At Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), our staff members work with Disciples congregations and organizations on investments, loans, and more. But it’s our four Building and Capital Services Advisors who meet pastors, planters, and worshipers face-to-face, traveling to Regions and Areas across the United States and Canada.
Right now, that’s not safe or healthy for our employees or our partners, so we’re bringing our Advisors online!
In the new blog series Ask the Advisors, Belinda King, Craig Walls, Rosario Ibarra, James Michel, and guest bloggers Gilberto Collazo and Terrell McTyer tackle the issues facing faith communities in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), such as:
- Changes needed to safely welcome members back into sanctuaries, fellowship halls, and other facilities
- Budgeting during a pandemic
- Necessary technology upgrades for services
So every other Tuesday, make sure to visit our website and social media.
With years of experience in civil engineering, church planting, business and finance, all of our Advisors are prepared to answer the questions keeping you and your leadership team up at night.
Get ready to rest easy with Ask the Advisors.
- How can DCEF help our congregation through COVID-19? (May 26, 2020)
- What changes are needed to welcome back members into our worship space? (June 2, 2020)
- How might the COVID-19 pandemic impact your church finances? (June 9, 2020)
- Can technology help us do church better? (June 16, 2020)
- Are we the Church God is calling us to be? Are we the Church the world needs us to be? (June 23, 2020)
- How to make your church building more blessing than curse (June 30, 2020)
- Signs of the times (July 7, 2020)
- Should we do a fundraising campaign during this time? (July 14, 2020)
- How can we continue serving our communities? (July 21, 2020)
- What is the key to a successful church merger? (August 4, 2020)
- What next?! (August 18, 2020)
- How to convert online viewership to engagement (September 1, 2020)
- What stewardship campaigns in 2020 should look like (September 15, 2020)
- Ministry Post-Pandemic Checklist: A Pause in the Dissonance (September 29, 2020)
- What is the biggest obstacle to a successful building project? (October 13, 2020)
- Changing (for the better) with the seasons (October 27, 2020)
- Is your congregation connecting with the unchurched? (November 10, 2020)
- How congregations can thrive during the pandemic (November 24, 2020)
- Are we ready to shift? (December 8, 2020)
If you have a question for one of our advisors, feel free to leave it in the comment section below!
Realistically , I don’t see us going back to “ normal church “ until there is a vaccine . And if it’s that long, I feel lots of members will quit . Any thoughts ??
We share your concern, Jean, about the Church losing some people, that they will quit church. That will happen. But we would also say that the best way to combat this is to have a strong online presence during the pandemic. We can’t forget how powerful simple phone calls are too – church leaders can certainly help in this regard.
Can a congregation be sued in the case of someone contracting the Coronavirus while attending functions in the building or at events sponsored by the congregation?
Hi Mark, thanks for a good question. It’s important to keep in mind that any organization can be sued for anything at any time. However, there are precautions that you can take to prevent this from happening. Insurance Board has a thorough FAQ document that we think you and others will find particularly helpful: https://www.insuranceboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Liability-FAQ-Insurance-Board.pdf.
Our church is facing a crisis. We are a small church and half of our budget revenue each year comes from parking cars during the state fair. It is probable that will not happen this year. We have a parsonage that our pastor that just left for another call lived in.
We are considering selling the parsonage; some think we should rent it. Is it legal for us to rent the parsonage?
Thank you for helping me with this question.
We’re sorry to hear about your church, Connie. We want you to know that yes, it is legal to rent the parsonage because the church is permitted to generate income from its assets. We hope that will help you and your team!
My question is about audits. Our church has a budget of about $400,000. What type of audit would you recommend, and do you have any idea how much that might cost? We have never had an audit done, at least not in the past 20 years!
Most external audits with a firm can cost a minimum of $5,000-$7,000. This may be cost-prohibitive for many congregations. There are ways to do internal audits using members of the congregation that do not handle any of the bookkeeping nor are related to anyone that handles the financial books of the church. There is some guidance for churches in the Treasurer’s Handbook (https://cdn.disciplesmissionfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/23194126/Treasurers-Handbook-2016.pdf) regarding setting up an audit committee and planning an audit of the internal controls and transactions of the church. There is also more information available through the Disciples Center for Faith & Giving (https://centerforfaithandgiving.org/2016/01/in-house-audit-guidlines/). Thanks for your question Becky!
I am looking for investment options that may help my Church, First Christian Church of Fort Worth, Texas. I understand how the money is invested into new churches, but is there any benefit to the church where I am a member?
DCEF pays competitive interest rates to those who invest in our ministry. These investments go to fund the various loans we provide, not necessarily new churches. For more information, please contact the Building and Capital Services Advisor for your region, Craig M. Walls, at 317.635.6500 Ext. 2537 or
cwalls@disciplescef.org.