental public policy.
    ? Additionally, they may lose their tax exempt status if they provide a substantial benefit to private interests,
    o Churches and religious organizations, like all exempt organizations under IRC section 501(c)(3), are prohibited from engaging in activities that result in inurement of the church’s or organization’s income or assets to insiders (i.e., persons having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization). Insiders could include the minister, church board members, officers, and in certain circumstances, employees. Examples of prohibited inurement include the payment of dividends, the payment of unreasonable compensation to insiders, and transferring property to insiders for less than fair market value. The prohibition against inurement to insiders is absolute; therefore, any amount of inurement is, potentially, grounds for loss of tax-exempt status. Note that prohibited inurement does not include reasonable payments for services rendered, payments that further tax-exempt purposes, or payments made for the fair market value of real or personal property.

    I tried to find some information about legal requirements to provide monthly, quarterly or annual financial reports but havent found anything yet. Our auditor, something we do every year, states that it is good practice to do it quarterly.

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