I ended the last post by asking, “Are these definitions sufficient?”  Obviously the answer is no because that would be the end of this blog series!  Keep in mind that the three definitions posted were all written by accountants…  As a result, the main flaw with these definitions is that they appear to be about only CONTROLS & CONSTRAINT.  There is much more to a church budget than these two aspects, contrary to what many finance committee members might think… 

These definitions are missing three key words.  See if you can spot them in these additional definitions:

• A strategic budget guides the church in allotting and spending its money in congruence with its deep, defining core values to accomplish a specific, biblical mission and a clear, compelling vision.  It focuses on where God is taking the Church.”  (Malphurs & Stroope; Money Matters in Church)

• “A church budget is simply the vision of the church for the next twelve months expressed in dollars, rather than words.” (Me)

I hope you spotted the same ones I did: mission and vision.  A budget concerned only with controlling things and not including the vision and mission of the church, is not adequate.