Business Methods Resources
These resources are designed to support church leaders with best practices for stewardship of the assets entrusted to us for carrying out our mission, including those defined in the Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs. Ensuring that best practices are followed protects our parishes and all involved and is an integral part of Becoming Good Soil.
Accounting and Financial Controls
Today, church leaders wear many different hats since the job requires a myriad of responsibilities and duties that have an ever-widening scope. But one of the most important duties of a church leader is to protect the assets of a church. This section helps you with creating a strong internal control and audit process to protect those assets. Much of this material will allow you to set policies that prevent or identify deliberate misuse of funds, prevent or identify inadvertent errors, and make sure that the church's accounting policies abides by civil laws, church cannons, and organizational policies.
Helpful resources
- Episcopal Church Manual of Business Affairs
- Church Law and Tax (Accounting resources from Christianity Today)
- Diocese of Massachusetts Financial Policies, Procedures, and Controls for a Parish
Risk Management
As with any organization, our parishes are subject to varying degrees of risk - financial, risks associated with our buildings, inappropriate actions by individuals, natural disasters, and others. A regular review of risks by parish vestries, risk mapping, and an effective risk management strategy can avoid or mitigate the potential consequences of different risks. Materials in this section outline considerations in developing a strategy for protecting a parish against unanticipated internal or external exposures.
Human Resources
Bringing Christ to the world is a mission of the Church. Much of this happens through the work of the
people, both clergy and lay, staff and volunteers, in our parishes. This section helps you structure your
practices with people to engage them fruitfully and ensure they are treated respectfully. Failure to do so
can create internal conflict, costly turnover and legal action.
Helpful resources
- Church Pension Group
- Vital Practices, a publication of the Episcopal Church Foundation
- Susan Beaumont Consulting
- Christianity Today, What We Do , Resources for Churches
- Dept. of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act Page
- IRS Employer vs Independent Contractor
Information Technology
Technology is a critical component of business operations. Resources and workshops are available to provide information on the components and sound practices for a healthy technical infrastructure. Of key consideration are the tools and practices to best protect and secure technology systems.
Online Resources
- Technology initiatives and support
- TechSoup non-profit purchasing program
- G Suite for Non-Profits
- ACS Realm membership system