Columbarium – Part 1: What is It and Why?

Posted on February 4, 2020 Written by

A columbarium is a place where the cremated remains of a person are kept. It comes from the Latin word for dove (columba) because doves build their nests in niches in a wall and cremains are frequently placed in niches.

Burning a body has been a human tradition for millennia because of their health hazards of a decomposing body. Cremated remains are completely safe to handle. Early Christians, who were within one generation of Jesus, were cremated. The catacombs of Rome have thousands of niches where urns with cremains (both Christian and non-Christian) were placed.

Churches have always been a favorite place for putting the dead. In America with its large open spaces, graveyards are common. In Europe, bodies are stacked in mausoleums or cremated. In other parts of the world where space is scare, cremation is the standard. Increasingly, people in the US want to be cremated; they don’t want their bodies taking up space forever.

This presents an option for churches in urban and suburban settings. They can convert one of the church’s gardens or patios into a columbarium. The purposes are several:

  • It keeps generations of the family attached to the church and visiting their deceased loved ones at the church
  • It provides a revenue stream if done properly. The revenues can pay for the perpetual maintenance of this part of the church grounds.
  • It tells the current members that the church honors the lives of the saints by giving them an eternal location.

When the subject of a columbarium comes up, do some research and consider having one. I’ve built two columbaria and each church has loved having it.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
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Free Stuff

Posted on January 28, 2020 Written by

www.churchbestpractices.org is now entirely FREE.

This is a website where I have posted scores of free documents, manuals, spreadsheets, etc. Over the 25 plus years that I’ve been a church administrator, I’ve created docs at all the churches I’ve worked at and now I’m sharing all those for free.

If you need a doc that isn’t in there, please let me know and I’ve probably got something I can get you or create pretty easily. Let me know via email.

In the meantime, download some or all of these documents. My request is this: if you find that these are really helpful to you, then please buy a gift card at the website ($25, $50, or $100) for however much you think it helped you. Donations such as these help me stay afloat financially.

Thanks!

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
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End of Calendar Year Gifts

Posted on November 19, 2019 Written by

When it comes to end of year, you need to have careful attention to some details:

  • What is the date on the check?
  • When did it come into the possession of the church?
  • When did it cease to be in the possession of the donor?
  • If it was mailed, what is the postmarked date (and keep the envelope for future reference)?

The IRS says that you can give tax credit for gifts that are not in the possession of the donor as of 1/1 @ 12.01 a.m. So, if someone makes an online donation at 11:59 p.m. or earlier on 12/31, then the gift can go toward that year.

If someone puts a check in the mail on 12/31, then it is no longer in the possession of the donor. The IRS considers it valid for the prior year. It may be postmarked in the new year but it should go toward the prior year, unless the check is dated for the new year. If the postmarked date is January 3, 4, or 5, use your best judgment to decide if it was still in the donor’s possession in 2019 or if it was mailed in 2018. You may even need to call the donor.

For depositing money received in the new year but credited to the prior year: make the deposit to the bank as early in January as possible; in your accounting software put a deposit date of 12/31 so it will show up on the income statement for the prior year. It will show up in the bank reconciliation as a “deposit in transit.”

The date that the money is in the bank is not important; the date that it ceases to be under the control of the donor is. Dealing with stock gifts at this time of year is especially tricky in determining what year to credit it to because you have to factor in when the donor gave instructions to the broker to sell the stock. Talk with the donor and the broker to ensure you have accurate info regarding last minute stock gifts. 

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of

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Special Offerings for Specific Needs

Posted on November 12, 2019 Written by

Churches can have up to four special offerings for missions and other causes in a year – any more than that and it begins to affect the contributions to the ministry/operating budget of the church. Here are some ways to have special offerings that won’t affect your budget offerings

  1. Announce that “On Sunday, Month Day, there will be a special offering to help our XYZ Ministry. While there is money in the budget for XYZ, we need additional monies to pay for additional supplies and events that are planned. The first $XX,000 given will go to the regular budget but all monies given over $XX,000 will go for XYZ. Thank you for your generosity for this wonderful ministry.”
  2. The $XX,000 figure needs to be whatever the treasurer feels is a regular Sunday offering – the amount that would normally come in that Sunday for basic operations.
  3. Promote that special offering for 3-4 Sundays before the date using the offering time to show slides of last year’s event, interviewing people about their experience, etc. Any money received over the threshold helps lower the budget cost of XYZ. And any special offering funds not used for XYZ this year can carry over to the next year.  Alternate what is done each year so there is variety and so these offerings don’t get old.
  4. After the event, tell people how much was raised toward this ministry. If you don’t reach that goal, tell people that, too. You may get some designated gifts for the XYZ Ministry.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
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Send Donor Statements More Frequently

Posted on November 5, 2019 Written by
Startup Stock Photos
  1. Let your donors know regularly how much they’ve given. Send contribution statements five times: the first week after each quarter ends plus an extra one the first week of December. A statement in early December reminds people of how much they’ve given (or not given) to the church so far that year and provides a reminder to make a contribution. Emailing statements is feasible with most church database systems at no or low cost.
  2. Every time you send out donor contribution statements, include a cover letter which tells 2 or 3 very short stories (tweets size) about the ministries of the church. This keeps people informed about what is going on. Also, the cover letter tells the donors who to contact the church office to correct erroneous data.
  3. For churches that mail offering envelopes to donors, send those out four times year.  Handing out or mailing offering envelopes just once a year means most people are aware of giving just once a year. Also, some people lose their packet of envelopes in a month so getting packets four times a year helps those people.
  4. Five contribution statements plus four mailings of offering envelopes = 9 times a year that members are being reminded to give.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of

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First Impressions

Posted on October 29, 2019 Written by

People who come to your church for the first time have made a serious investment of two or three hours of their time, overcoming anxiety about going to a new place, and trusting their kids to complete strangers. Churches must reciprocate by making their own efforts to make their environments welcoming and comfortable.

  1. Within a few seconds after walking through the church’s door, all guests know if this is the kind of environment where they want to stay or even return.
    1. Lobby furniture tells guests the kind of audience the church wants to attract and keep. If the furniture in the entrance is old, then it tells newcomers that the target audience for the church is older people. Think about the restaurants you go to – what atmosphere do they create at their entrance and what kind of clientele they are attracting?
    2. De-clutter the building by going through the hallways and rooms looking for things that are not needed and/or which distract people. Change the furniture, wall hangings, and anything else you have so that everything is appeals to your target audience.
    3. A good way to make all this happen is to recruit four or five 20- and 30-somethings and ask them to give serious feedback about the decor of the church.
  2. Newcomers are the people coming in your doors who are looking all around trying to figure out where to go. Greeters should be actively looking for newcomers and immediately stepping forward to talk with them.
  3. Ask newcomers for their phone number or email. If they do, then have a task force that calls them  Sunday or Monday to thank them for coming. That’s old fashioned but it works. People like a personal touch.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of

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Develop 20-25 Relationships

Posted on September 24, 2019 Written by
  1. A study of several churches showed that approximately 50% of attenders don’t give any money to their church (for a variety of reasons), 25% make gifts of 3% to 5% of their income, and 25% are generous (give more than 5%). Another study showed that about 5% of donors gave about 50% of a church’s income.
  2. Too often the generous donors are ignored by pastors who try to ensure there is no favoritism and that is understandable. However, ignoring them altogether is not acceptable.
  3. Every pastor should have a list of the top 20-25 donors to the church. Ask the finance office to provide an alphabetical list of donors (this ensures the pastor doesn’t know how they rank). Most pastors will already know that list but there may be some surprises.
  4. Once or twice a year the pastor should have coffee or a meal with each person on this list. The donors will be pleasantly surprised to get personal time with the pastor. It is critical that the visit be entirely pastoral, not a solicitation for money. Pastors need to be pastors at the meeting; just be a friend and pastor.
  5. After a few meetings, the donor may ask the pastor about giving opportunities to the church. This happens because the member and pastor got to know each other as individuals, not as donor and recipient. These donors already believe and support the church and when they know the direction of the church better, they may seek to be more generous.
  6. At a minimum, it helps the member to get some pastoral time and it helps the pastor to be more in touch with members. There is no downside to developing these relationships.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of

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Capital Investment Needs

Posted on September 17, 2019 Written by
  1. Every church needs building or program improvements that cost more than the budget can afford. Every church needs to make a list of these capital items. This list should encompass all ministry areas and range from small amounts to very large amounts. Update the list every year, make the list dynamic, and make sure every item on the list supports the vision of the church (you don’t want someone’s pet project that doesn’t have widespread buy-in).
  2. Make the list available to everyone. Spend a Wednesday night or two soliciting church input and another night sharing the results. It will help members know that the leadership wants to invest in the facilities and activities that touch everyone.
  3. Update this list every year – do not make it static. Add and remove items as the church’s priorities change. Every year, attempt to tackle two or three items on the list depending on your church’s finances.
  4. There is a chance someone will write a check for an item that appeals to them. Also, sometimes churches have more receipts than expenses at the end of a fiscal year; use those funds for items on the list. Some items are so expensive and/or extensive that funding must be done over several years. Just continue to fund the project and not quit halfway. And, as each project starts tell people what is about to start and then celebrate it when it is done.
  5. Here’s a helpful way to make your list
    1. Itemize – make a list; throw everything on the table
    2. Categorize – group them by ministry or building improvement
    3. Analyze – decide why this is a need and not just a want
    4. Monetize – guesstimate the cost, use a vendor if necessary
    5. Prioritize – rank them from most important to least
    6. Publicize – tell people and solicit their ongoing input
    7. Review-ize – update the list each year
    8. Thank you-ize – celebrate milestones and even throw a party

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of

Filed Under: budget, buildings, church administration, church finances, communications, facilities, future, generosity, strategy Tagged: , , , , , , ,
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