Rethinking a church's fiscal year

Keep it simple.

Annual church planning is an intentional act of care rooted in the Word of God. It’s care linked to goals, missions, and visions to edify the body of Christ while making disciples.

Many organizations run its fiscal year from January 1st to December 31st with new year’s planning happening during the previous holiday season, or in January. Churches should consider adjusting its fiscal year to July 1st through June 30th as this caters to the ebbs and flows of a traditional calendar year.

• Q1 - July 1st to September 30th

• Q2 - October 1st to December 31st

• Q3 - January 1st to March 31st

• Q4 - April 1st to June 30th

Proverbs 21:5 Plan with ample time, not last minute. 

Colossians 3:23 Let's give God and his people our best. To give our best, we need time and resources. 

Proverbs 15:22 Plan collectively towards edifying Christ.

Let’s be transparent. Serving at church is not the only responsibility in a volunteer’s life. A church should be structured, yet sensitive, to support volunteers to serve at their highest level.

Mark 6:31 When volunteers are set up for success (support, resources and time for life/work/ministry balance), they'll serve at a higher capacity.

Rethinking Planning

Set January 1st to March 1st for ideation. Q1 is during back-to-school season and Q2 is holiday season. Ease into the new fiscal year with an emphasis on work, life, and ministry balance. In ideation sessions, think what’s low effort with high impact for congregants and volunteers to commit to in Q1 and Q2? Pick it up in Q3 with heavier effort and high impact initiatives then finish strong in Q4 with consideration to the work completed throughout the year.

March 1st to April 1st for balancing ministries’ ideas with traditional church celebration dates (e.g. church anniversary). Understand what can be done, what’s aspirational, and what needs to be removed.

April 1st to May 1st for finalizations and resource allocations (e.g. budget decisioning).

May 1st to May 31st for official plan communication to the church. Host a kickoff diving deeper into the goals, initiatives, and events and how congregants and volunteers can meaningfully contribute.

Planning for the new fiscal year must start in January with finalized plans at end of April. This is an optimal time as most people are excited for a new calendar year. With responsibility, church leaders should tap into this excitement.

By making June 30th the end of a fiscal year, church volunteers are able to wrap up during the summer versus the holiday season. Serving starts at home, not in the church building. Let’s rethink the fiscal year to develop disciples for home and the Kingdom.