Josh Henry, Author at Simplifychurch.com

April 3, 2015January 5, 2021

6 Things You Must Do Before This Weekend’s Easter Service

Easter is just around the corner and for churches around the world we are entering into the week that is the pinnacle of our faith. If we did nothing else, Easter is the weekend where we can share the Gospel and Grace of a saving faith in Jesus.

Theology aside, there are some practical steps that you should consider for this weekend to give guests the best first impression of your church.

Here’s the deal though, make sure this weekend you are yourself. Don’t do things that aren’t normal for your church. Do what you do best, and do it VERY WELL!

Here are some things to remind you in last minute preparations for your service.

1. Have your facility in top shape

Make sure your facility, whether it’s rented space or your own, is in top condition. This woudl even include some last minute painting this week or even Saturday if need be. Make sure that everything is in top shape. Consider having your maintenance crew available to clean bathrooms, sweep, etc. between services. If you only have 1 service, make sure that everything is positioned and in place BEFORE people start to arrive.

We’ve all been there, running late on Sunday morning and tables with information and other items still don’t have a table cloth, stuff isn’t laid out, no one is there to answer questions. Consider expressing to every volunteer that Easter is the day to be 30 minutes early, no exceptions.

Here are some places that churches over look:
1. Bulletin boards – is there outdated information?
2. Doors and Windows – Windex!

2. Accuracy of Website

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE.

And when you’re done, update again. I’m amazed at how many churches are not taking advantage of the great opportunity to let people know about what’s going on via their website and social media. Just when you think you’ve put out enough info, plenty of status updates or tweets, send another.

Your website is often the first impression people will get of your church. If it’s not giving an accurate representation of your church’s image, branding and identity, you may need an overhaul. Get in touch with us for some cost effective options for that, but we can definitely wait until after Easter.

3. Station as many people as possible in Logo’d shirts around the “mingling” areas. Make it obvious to a visitor or new person where to go for answers.

REMEMBER to express to these people to be careful to not congregate and chat together too much. When volunteers look like they are engaged in conversation with each other, a visitor will not want to interrupt and will move on.

Also, keep in mind that the new person’s experience starts the moment they pull into your parking lot. Put people outside to start the welcoming process.

The entire goal here is to make it easy for a new person to feel like they belong as quickly as possible. Nothing hesitates visitors more than feeling like an outsider or being singled out.

4. Have some way to capture visitor information

You don’t want to start Spamming these people and overwhelm them, but you do want to take an interest in each and every person that shows up this Easter. Chances are, you already have something in place. If not, make sure you print and insert a sheet of paper that people can fill out to give you. Express from the stage that they can give as much info as they feel comfortable.

Oh by the way, have a form to fill out if they check in their kids. This is a very simple way to get valuable information about new families to your church.

Pastor, for an extra piece, express to new people that you’d like to personally meet them and give them a gift. (oh by the way, get a decent gift to give them. Coffee mug, cd, etc.)

5. Don’t Stress

Easter is a big deal and you will have an influx of people that wouldn’t normally attend your church. While for most of us, this is a source of stress because we all want to maximize the impact of our Easter service, you must remember, it’s just another Sunday as well. People will see through over-stressed attempts in your service. Make sure your service is just like any other Sunday. Give people a REAL experience of your church, just make sure you do it REALLY WELL. Nothing will turn off a visitor like trying to be something you’re not just this one Sunday. (they’ll know for a fact when they come back next week!)

6. Follow Up

This may be one of the most important things on the list. Well, aside from the other 4.

In all seriousness, be intentional about your follow up to the weekend. Take Monday to ask yourself how the weekend went. Write down your thoughts, what went well, what didn’t. What would you do differently if you had more time (Last time I checked, Easter happens every year). Getting this documentation now while its fresh on your mind will prove very valuable for next year’s preparations. We’ve all been there planning a repeat event and asking ourselves what we were thinking about changing from last year.

De-brief your staff, leaders and volunteers. Find out what impressions they got, what worked well and what could be improved.

Click Here to grab our Swipe File that contains some forms and questions you should be asking. It will help to engage that debrief discussion for yourself and your staff.

Oh yea, those new visitors, follow up with them too.

Send a letter thanking them for their visit. Personally write (or type) it and get it out to them. If they left an email address, send it there. Don’t add them to your newsletter list just yet, that’s SPAM.

If you asked and they handed you their contact form, IMMEDIATELY after they leave jot a quick note on the card so you can personalize the communication back. What did you talk about, what did they mention, who invited them, how did they find you; these are all things that you can mention that will personalize that message back to them.

While Easter is the most attended day for most churches, remember that all these things should be done each and every week you have service. We should always be putting our best foot forward and doing things with excellence. We know stuff will happen and things will go wrong, but accepting complacency in our church is not an option.

March 11, 2015January 8, 2021

6 Ways To Maximize the Impact of Your Easter Service

Ever met a church that had all the people and resources it needed? They may have all they wanted, but that’s a different subject.

For most churches, Easter weekend will bring some of the largest attendance numbers of the year. The good news is, your church may have those kinds of numbers, and you may not have to do much to get them.

However, what if there were a few things that you could do to maximize your attendance, as well as your impact on those who attend.

Here are 6 things for you to try:

1) Use this weekend as an opportunity to evaluate the condition of your facility and grounds. Ask some people to walk through the building and make a list of those things that need fixing. Maybe it’s painting a room, fixing a hole in the wall, cleaning the carpet, replacing some door knobs, or sprucing up your landscaping. Remember, your building and grounds will make just as big of an impression as your people.

2) Take time to evaluate your systems. Do you have enough greeters and ushers? Are we getting enough information from first time guests? Do we have a clear plan for follow-up? Do we need a parking team? Is our signage clear and easy to follow? These are things that will impact your entire year, not just Easter weekend.

3) Are you making it easy for your regular attenders to invite their friends and neighbors? Remember, people bring people. Provide something for your regulars to use as a tool to invite other people. This may be a card, or it may be something special that you are doing over the weekend. Make it easier for someone to tell someone else about your church.

4) Consider giving something away to everyone who attends. Yes, everyone. By giving something to everyone, you are treating everyone the same. Many people who don’t regularly attend church are afraid they will be asked to stand or raise their hand when they do attend. Try to make them feel welcomed, without singling them out.

5) Plan to start a sermon series the next week that will be attractive to people who don’t normally attend church. Talk about relationships, or parenting, or hard times. Choose something that will make people want to come back.

6) Give away the offering! Yes, you read it correctly. Give away the entire offering on that day. Advertise it ahead of time. This helps to ease the complaint that churches just want my money. Pick out a local charity and give them your entire offering. Your people will love it! Your community will love it!

So, there you have it. Try one or all and see what God does! I believe that if you do, it just might be the best Easter weekend your church has ever had.

We want to hear from you. Are there things you’re planning for this Easter? After Easter, let us know what your experience was. Comment here or email us, info@simplifychurch.com.

November 19, 2014December 22, 2020

Can a Church Have Net Income?

One question we are commonly asked this time of year is whether or not a church can have net income at the end of the year.

The quick answer is yes. A church can end the year with more income than expenses.

Now to the specifics.

As a nonprofit, there are certain rules to meet to maintain that status. Essentially, to be a nonprofit, any net proceeds at year end cannot be distributed to anyone either corporately or individually. What that means is that you cannot disburse any net income to board members, trustees, elders, church members, staff members, etc. Basically, Net Income equals profit and what protects your non-profit status is that there is not a person or entity that benefits from the profit of the organization.

That also means that you cannot disburse those funds to the pastor or staff as a gift, enticement, compensation, etc. You may provide your staff with year end gifts, but be sure you check my previous post about how to disburse those gifts.

So what can you do with those funds?

Essentially, they are available for the church to use as Operating Capital, either year end expenses or into the next year. There is no criteria setup as to how much can be kept from year to year, but some common stewardship principles can be implemented and used to determine how the funds will be managed.

Here are some ideas.

Equipment –

Is there any equipment that the church may need for the upcoming year? This is kind of the wish list stuff.

Do you need a better sound system, more speakers, instruments, etc.? Can you use a bigger, better, faster computer?

At the last church I served, I was given a list of “wish” equipment and I was tasked with a budget to be spent to get as much as possible. I purchased an ice machine, some computers, sound equipment, etc. which were all things to make our ministry better, but weren’t necessarily budgeted for the year.

Operating Reserves –

This may be a good time to setup an operating reserve fund. This would be “rainy day” money.

The amount of funds to be kept can be determined by your board or leadership but should be considered a few months of operating income plus extra surplus for unexpected expenses. How these funds will be used should also be determined. These should be used for delayed payments, unexpected repairs or economic conditions, not income shortfalls. Basically, these are to solve timing problems, not deficit problems.

Generosity –

I would be remiss to not mention using these funds to be a generous church. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25:14-30. We are to be good stewards of the money the master has entrusted us with. He expects us to be useful with those resources and not hoard them.

Are there other ministries in your community struggling financially? Can you bless them?
Are there missions or missionaries you are supporting? Can you bless them?
Are there ministry opportunities you have passed up because of the cost? Can you be a blessing?

Keep in Mind – Money on Paper vs. In the Bank –

Through all this though keep in mind, just because you are showing Net Income at the end of the year doesn’t mean that you have Carte Blanche to go on a spending spree. Keep cash flow in mind. Businesses get into trouble all the time because in their financials they show money being made, but the cash flow doesn’t equal that. Be mindful of the cash flow needs of your organization when factoring any year end expenditures.

Ultimately, Net Income for a church is not a bad thing. So long as the money is used congruently to your mission as a ministry, these funds can be used for the ministry.

Resources:

https://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base/Nonprofit-Management/Sustainability/operating-reserves

There are a few things I didn’t get into which may affect your church that should be considered on an individual basis. Things like Unrelated Business Income could cause issue with this. This is meant as general information but the facts of your individual situation should be considered with a qualified individual.

October 22, 2014January 7, 2021

Are Church Staff Christmas Gifts Taxable?

As we head towards the end of the year it’s time to start thinking about the Holidays and fun times had by all. This is the time of year that we spend with family and friends and often includes staff parties and those fun times to celebrate and thank your staff for a productive year.

It’s also that time of year to start thinking about Christmas bonuses and gifts for our faithful staff members.

Before you start your planning, here are a few tips to keep in mind BEFORE you setup those gifts.

– Any cash gifts of any amount are taxable income to the employee and must be reported on their W-2.

– Gift cards for local restaurants, stores, grocery stores, etc. to an employee do have a measurable cash equivalent and therefore must be reported on a W-2.

– Either of the above gifts to a non-employee volunteer need not be reported on a W-2 since they are not employees and as long as the person has not received $600 or above for the year they would not need to be issued a 1099-MISC.

– Gifts can be given to employees and would not be taxable. For instance, you can give gift baskets, books, etc. and the item’s value would not be taxable. This is considered a Nontaxable de minims fringe benefit.

– Employees can be taken out to a staff dinner paid for by the church or organization. The IRS provides “group meals or picnics for employees and their guests” as a nontaxable de minims fringe benefit.

Being attentive to these items will not only keep your organization above reproach but also further bless your employees by not putting them into any positions to be surprised at tax time.

If you have any questions or would like to talk more about specific examples, please Contact Us and let us know.

Reference:

Richard Hammer, J.D., LL.M, CPA author of Church and Clergy Tax Guide.

August 20, 2014January 7, 2021

What I’ve Learned About Time Management Now That My Daughter Started School

My little Kambell is growing up. She started Kindergarten this year and while that first day was definitely harder on my wife than me, it has still slapped me into a new reality. In the last week, I’ve had to learn an entire new schedule for drop off and pickup, but also a new schedule to get my work done. My time in the office has been cut by 2 hours.

There are 7 things about time that this new routine has shown me that are applicable for business owners and pastors alike.

1. Identify your strengths

We are all gifted in certain areas, yet if you’re like me, you want to do it all. What I’ve learned from this is that you are only stretching yourself thin and doing nothing well. Personally, I am working to identify what I do well and find alternatives for those things that I am less than stellar at.

2. Time limitations increases productivity

For as long as I can remember, I have worked better under pressure. Some would call this procrastination. It’s amazing how quickly I can get stuff done when given an impending deadline. Funny thing is, usually I could have had that done much sooner and off my plate because my perception of the task was much larger than the actual reality. Now that I have fewer hours in my office per day, I am learning to get things done much quicker and prioritize projects.

3. Focus on What Works

I’m a dreamer.

That’s it. My mind is constantly going and I am always seeing things that I could get myself into or do. Now that my time has been limited, I now have to focus on what works for us. Does that mean stop dreaming? No. But I have learned that Evernote is my friend and when a new idea comes to mind, I take note so I can review later.

4. Prioritize Yourself

We’ve all been on the airplane where the safety briefing says to secure your air mask before your child. You are useless to those that need your help if you’re unconscious. Take the time to keep yourself in order so that you can continue to invest in others.

5. Ignore non-critical tasks or pay someone to do them

I like to mow my grass. It’s a good excuse for me to spend 30 minutes quiet. I spend a lot of my time mowing in thought and dreaming (see note 3). There are several of my business owner friends that have told me to hire someone to mow my grass so I can focus my time on the business. The good thing for me is that mowing is time I focus on my business. I do get their point though.

I’m sure there are tasks you are taking on that are much easier handled by someone else who has more expertise in that area (see note 1). Plus, there is an opportunity cost related to that task. If it’s taking your time and effort away from something you’re better at, then it’s actually costing you more.

What tasks are you still trying to manage that could be outsourced?

6. Adapt based on limitations

After I pick up my daughter, I still have a few hours at home that I can work before my wife gets home and its family time. I’ve started teaching my daughter a routine to work on her school work or reading while I’m doing the same. My hope is that this will instill in her habits to use for the future. I’ve had to find ways to continue to get work done, in a new environment with new tools since I’m not at my desk.

7. Laugh at yourself

When push comes to shove, we always think we’re under the gun more than we actually are. I know for me, the timelines and pressure I put on myself are far greater than what’s actually expected of me from others. Its good from time to time to take a few minutes and laugh. I’m glad that I’m very good and turning off and doing nothing. While it only lasts a short while before I get fidgety, there are a few minutes where I can say I’m relaxed. You should too.

It’s only been a week so I’m sure this list will grow and be refined, but I am so glad that I have the opportunity to invest in my kids life.

What are some ways you find to effectively manage your time?

August 6, 2014January 8, 2021

Who’s Left?

We’re doing an informal survey with planters who have launched their churches asking the question, Who from your core group or launch team is left?

Now I realize that semantics can play a big role in this. For most, a launch team is by design not supposed to last once the church has started. That aside, we’d like to know how many people who started with you are still around after 6 months, 1 year, 3 years.

Please respond in the comment section and let us know.

Setup your response as:

start = # people or couples
6 mos = # people
1 yr = # people
3 yr = # people

We’ll hopefully be able to put out the results albeit informally.

Thanks in advance for your time!

July 22, 2014January 8, 2021

Social Media for Your Ministry – Part 1

I repeatedly get asked by pastors and church leaders about Facebook. Each time the conversation is similiar; usually a pastor that understands the need to utilize facebook for their ministry, yet is concerned about losing the personal touch with people.

Scott Ginsberg, a great author and friend of mine recently posted on his Twitter feed that “You can manage relationships with software, but you can only nurture them with humanware.” He makes a great point about the balance that needs to be taken between using software to manage your friends, but we still need the personal interactions for more meaningful connections.

Here are a few thoughts for utilizing Facebook for your ministry.

1. Look for personal pages of your visitors on facebook and “friend” them. Seems simple and almost a bit corny, but that small measure could end up being the connection that brings that family to your church. Plus, it adds a great, non-invasive way for you to maintain a connection with your visitors.

2. Keep your posts simple, yet engaging Once again, this could sound like an oxymoron. However, people will appreciate thought provoking posts rather than letting people know how many times you opened your car door yesterday.

3. Share the posts of others. There are millions of people in the social media realm. Follow other pastors and leaders that you can relate with. Almost everyday one of them will post something relevant to your ministry that could benefit the people who follow you.

4. Follow others who share your values and interests. This became glaring apparent today as I found another blog post both re-iterating my point, but also providing a few extra solutions on using social media. Check out Michael Hyatt. His blog post today, 5 Steps to Building a Platform When You Hate Selling Yourself, filled in the gaps of my post and will be very beneficial to you as you develop your ministry social media platform.

Many pastors are looking at social media with skepticism while others embrace it. I have heard the arguments on both sides and in many ways can agree with both. There is, however, no debate that people are utilizing social media as a major communication tool and we are doing a disservice to not adapt our methods to include it into our ministries.

If you’d like to know more about how to include social media in your ministry, get in touch with us and we’ll help you out.

How many potential visitors (lost souls) could you have reached last month on Facebook?

June 23, 2014January 14, 2021

Reasons to Thank First Time Givers

Let’s just face it; talking about giving is often the elephant in the room for churches. Yet, we all know what the Bible says about giving. It needs to be encouraged as an act of worship and given that importance and priority in our church.

But really, what are some practical ways we can encourage giving? One way to instill confidence in your givers is to send a thank you note to first time givers.

Everybody likes to be acknowledged

Sometimes it’s just nice to say thank you. I’ve never heard anyone that was upset because someone thanked them, even if it was for something they were supposed to be doing anyway.

It shows you are truly thankful and will be a good steward

One key difference between ministry and business is that you have little to no control over your income. A ministry in most cases is completely dependent on the financial gifts of donors and supporters.

For that matter, it is vital to let those who are donating know that you are truly thankful for their gift and you understand your dependency on their faithfulness and generosity.

It builds trust in your system

It shows givers that a system is in place to track every dollar that is given. Most people will assume something is in place, but go the extra step and show them the accounting process you have in place.

It’s a chance to share your vision

Vision usually costs money. People will give to things they believe in and usually give more in amount and frequency when they can see their money is going to a goal. Communicate your vision for your ministry and the God sized plans you have.

Use every chance to remind people of the vision and stay consistent with it.

Here’s a bonus idea, my friend Lance Johnson (@pastorlancej) at Skyline Church (www.skylinecc.com) also includes a book from Andy Stanley called Fields of Gold which talks about being a generous giver. It’s a nice touch to say thanks, but also reinforce the message about faithful giving.

June 6, 2014

Tips to Start Your Next Year Budget Planning

Well it’s June.

Summer schedules are getting into full swing, a time for vacations, barbecues and VBS.

As we mentioned last week in the article Preparing for the summer cash flow lull, now is the time to plan and budget for what often are lower income months for churches.

This is also the perfect time to begin your budget process for the upcoming year.

“WHAT, You say!?!? We’re only 6 months into the year. We have plenty of time to get that done.

While that is true, what appears to be plenty of time now will very quickly become crunch time. Fall will be here before you know it.

Here are 3 tips to start the budgeting process for next year.

(Of course, here I am assuming a calendar year Fiscal Year)

Review your current year budget against YTD spending and expenses

Where are you at currently in year to date spending? Obviously, for many items that spread out over the year, you should be close to 50% of planned spending. There are items that only occur at certain times of the year so that is not going to apply to all expense lines, but will be a good start.
– If you are over or short on some lines that are consistent expenses throughout the year, consider an adjustment.

Take time to review your “Growth Engines”

What are those things in your ministry that are producing “growth.” I chose italics because we don’t want to be too narrow focused that growth is quantifiable numerically. In many cases it will be numbers so what are those things that you are doing that reach people. What is bringing people to the church? What is helping people grow spiritually?

We’d challenge you to consider investing in areas that produce growth and strongly review and consider those items you are spending money on that may not be producing “growth.”

Consider your “Growth Engines” to date and plan a budget increase accordingly

What has happened so far this year in the growth of your ministry? Are you seeing an increase? Has giving increased? If not, you should consider some options we laid out in this post

Now is the time to start praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance for the finances of your ministry. Ask for a big picture approach to the budget. Here are some questions to consider:

What ministry areas do we want to focus on for the upcoming year?

Are new ministry opportunities opening to us?

What’s changing in our community that we need to be aware of and prepare for?

Look to simplify your budget

As your ministry develops and grows, the quantity of expense categories will also grow. Over time, this can get out of hand and lead down a road where future year’s budgets and reports can get confusing and difficult to analyze.

Consider this time to simplify.

We’re not necessarily saying to remove lines, but let’s think about things in terms of bigger buckets. What is your mission of the church? Let’s break up the mission and create those areas as “Expense Buckets”

For instance, let’s consider the following.

Give, Grow, Go, Guide

Using these items we’ll setup the following:

Give – outreach expenses for local ministries, things you’re doing to give back to the community, etc.

Grow – expenses for ministries within the church

Go – expenses for missions

Guide – for lack of a better word and it started with “G”, but this is where I’d put all operational expenses. Utilities, Rent/mortgage, Insurance, Payroll, etc.

Start Today!

Overall, because summer gives most of us a time to slow down, it’s also a great time to review and plan for the upcoming year.

Here is a good rule of thumb for scheduling your budget review. (once again, assuming calendar year fiscal year)

June – begin review of current and big picture plan for next year
August – Begin to formulate upcoming year expense plan
September – Have new year budget prepared for leadership review
October – Have budget prepared for congregational review and vote (if necessary)
November – Finalize budget based on leaders and church response
December – Implement budget adjustments for the next year to hit the ground running Jan 1.

We’ll post next month some info on tips to get more specific with budget planning.

November 6, 2013

Gifts For Your Church Staff

With the holiday season approaching, we’re all getting into the giving spirit. This is definitely my favorite time of the year.

What a great time to consider showing your staff members just how much you appreciate their work and dedication. But what about those gifts and what are the tax implications of gifts to employees. Here are some things to keep in mind.

I got asked the other day about how to handle a cash bonus to the staff and whether or not those gifts need to be taxed as income.

The answer for your staff members and cash gifts is yes, they do need to be taxed as income to the individual.

But what about a gift card, doesn’t that fall under the de minimus fringe gift rule? Actually No, according the IRS section 132 (e)(1) of the Tax Code a de minimus fringe gift is defined as “any property or service the value of which is so small as to make accounting for it unreasonable and administratively unpractical.”

A gift card, no matter what the amount, will need to be purchased using some form of cash transaction from the church. Therefore, that cash will need to be accounted for making that gift ineligible under this rule.

Here are some ideas on gifts and how to handle it:

– Church approved cash bonus to each employee. The amount of the gift would need to be reported on the W-2 and have taxes withheld. Your payroll administrator could gross up the amount so they net the value you’d like them to receive.

– The church provides each employee with a small, novelty gift which they spend around $20 each. This would fall under the de minimus fringe benift rule and would not need to be reported since the item itself to the recipient would not have a measurable value.

– The church provides each employee with a $20 gift card. Since the value can be measured (i.e. $20), this would be considered a taxable gift.

– Church takes the employees out to dinner. The IRS allows “group meals or picnics for employees and their guests” as a nontaxable de minimus fringe benefit.

– The church provides a $20 gift card to their volunteer, NON PAYROLL staff. This would need not be reported as taxable income because the volunteers are not employees. Additionally, a 1099 would not need to be generated as long as the yearly amount is less than $600 to the individual.

For more information, give us a call or send an email. We’d be happy to help you manage your church finances and position your ministry for success financially.

Author: Josh Henry