f I 58b Sen. B. ». Wright, Sr.. JTtj.B. Author of The Teaching of Jesus, Pulpit Manners. The Negro Problam, Encyclopaedia of African Methodism, etc. Church Financiering A Handbook of Information on Improved Methods of Conducting the Finances of a Local Church. How to Apportion, Collect and Spend Church Funds & & J* By cRev. R. R. Wright, Jr., cPht
but as the subject unfolded itself 5 decidfcds not only to use the- matter itv The Christian Recorder but in pamphlet form. The ideas are merely suggestive. Most of them have grown out of my personal experi¬ ence. The key word to success in everything is SYSTEM. We hear a great deal of begging and of hardship ^n our churches. It is not be¬ cause the people have not got the money nor because they won't give it, but be¬ cause many of those whose duty it is to get it and spend it are so unsystematic in their methods. As our people grow in intelligence they will demand SYSTEM more and more. The old spasmodic methods must give way to system. Records must be kept not only of receipts and expenditures in bulk but in detail. Also accounts with each member, as other societies, frater¬ nities keep. Believing this, I have set down in very simple form some sugges¬ tions which I believe will be helpful to those who read them. It is designed espe¬ cially for young ministers and church officers. R. R. WRIGHT, Jr. THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF CHURCH FINANCIERING The proper basis of all successful Church financiering is SPIRITUAL. By that I mean to draw a distinction be¬ tween church financiering and ordinary business financiering. In business the mo¬ tive is material gain. In the church it is spiritual welfare. A fundamental principle in business is value received. People pay for what sat¬ isfies them, whether it is five cents for a piece of candy or $2500 for a house. When they do not get satisfaction they will not pay. And the business man who does not know how to send a customer away satisfied will soon fail, it matters not whether he runs a peanut stand or a railroad. Whatever other motives people may have for going to church, the chief one is for a spiritual quickening. Men and 6 Church Financiering women yearn to understand their rela¬ tion to God, and to put themselves in the proper attitude toward the Eternal. Every day there come to the saint as well as the sinner, to the rich as well as the poor, to the learned as well as the ignorant, a sense of dependence which he wants satisfied. In our civilization the church is the place where he goes to get this spiritual quickening and satis¬ faction. When he gets this he will give. And for this spiritual satisfaction noth¬ ing is too good or too great to give. He would give $100 or $1000 or $10,000. He would not only give his money, he would give his very body. Yes, he becomes a "cheerful giver" when he is spiritually awakened, for then he verily realizes that it is "more blessed to give than to receive." But he must have spiritual satisfac¬ tion. He must come closer to God. He must see his duty to man more clearly. He must realize that the church is the instrument God is using to bring him nearer to Himself and closer to man. Church Financiering 7 Women have been known to tear off their jewels, and men to empty their pockets—all for the Gospel's sake. Yea, they have left houses and lands, relatives and friends for the Kingdom's sake. We may say, then, give the spiritual cus¬ tomer what he needs spiritually as the business man does materially, and he will pay for it without grudging and with cheerfulness. All that shall be said in these chapters on church financiering will be based on the presumption that the church is being kept spiritually alive. That the life and work of Jesus Christ are being kept con¬ stantly before the people. For without this no scheme or plan will bring proper results, while with it even a poor plan will have some good results. To finance a church, then, the first thing is not to have a rally, but a revival in the truest meaning of the word—to warm up the hearts of people, to open their understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom, to lead them to realize their duties to their fellow-men, and 8 Church Financiering their part in making the kingdoms of this world a part of the kingdom of our God. And let them know that in this plan of God to convert the world, MONEY IS NEEDED; and the obliga¬ tion to give is upon them. Why does a man give ten cents to the church and ten dollars to the opera? Be¬ cause his spiritual life on the church side is not awakened while his musical taste is. Why will a body of young men in their club vote to give $5 each for a party, and in their Sunday-school class give only 5 cents each for missions? Be¬ cause the social spirit has been awak¬ ened, but the spirit of missions has not. They probably know in a general way that the church has a missionary burden. Sometimes they do not know that; they merely know that the missionary collec¬ tion is one of the numerous collections of the church, and on missionary day they give five cents instead of the usual one cent. Awaken their spirits and they will give $5 for missions. Church Financiering 9 SYSTEMATIC GIVING VS. SPAS¬ MODIC GIVING System has won the day in everything; in knowledge, in business, in education. God works by system so that we can calculate even the position of the stars, the strata of the earth, the ebb and flow of the tide. Because God made nature systematic we have classified the flowers, the birds, the rocks and even the work¬ ings of men's minds. In business man uses system. Our towns, our states and nation make their budgets and we pay taxes to raise the money and raise bil¬ lions of dollars and hardly feel it. Why? Because it is all done systematically. Only those states and nations that have a well-worked-out revenue system are able to survive. Why not have system in church financiering? System builds up; spasms weaken and tear down. A church given to spasms in giving is hardly better than a child given to spasms. Each needs a doctor. What is systematic giving? Systematic 10 Church Financiering giving is giving based upon an accurate knowledge of the needs of the church for a specific time, and the resources at hand. It is presumed that each person will go over his resources and give ac¬ cording as the Lord has prospered him. A person ought to give one-tenth of his income to the Lord. God has given him health, strength, a good mind and a good job. He is able to earn money. It is God's money and the man is merely the steward. He should first lay aside that part of God's money which he shall give to the church, and give it. Spasmodic giving is giving without re¬ gard to needs or system. A person goes to church, and if the preacher begs hard, gives ten cents. If he calls for a second collection or begs a little more, he gets five cents more, etc. He has no idea what he is going to give before hand. Spasmodic giving is thoughtless giving, based upon nothing but one's feelings. If he feels good he will give; if he does not feel good he will nat give, regard¬ less of the need. Church Financiering H Spasmodic giving is usually based upon the wrong motives. It is to put Brother A's friends against Brother B's, or not "let the pastor down," etc., etc. On the contrary, systematic giving has two elements. It is giving a stated amount and giving at a stated time. That is busi¬ ness like. We pay rent, so much every month once per month, or taxes so much once a year. We get wages, a stated amount by the week or month, or we pay insurance by week, month, quarter, half year or year; and so we should pay a stated amount at a stated period. The stated amount should be as the Lord has prospered. Each person know¬ ing his or her circumstances, should pledge himself to give so much of that to the Lord, through the church. This is for every one to decide. The church, of course, might levy an assessment or tax, or charge pew rent, but the voluntary pledge appears to be the best. The stated time may be weekly or monthly. As a rule, most of the people get their wages weekly, and it is best 12 Church Financiering to accommodate their payment to the church to the time of receiving their own pay envelope. THE CHURCH BUDGET In working out a system, one of the first things to do is to make a budget. This can be done best for a year at the time or a shorter period. First ask: "How much do we need for the year?" Next: "Where are we to get it?" And, "How are we to get it?" In answering the question "How much do we need?" we should put down the different pur¬ poses for which we need money. Put down every thing; leave nothing out that is actually needed. The following is a sample budget: Budget of Bethel A. M. E. Church Fla. Rev Pastor For the Year 1919-19 Trustees Interest on Mortgage of $3,000, at 6%, due: May 31, 1918 $ 90.00 Nov. 30, 1918 90.00 Church Financiering 13 To be paid on principal Jan. 1, 1919 500.00 Note in bank, Aug.1,1918. 150.00 Light and fuel 100.00 Taxes and insurance 50.00 Repairs and emergencies 50.00 Choir 100.00 Sexton 120.00 Total $1,250.00—$1,250.00 Stewards Pastor's Salary $1,200.00 Presiding Elder 100.00 Charitable purposes 200.00 Parsonage furniture 50.00 Pastor's Fund 100.00 Incidentals 50.00 Books for Library 75.00 Connectional Dollar Money $ 400.00 Mission Money 100.00 Children's Day 50.00 Education 100.00 Miscellaneous 100.00 Total $2,525.00—$2,525.00 Grand Total $3,775.00. RESOURCES OF THE CHURCH After putting down every thing (it may be in more detail than above), fig¬ ure out the resources. You find you have 14 Churcn Financiering 400 members. That would give you 400 persons to divide the responsibility of $3775.00 between, that is an average of $9.44 per person per year or 18 cents per member per Sunday. Now will come the financial skill of those who manage. Eighteen cents per person per Sunday may be too much, as there may be some families with seven persons, a father mother and five chil¬ dren, all supported by the father, who would have to pay $1.26 per Sunday. This should be no hardship to a man earning $15 per week, but it would be unwise to suggest it at first in a congre¬ gation not used to tithing. And it would be unjust to require a family of five children and two adults to pay $1.26 while another family of five persons, all working and earning probably $50 per week, pays only 90 cents per week. So the thing to do is to analyze the mem¬ bership. This will require that the name and address of each member be obtained, where he works, his or her wages, his family, and other information which will Church Financiering 15 give an idea as to his financial condition. Suppose this results as follows: Analysis of Membership. Men making from $6 to $25 per week t 121 Men not able to work 5 ... Women at home 103 ... Women working for $3 to $10 per week 157 Children 34 ... 142 278 We find 142 persons, or more than one-third belonging to the church who do not work for wages, while there are 278 who work, and upon whom the $3775 must fall, the average being $13.59 per year or 26 cents per week for the working members. But there is another resource—the regular attendant who is not a member. Many of these are willing to bear their part of the burden. If there are 22 of these, the number of supporters of the church who can be depended upon will be brought to 300, which would bring the average amount down to $12.58 per year or less than 25 cents per week. Then 16 Church Financiering those who earn the smaller amounts could be expected to pay from 15 to 25 cents per Sunday, and those earning the larger amount from 25 to 40 cents per week. Another resource is the casual visitor who cannot, however, be counted upon every week, but whose contributions will amount to a large sum during the year. Another method of assessing the mem¬ bership is not by individuals, as above indicated, but by families, asking each family to give what it can. I may say, however, that such is the tendency to¬ day that the family method is not likely to succeed as well as the individual method. FINANCE COMMITTEE Every church should have a finance committee of five or seven persons— good business men, known for their in¬ tegrity and church loyalty, the pastor be¬ ing chairman. These may be three stew¬ ards and three trustees and the pastor, Church Financiering 17 or they may be six other persons and the pastor. This committee makes the budget which has been described. After this bud¬ get has been carefully thought out and approved by the officials of the church, it may,then be brought before the church conference. It must be explained that an average of 25 cents per week or what¬ ever the amount the committee finds necessary will be required of every per¬ son, and all asked to subscribe according to their ability. After careful considera¬ tion the plan should be adopted and sub¬ scriptions secured. The plan should be explained on one or two Sundays. If possible a printed statement should be given out. Getting Subscriptions. Then comes the work of getting sub¬ scriptions. A card like the following should be given to each member and friend, and they should be asked to turn in this card as early as possible after having written in it the amount they will contribute each week. 18 Church Financicring PLEDGE CARD Mt. Zion A. M. E. Church Savannah, Ga. REV. J. D. CARTER, Pastor January 1, 1918. . , , , I pledge myself to $3,775 is needrd (o . 1 b J , carry on tiiis church give Cents each for (he year 1918 19j9, Sunday for the sup- or $7^.60 per week. port of the above named church, beginning Sunday, , 1918. Signed Address Member Class No Impress upon each individual the sac- redness of his pledge. Urge him to pledge all he can but not more than he is will¬ ing to pay. Each pledge should be a mat¬ ter of prayer. Should all not send in their pledges on the day appointed, the class leaders should here give the names of those who are delinquent, so that they may look them up, and the pastor should read the whole list from the pulpit. Should the total amount subscribed be enough to meet the budget care should be taken to see that each person pays. Church Financiering 19 If it is not enough some who are able to do so might be asked to increase their pledge. When every one knows the purposes for which this money is being collected and knows that the payment of the debt depends upon each person not only as¬ suming his obligation but paying the same, it will be found that collections will be with reasonable ease. APPORTIONING THE FUNDS By the sample budget which I have made we see that $1250 will go to the trustees and $2525 to the stewards. That is, out of every dollar the stewards are to get 67 cents and the trustees 33 cents. Of the stewards 67 cents, 20 cents go to connectional claims. This system causes every department of the church to become interested in every dollar. There is no such thing as trustees' money and stewards' money, or trustees' day or stewards' day. It is all church money, and every day is the 20 Church Financiering church day. There is no chance to slight the presiding elder or missionary depart¬ ment or dollar money without slighting everything. The General Days are not done away with. The church guarantees to raise $100 for missions and $100 for education, rain or shine. When Easter day comes the pastor might well ask for an increase for that day, and give a larger collection to this cause than the budget called for. But better still, having trained his con¬ gregation to give he can devote the day to the spiritual needs of the people rather than making it a mere rally day. Chil¬ dren's Day can be devoted to the prob¬ lems of the children; Education Day to the cause of education; Easter Day to the great lessons of the resurrection, etc. And in the end the people will be in¬ structed and inspired, and they will give even more for they will understand the cause better. We cannot explain too carefully the purposes for which the money is being collected. Many persons do not be- Ch arch Fin anciering 21 lieve in taking the congregation into the finance committee's confidence, but I do. You can never tell the people too much about where their money goes. For it is to be presumed that the people want the church to have it since they give it. Most of them do not care, but they should be taught to care and they will increase their contribution as their interest grows. Of course there will be troublesome persons always who want to retard things. They feed on secrecy. The best way to stop them is to take the people into your confidence. Tell them what you propose to do with the money and they are satisfied. COLLECTING THE FUNDS Having made the budget and gotten the pledges, the next thing is to get the money, and to keep accurate account of it. There are several ways of collecting but the best of these is the envelope sys- tem. The Envelope System. The most convenient method of col- 22 Church Financiering lecting the money is by the envelope sys¬ tem. By this method each member and friend is furnished an envelope with a number to correspond with the number of the name on the secretary's record. In these envelopes the weekly offering is placed. The name and amount should be written thereon, but if they are not the number serves to identify the party, and the amount can be kept straight by care¬ fully opening the envelopes. Sample of Envelopes. WEEKLY OFFERING A. M. E. Church, , Fla. Rev , Pastor. $72.60 needed each week for the support of the church Name Address Amount pledged Pledge No Amount enclosed Class No "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver." Beside these envelopes, printed espe¬ cially for members and friends who made Church Financiering 23 pledges, there should be a liberal num¬ ber of envelopes without number for the use of visitors who would like to con¬ tribute, or for persons who lose their en¬ velopes. The envelopes may be collected by be¬ ing brought to the table, or by being de¬ posited in plates of baskets that are passed by the usher. The latter is more desirable. Persons absent should be urged to deposit two envelopes or one for each absence at the next attendance. Thirteen of these envelopes are given to each subscriber at the end of each quarter. The secretary of the committee writes the name and pledge number (each person is known on the books by his pledge number), also his class number and the amount pledged. All the person does is to write the amount he has placed m the envelope. If they miss two payments, the finance committee should turn their names over to their class leaders, who should visit them and get their contributions. Jf this is followed vigorously, each mem- Church Financiering ber will look forward to paying his pledge each week, and even when pre¬ vented from paying his pledge in per¬ son at church, will send it. Though there may be much hardship in starting this system, yet once started it will prove to be worth all that is cost. More re¬ sponsibility should be put upon the class leaders, who should keep in close touch with every member. RECORDING THE FUNDS The absolute essential of system is a record. Record books are sometimes costly, but they are worth many more times their cost. No system can suc¬ ceed without proper records. Many churches do not keep records. One pastor leaves and there is no rec¬ ord, and on this account thousands of dollars' worth of bills are paid twice, and sometimes three times. Many a good man has been branded dishonest, not because he was dishonest, but be¬ cause he failed to keep a record of his Church Financiering 25 money matters. Many people will not give to the church because, as they claim, the church is so unsystematic. It cannot tell exactly whom it owes; where the money goes and for what, and to whom. Every penny is not always ac¬ counted for in the record. And thou¬ sands upon thousands of dollars are lost because of lack of records. So to work this system it is absolutely necessary to have a record of every member, and of every pledge, every cent received, and every cent paid. There should be a record of every member—name, address, occupation, pledge, and thirteen spaces showin ' at he paid each Sunday in the quarter "Hiis may be arranged in two ways, e..1- r alphabetically or by classes. The latter is best, as the class leaders must keep in close touch with the finance commit¬ tee, and look after all delinquents. The secretary ought to be able to tell at a glance who has paid, and who has not paid. And his record must be ac¬ curate, so as to admit of no dispute, for 26 Church Financiering disputes bring about disorder and may cause complete failure. A careless or incompetent secretary will work much harm. It is better to pay a competent man if necessary than to accept a care¬ less or incompetent one. Speaking of records we recommend the following: 1. Pastor's Record—Every pastor should have his private record, giving his engagements, collections, marriages, funerals, names of officers, sick, business firms, and such matter that he needs at hand. A pastor's pocket manual can be purchased from our Book Concern for 50 cents. It is worth to a busy pastor $50; and often has saved a man over $50. 2. Class Book—Every leader should have a class book, with names and ad¬ dresses of his members, and space for attendance at class. The class leader ought to keep track of the residence of the members. So many of them move often, that; this task alone is a big one. And no financial system can succeed un- Church Financiering 27 less the members can be reached. Hence the class leader's book is of utmost im¬ portance. He can also keep the contri¬ butions of his members. These books cost only 15 cents, hard back, and 25 cents; cloth bound. 3. Church Records of members' pay¬ ments, a sort of a financial day book and ledger cpmbined is the key to the success of this financial systerq. This book has the names and addresses of the members, the amount of their pledges, the amount paid ea.ch week, summed up each quarter. 4. A Quarterly Conference Record— arranged according to the A. M.E. Church discipline, should be in every church. These records are so arranged to last for five years. To the historian they are most valuable. They cost $1.75 to $2.50. They are required by law. But law or no law, no church can afford to be without the Quarterly Conference Record. 5. Other records are Stewards, Trus¬ tees, Official Board, Sunday School, 28 Church Financiering Christian Endeavor, Missionary Society, etc. All are important. PUBLICITY It is claimed by those who uphold the table collection, that it will succeed be¬ cause of the publicity: when a person goes up to the table everybody sees him and knows he gives. Those who do not go up, people know have not given. Fur¬ thermore, the pastor and officers, look¬ ing upon the table can tell exactly what each one <;'ives. But if that is a motive this system is far more effective. The amount that each one gives is record¬ ed each week. At the end of the month, each delinquent should be sent a card somewhat as follows: CARD TO DELINQUENTS My dear Brother (or Sister) : You pledged yourself and us to give to¬ ward the support of our church cents per week. I find that you are now in arrears cents. As we desire to meet our bills promptly, and cannot dw jo unless all pay their pledges prompt- Church Financiering 29 ly, I will thank you on behalf of the church, if you will send us in your en¬ velopes up to date by next Sunday. Yours for the cause, , Pastor. , Secretary. At the end of each quarter a complete statement of what each person has paid in should be published, and also a state¬ ment of the expenditures. For a church which handles $500 per quarter this should be printed and dis¬ tributed to each member. For a smaller church, a chart can be made and hung in the vestibule, where every one can read it. When the members know this is going to be done, the delinquents will hurry up to pay. Therefore about two weeks before the quarter ends a letter like the following should be addressed to each delinquent: CARD TO DELINQUENTS, NO. 2 My dear Friend: You subscribed cents per week for the expenses of our church, or $ per quarter. I find that you have paid $ and there is still due $ We 30 Church Financiering will publish our quarterly report next week, and as we are publishing jyst what every person has pledged and what each has paid, we would like to have you send us that balance so that we might publish you as paid in full. I shall therefore look to hear from you next Sunday. Yours in Christ, Pastor. Secretary. This letter will bring most of the de¬ linquents up to their pledge or as near as they can. Meanwhile a list of de¬ linquents is turned over to the class leader, who visits the member and en¬ deavors to make collection. Then the bulletin is published, and everybody knows who gave and how much and where it has gone. Of course, no one wants to see beside his name that he pledged $3.00 per quarter, and gave only 80 cents. He will make a sacrifice to bring it up to $3.00, or as near $3.00 as possible, before publication. Every cent we spend in publicity is money well spent. The printing of a quarterly bulletin may cost from $5.00 to $25.00, but it is worth far more; for Church Financiering 31 many people will give when they know their names will be published. The Finance Committee and class lead¬ ers ought to keep in very close touch, and it would be well to publish collec¬ tions by classes. The friendly rivalry thereby established will do far more good than harm. Each class leader will be anxious to collect the full amount of his pledges. EDUCATING THE CONGREGATION No system, however excellent in con¬ ception, will work of itself. Especially is this true of a new system. The peo¬ ple need to be constantly told their duty. The system needs explanation, and the whole business of the church put on 3, business basis. The more successful it is, the more money can be secured. The people need to be educated that the church is a community necessity, and everybody should help in its support, as much as they should the public schools. The church which promotes the salva- 32 Ch urch t inancicring tion of souls is the greatest institution of the world. It should demonstrate its worth to the community just as the school or the jail does. And when peo¬ ple realize not only theoretically but ac¬ tually that it is a necessity, they will be whole hearted in their support. The church should never beg. Some twenty years ago President William Rainey Harper of the University of Chi¬ cago, astonished the world by getting large sums of money from rich men, with which to build a great university. He would announce a gift of a quarter million dollars in a matter of fact sort of way, and talked about millions as most men did about thousands. One day some one referred to him as one of the best beggars in the country. He re¬ sented it. He said he was no beggar; that he never begged a cent from any one in his life; that though he had got¬ ten nearly ten millions of dollars from John D. Rockefeller, and expected to get more, he had never begged Mr. Rockefeller for a single dollar. On the Church Financiering 33 contrary, he said he assumed that Mr. Rockefeller and other good business men had no money to throw away, and wanted to invest their money where it would bring the largest dividends. He said, "I show them that money invested in an educational institution brings large dividends. Indeed to use his money in this way is to make the best kind of investment." Dr. Harper showed men their civic duty; he awakened their en¬ thusiasm for education; and thus he got their money. Men were glad to give him. So with the church. The begging minister is to be pitied, or rather is to be taught the dignity of his calling, and how to show people that they must give the church some of God's money. And if God has prospered them they should give more of it. SPENDING THE FUNDS It is quite as necessary to know how to spend money as it is to know how to make or collect it. The man who can 34 Church Financiering spend judiciously will be trusted with much to spend. But very few people know how to spend their own money, and still fewer know how to spend other people's money. Earning or collecting money is far easier than spending, though most people do not think so. The first thing is, as we have said, a budget in which every item of expendi¬ ture is clearly set down. To make this budget requires thought, analysis of every expense as well as of the resources, and foresight. From year to year it can be seen how expenses decrease or in¬ crease. The envelopes should be opened in the presence of the whole finance commit¬ tee, and counted by them and entered on the book at the same time by the secretary. Envelopes should be kept till quarterly bulletin is printed. Weekly announcements from the pulpit should be made of the week's collection. The secretary should check up each envelope to see that his record is correct. All money should be put in a bank and Church Financiering 35 all bills paid by check. All bills should be properly made out, and payments made once per month where possible. A bank account will give the church business standing, and enable the church to get credit when needed. Prompt pay¬ ments will be certain to give the church a good name. Vouchers should be kept for every cent spent, and these recorded in the secretary's book. Money for trustees' purposes would be paid out only on their orders, and for stewards' purposes on the stewards' order. Sample of Voucher Check Front No ' FT777TTT3 Jacksonville, Fla., 1918. The First National Bank Pay to the order of the sum of Dollars For BETHEL A. M. E. CHURCH Pastor. [Seal} '6 Church Financiering Back—For endorsement and receipt W v C/3 U. u o *0,1: c o tfi H "s u.2 • £ g?sa^ U C pH «4- rt rd . r *£< V OU >fe No bills should be paid unless thoroughly understood by all. The habit of passing money out promiscuously is thoroughly bad and will work harm. Better still, make no bills without most careful consideration. Many thousands of dollars are annually lost because some churches are so hasty in making bills. We should all remember that a contract can be made in ten minutes that will burden people for thirty years. It is easy to make a debt, but often hard to pay it. So do not make them. By the budget system you can often get your money before you spend it. If the church is to be painted next fall, Church Financiering 37 why wait till September to get the mon¬ ey, or why wait till the painting is over and then have to pay more for it? Would it not be better to put the prospective painting in the budget. Say $350 is need¬ ed. That means so much is laid aside for painting. When you get ready to paint, and tell your contractor you have cash, the chances are you can get for $350 cash a job which would cost your neighbor $500 to get by the usual meth¬ od. For it is~often said among contrac¬ tors that churches are slow pay and must be overcharged. Many a church therefore costs $20,000 that is not worth $10,000. Many a man boasts of the great church he has put up, which is merely a monument to his incompetence. He paid $5,000 or $10,000 too much be¬ cause of his loose method of financing. Money should be spent only for ne¬ cessities. Church money should never be squandered. It is too sacred. The motto of each church should be pay as you go. Of course, in building- operations, this is not possible, except 38 Church Financiering in rare cases; but it is always possible for current expenses. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Rallies It may be at the end of the year all the pledges have not been paid, and that a deficit exists. Or it may be that a large debt exists and while all the cur¬ rent expenses are met, it is desirable to pay off the whole or a large part of the principal debt. Or it may be that a special emergency arises, when a rally becomes necessary. A rally is a concen¬ tration of all forces at a given time upon one particular object. And human na¬ ture seems to be so constituted, that an occasional rally is necessary. A rally has a spiritual as well as a financial signifi¬ cance, and the spiritual side is the more important of the two. It is well occa¬ sionally to concentrate upon the big things of life, such as education, mis¬ sions, church attendance, giving to the Church Financiering 39 Lord's work, etc. With every rally is a big opportunity to educate those who are aroused to give, in the purposes of the church, and the method of its fin¬ ancing. From the financial side a rally is always about the same. Its purpose is twofold: (1) to raise in a short time a larger amount than the usual offering, and (2) to extend the opportunity of giving to a larger number than usually contribute by making a special effort to get others interested in the financial side of the church. The method of organization is usually the same: the pastor or finance commit¬ tee being the central source of authority and activity, and groups for canvassing being organized under it. In a small church a rally may be held by the sim¬ ple organization which the church al- read}^ has. Say if $500 is needed, an apportionment is made between stew¬ ards, trustees, and each class. The Christian Endeavor and Sunday school should bear their part. If there are ten classes, that would make fourteen 40 Church Financiering groups, and an average of about $35 for each group. Each group puts so much of its share (which should be from $25 to $50, according to the group) upon each individual. These individuals would then take up the whole church membership. These individual members (and friends) then take the cause to their friends, and if each will do his and her part the money is easily raised. At an appoint¬ ed time special services are held and all the groups report. Sometimes it is well to have read the names of all contribu¬ tors. In a large church these should be printed. Concerts and Entertainments—On the social side the church must serve and it is often called upon to give concerts and other entertainments. These should always be uplifting and should be better than the average commercialized enter¬ tainment, and should also be self-sus¬ taining. In many cases, however, these concerts are used to raise funds for the rally, and if a standard is maintained, and the price is not unusual there is but Church Financiering 41 little legitimate objection. But lotteries, minstrels, dancing, and other forms of entertainment not in accord with the church's spiritual professions should not be countenanced. Bazaars, Carnivals, Pageants, not only have a financial value, but a spiritual value as well, and properly supervised are admissible as contributing to the social as well as the financial welfare. Picnics and excursions should be handled with care, as well as camp meet¬ ings. I will not condemn them without qualification. They have been greatly abused. In many cases they have done the church more harm than good, and the money gotten thereby is "tainted money," the devil's money brought by the devil for the devil's purposes. Still if properly supervised (though this is very seldom) they may serve a good purpose. The whole question of entertainment is so important that I am reserving its fullest discussion for another series of papers under Social Service rather than Finance. 42 Church Financiering APPENDIX RALLIES Coming back to the rally, we have merely to give some suggestions as to organization,. though the main outlines are preserved in nearly all. But people like novelty and change, and where these can be given without hurting the church, they should by all means be given. The best time for the rally is when the people are making most money. If it is in a farming region that is in the fall or late summer; in a manufactur¬ ing region in spring; in a summer re¬ sort in the summer, etc. Catch-up Rally —This is an individual church rally, set at the time most peo¬ ple are making most money. Its pur¬ pose is to have every person make up his delinquency. Those who have paid all can help those who are behind. This can be best handled by finance commit¬ tee and class leaders. Since each person Church Financiering 43 has obligated himself, it will not be dif¬ ficult in this sort of rally to make up the deficit. For this rally, the secretary furnishes each delinquent member a large envelope upon which is stated the amount he or she is due, and must bring on rally day; also the amount that would be due at the end of the year. Candle Rally— This is beautiful and effective. An assessment is made on each member, say $1 or $2, or more or less, according to the amount to be raised. The date is set. On the night of the rally, the church is decorated in white, and on a large table or platform are placed individual candle sticks, each holding a candle bearing the name or number of each individual member and contributing friend of the church. The regular lights of the church are lowered, and the service is held in candle light. (This should be very impressive.) An exercise in which children take part can be had, or a sermon, from some such text as "Let your light so shine," etc. After these exercises two young women 44 Church Financiering dressed as angels march to music be¬ fore the table or platform bearing the lighted candles. One of these angels is robed in white and is the Angel of Light, the other in bjack, and is known as the Angel of Darkness. A song is sung, and the secretary calls the roll. As each person comes forward and places his as¬ sessment on the table the Angel of Light hands him a lighted candle with the words "Let your light so shine." Those who do not give their full assessment have their lights blown out by the Angel of Darkness. At the close an oppor¬ tunity is given those who did not make up their assessment to do so, or their friends may do so, and they then re¬ ceive their lighted candles. Of course in a large church it would be impracticable to have a candle for each individual, but candles could be provided for small groups or clubs. Pew Rally—This is an attendance rally as well as a financial rally. Each pew or row of seats is assigned to one or more persons, and he or she is requested to Church Financiering 45 invite friends to fill this pew on Pew Rally Sunday. This will assure a good attendance. An invitation like the fol¬ lowing can be sent: BETHEL A. M. E. CHURCH Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 1, 1918. My dear Friend: Pew 5 Sunday, January , is our Pew Rally Sunday, and we are trying to pack our church at all services. My duty is to fill up Pew No. 5, and I invite you to occupy a seat with me at services that day. We are going to raise funds for our second mortgage, which amounts to $900 and you must help us, as God has helped you. Don't fail to come. Please let me know that you will. Yours in Christ, Present this card to the usher and he will show you our Pew No. 5. Each person will explain to his guest the financial purpose. When the time comes for the offering, each person who is in charge of a pew, and who must sit on the end of the pew next to the aisle, is given a large envel¬ ope and proceeds to take up the envel¬ opes of those in his pew, and put the 46 Church Financiering total on his or her large envelope. Then the secretary calls the pews No. 1, No. 2, etc., and the host in each pew an¬ swers with the amount collected, until every pew is head from. A "chautauqua salute" is given for the person bringing in the largest number of persons, and the one bringing the largest amount of money. Pew Rally Envelope PEW RALLY A. M. E. Church Date of Rally Name Amount Pew No Purpose of Funds Amount needed $ "The Lord Ioveth a cheerful giver." In a very large church with good at¬ tendance, the Pew Rally may not be necessary for attendance, but it always effective for finance. Women's and Men's Days—The church is divided by sex, and the women hold a Women's Day Rally. Leaders among Church Financiering 47 the women are given clubs, such as al¬ ready exist in the church, or are named anew after celebrated women in the Bible or church history. The amount of money is assessed, the purpose stated and date set. On that day all the exer¬ cises may be by women, or as they se¬ lect. Clubs are called and report. The Men's Day Rally is conducted in the same way. Sometimes it is well to have some distinguished man to speakj An afternoon service may be given to men only, as on the women's day such a service may be given women only. Final reports are made at night. If advisable, all men's clubs in the city or town, social, fraternal, secret societies, etc., should be invited to come in regalia and occupy a section set apart for them. Where the exercises are of a general character this can be easily done. The rivalry which always exists between the sexes will stimulate the collection. Baby Rally—In connection with the Sunday school, which should have a Cradle Roll, this rally can be had. All 48 Church Financiering the children of the church under three or four years of age may enter. They are enrolled and given an envelope with the assessment written thereon. The exercises will be by children, and also a serious talk about young children by a competent person. The secretary calls the roll of the babies, who bring their offering, sometimes in their mother's arms. Tribe Rally—The church is divided as was Israel, into twelve tribes. Each leader is to report a certain amount, and organizes the members and friends for that purpose. At the appointed time the tribes are called to report in order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan Naph- tali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulum, Jo¬ seph and Benjamin. The same principle is used in the Bishops' Rally, when the clubs take names of Bishops instead of tribes. Also the Rally of the Nations, and States' Rally, and many other titles for the kind of organization. Queens' Rally—Six or more popular Church Financiering 49 women of the church are selected as queens and given dominion over a coun¬ try such as India, Italy, Abyssinia, Jap¬ an, England, Spain, etc. Each queen selects her king, and her court of maids of honor, each of whom has a noble gentleman attendant. If they care they can dress in the garb of the country they represent, and display some of the customs of that country. The queen who brings in the largest amount is crowned queen of queens. This makes a splendid entertainment for week nights. Tag Day is a day set apart for collect¬ ing money for a particular purpose from •every one who will accept a tag. The congregation has the purpose and meth¬ od carefully explained to it. The com¬ mittee or pastor appoints a number of young people to take tags. On a given day they station themselves at given points and they ask persons to "take a tag" or "buy a tag" from them. The person may give a stated amount, say five or ten cents, or any amount. Then the tag is pinned on him, or tied to a 50 Church Financiering button on his coat. At the end of the day or whatever time is allotted the tag captains bring their money to the com¬ mittee. Tags may be gotten from our Book Concern at 40 cents per 100, or cheaper in larger lots. Mock Conference—This form of rally, held best in the week, is modeled after the annual conference (sometimes the general conference) and can be made of great value to all who take part in show¬ ing them the real genius of our church. Of course some have greatly abused the mock conference. One person, a man or a woman, is ap¬ pointed Bishop, and selects a cabinet of Presiding Elders, so as to give each presiding elder twelve charges, though some may not have twelve—they are the mission presiding elders. Each pre¬ siding elder gets twelve charges under him—some have six. These pastors are given blanks to fill out just as at con¬ ference. After the exercises the reports start exactly almost as in a real annual conference. Officers are elected, etc., re¬ ports called by presiding elders. K1 Dollar Money (10c.)—o o o o o o o o o o o o <> o <> o «< o o o i •>< u >1 0 * « e o il >iO I. The Friendship Mock Conference FIRST SESSION IN BETHEL A. M. E. CHURCH Monday, April 23 to Monday, April 30, 1917 O © ?. c a oo 0 <6 0 ^ a 0 h To the Christian Public: Please help the Bearer 0 S o* 0 ^ ■S o $ to raise money for benefit of the church, Please give liberally REV PJISTOR °p ' Pastor's Support(10c.)—o o o o <> o o o o o o o <> o o o o o o o Jt The above specimen has proven ?.n excellent help in collecting funds in connection with Mock Conferences. Churches may either use it as a punch card or envelope. 2 Church Financiering Envelope For Coal Rally Bethel A.M. E.Church COAL, RALLY We are doing a great work. Will you help us? Punch a hole and give the church t a lump of coal 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5555555555 5555555555 Keep God's Church Warm Its a public comfort to everybody in cold weather. "EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS" To be returned , Pastor. Secretary. Church Financiering 53 Rallies sometimes take the name of their purpose such as Educational Rally, Coal Rally, Carpet Rally. Gleanings—There are always those who do not report in full the day of the rally, for one cause or another. While delinquency in this regard is to be strict¬ ly discouraged, yet sometimes it cannot be helped, and an opportunity given the delinquents to report, and others to in¬ crease. LECTURES ON FINANCING Every pastor should give lectures from time to time which should throw light upon the general financial policy of the church. Hence these few notes. Dollar Money—Members are asked every year for Dollar Money. Many of them do not know what it is. Many think it all goes to the Bishop. They should be taught its purposes. They should be told that the Dollar which every African Methodist gives is pos¬ sibly the most useful dollar he gives to any purpose. 54 Church, Financiering- Cbjft&Qn'f .pay. Money, is use4 for three purposes (§e$ the Discipline, pa^e: 377) :. half of it goes to the home work of the conference, one-fourth to tfye Church Extension Society, and one-fpurth to the Sunday School Union.' Enlarge on the home work, also that of Church. Ext.en- sipn and, Sunday Sqhool.s. Missionary Mpjvey: is collected cfr.i