Our busy season is winding down. Although many churches have changed their year-ends from December 31st, the vast majority are still locked into the calendar year. This results in a “crunch time” from March 15th to April 30th around PSK.
During the course of this heavy load of engagements our auditors are asked many questions by our church clients. Interestingly, most of the questions have little to do with auditing or accounting rules but instead are concerned with basic issues that church business administrators face on a day-to-day basis.
Rather than let our answers help only the ones who asked them, we have decided to share this information with our blog readers. Over the next few weeks we will discuss a variety of issues from accounting processes to IRS compliance issues. Hopefully, this will prove helpful.
But, if our answers only raise more questions (which is typical for CPAs) feel free to post a question on the blog or email me at verne.hargrave@pskcpa.com
So you captured God's vision and executed your ministry plans, but now you feel like the chasing dog that caught the car! Lots of new believers, but now dealing with inadequate facilities…small group leaders a little crisp around the edges…budget constraints…
Is your vision getting cloudy? We know a solution.
Through the leadership of Partners in Church Consulting, PSK (a proud member of the PCC Network) is excited to announce the unveiling of the PCC Coaching Network. You can have access to Pastor Coaching from some of the nation's most innovative ministry leaders.
Check out the roster of coaches today: pcccoachingnetwork.com
You need more than faith in God to keep you and your people safe from attacks in your facilities!!
Recently, several high-profile incidents have raised awareness of the threat posed by individuals against churches, schools, and similar organizations. Dr. George Tiller, a controversial physician in Kansas, was shot to death in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita. James von Brunn attacked the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC; he had a list of other potential targets in his vehicle, including the National Cathedral. The man who attacked a military recruiting center in Little Rock also conducted ongoing surceillance on a Baptist church in Atlanta. And although it's been ten years since the horrific catastrophe, our own client, Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, lost seven members when a lone gunman opened fire in the church sanctuary.
For help in security issues, I immediately think of our friends at Gatekeepers Security Services, www.gatekeeperssecurity.com. Chuck Chadwick and Matt Gilstrap stress that it's much more than alarms and locks. Many churches utilize off-duty police officers or other hired security personnel. Even more, though, there needs to be an overall awareness by the entire congregation that's proactive. Effective security takes ongoing training, and so much more.
Contact Gatekeepers for help and insight in this area. And contact PSK with questions about the business of running your church.
Our clients keep us on our toes! Because we encourage them to call us when they have a problem and we generally don’t charge for phone calls, we get a steady stream of questions posed to us by our clients and friends.
Most of the questions are quite routine, dealing with things common to all churches: whether or not a particular employee qualifies for a housing allowance or if a designated gift should be treated as a deductible contribution. But occasionally something new comes along.
PSK hosts a monthly breakfast for church business administrators where in addition to a delicious meal the attendees are treated to a discussion of a topic relevant to church business administration. In May our breakfast was billed, “Know Before You Go” and we discussed things that must be considered when planning a short term mission trip. For example what do you do if a member asks for contribution credit for paying for a specific individual to go on the trip? We also covered trip organization (passports, visas, shots etc.), paymaster responsibility and record keeping and insurance.
But, something I was asked recently made me aware we had left something out. “We are sending money to a mission group in Africa. Can we get in trouble with Homeland Security?” Turns out they and other churches funding ministries like schools, hospitals and orphanages, should be concerned.
Now, I don’t want you to get overly concerned. The reality is that it is unlikely that a church will have its assets frozen or exempt status threatened by funding an orphanage. Provided, of course, it takes minimum precautions. Here’s just a few:
- First become familiar with Executive Order 13224 and The USA Patriot Act the legislation requiring that certain things be done. Helpful resources are The US Treasury’s Anti-terrorist guidelines and The Principles of International Charity.
- Educate your church, both staff and laity, of the implications of the anti-terrorist rules.
- Do background checks on the groups you are helping, particularly referring to several government lists that identify terrorists.
- Keep good records of all of your activities and insist on accountability.
There you go; something new to worry about over your Christmas holidays. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call!
Merry Christmas!
