by Mike Hicks | Oct 17, 2018 | Direction, Planning
The last two months of the year are critical for most churches in the area of generosity. Many people wait to the end of the year to make a decision about giving financially to the church. And many more are moved to give to all kinds of causes because of the feelings...
by Mike Hicks | Sep 26, 2018 | Planning
If your church income is above your budget needs as of August 31. If you have increased your budget every year in order to keep up with inflation. Your budget in 2018 needs to have grown at least 17% above your 2008 budget just to keep up with inflation. If you have...
by Mike Hicks | Sep 19, 2018 | Planning
I recently received an email from umcgiving.org featuring a pastor/leadership download kit. The kit contains worship resources, eBooks, social images and videos all under the theme, “Together, We Do More.” The material is good and at no cost to you. The worship...
by Mike Hicks | Sep 5, 2018 | Direction, Planning
Lovett Weems, a senior consultant at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, shared some good questions in a recent post from the Lewis Center. I thought they would be helpful as churches begin to craft budgets for the coming year. The first question is what...
by Mike Hicks | Jul 25, 2018 | Direction, Planning
Bernice Napach, a senior writer at ThinkAdvisor, recently wrote about “How Seniors and Their Adult Children Can Prevent Elder Financial Abuse.” She writes that it is estimated that one in five seniors are a victim of financial abuse of about $37 billion a year. ...
by Mike Hicks | Jul 4, 2018 | Planning
It is great to have an opportunity to celebrate the best that the United States offers to its citizens and to the world. This year, we pause mid-week for the celebration, which in a way is a mid-year pause as well. Six months of 2018 have come and gone. This a great...
