HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

When do congregational cash reserves go from BLESSING to BURDEN? I remember vividly the conversation some years ago with a pastor friend who was serving a rural congregation somewhere in the Midwest. He said, “We just received some bad news! One of our parishioners passed away and has left the congregation over three quarters of a million dollars!” In his experience over years of ministry, gifts like this rarely brought out the best in churches and their leaders. He went on to say, “I already shared with the Council that this news wasn’t as good as it sounded.”

I have spoken to colleagues over the years who have seen large estate gifts become a millstone, a burden rather than a blessing! Another pastor friend said that a large gift received before he served the congregation seemed to have become a source of idolatry and greed. My conviction is that few church members who choose to leave their church a major gift at their passing intend it to become anything other than blessing: a blessing to the church, and through the church a blessing to others!

So, I read with great joy the announcement from my friend Pastor Siimon Haamer (President of Tartu Academy of Theology in Estonia) that a church had donated $58,000 to support their Home of Hope project! Nate Hanson is pastor of the rural MN congregation involved and has been my friend for many years. Sensing a story worth sharing here, I asked him to write the “Ideas from Churches” article for this issue of CGM. Please check it out!

“How much is TOO much?” When we ask that question, some look to the business world. Though a church IS NOT a business, with salaries to pay and buildings buy and maintain, there are perhaps some similarities. For businesses, 3-6 months operating capital is usually the rule of thumb when considering cash reserves. The four congregations I served over the years before the Lord called me to global missions full-time never faced the question of what to do with a large inheritance. Finding ways to even put aside cash reserves was challenging! Like many smaller congregations, the Lord provided and often the budget was met, but each annual journey through the fiscal year was a walk of faith!

The truth is that for local congregations of any size that exist under the headship of the Lord of the Church and the Lord of the Nations, our source, our reason for being, and our measure of impact are polar opposite from that of a business. We trust in Jehovah Jireh, one of the most popular names for God, which means “the Lord will provide.” We trust in the one of whom Paul writes:

So, the question of “how much is too much?” involves fiscal responsibility in the larger context of our trust in the Living God, who alone is our source!

In my work as Director of ALWM, one of my close partner churches is Living Word Lutheran Church (LWLC) in Milbank, South Dakota. I started working with their Impact Committee (their insightful name for the mission/outreach team) in 2018. Over the years they have had an astonishing impact locally and globally! During my recent visit last month, I heard what Paul Harvey once called, “The rest of the story.”

By Summer 2018, LWLC committed $25,000 from excess cash reserves to fund a new church building for Soc Ung Church, a growing church worshipping 200 weekly located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City near the Cambodian border. Yes, a beautiful building was completed for that small amount, built among the Stieng Tribe, who were unreached until the early 1990s. Excess funds languishing in a South Dakota bank made a huge impact on this growing church!

This past summer, two members of LWLC were able to visit Soc Ung Church in person. LWLC has undertaken more projects, both local and global – and it all began with a willingness to look to the Lord and His Word when asking, “How much is TOO much?”

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the two servants who invested the bags of gold given by their master were commended by their master for putting his money to work. The servant who buried the gold and never put it to work – even just gaining interest – was chastised for his lack of stewardship! Funds given to the Lord’s work in tithes and offerings are not intended to be buried or hoarded, but to be used. This issue comes into sharper focus when an inheritance arrives!

Certainly, there can be major financial needs a church may face that can be funded with an inheritance. Large expenses, such as a new roof, plumbing and heating issues, or perhaps major ministry initiatives that have been prayed for and considered but not launched. These and more can be reasonable expenditures that an inheritance makes possible unexpectedly!

What some churches have done to leverage the generosity of aging members is to create an endowment fund for mission and outreach. People are encouraged to leave portions of their estate to the church endowment fund, knowing that it will bless the community and the nations, rather than become a source of contention or division. When ALWM built our new mission school in Preh Vihear, Cambodia, part of the support came from endowment funds like this in five different churches!

Jesus said to His church, with a call that still remains: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He commands His Church to pray that the Lord would send laborers into His harvest field (Matthew 9:35-38). He promises to provide everything we need day by day, for our personal needs and to carry out the work He sets before.

My hope as I write in this issue of CGM is to urge leaders to set a course that honors the Lord and reflects God’s stewardship of what He provides for His Church. Be willing to honestly wrestle Biblically with the question, “How much is too much?”

If your congregation is like LWLC was in 2017 – you have too much money in the bank – honestly and prayerfully consider changing course!

If a large cash reserve has become harmful – then face this squarely, repenting where needed!

Explore possibilities! There is life-changing ministry – generational impact – that can result from giving funds that currently are no better than the gold bag buried in the ground in Jesus’ parable.

Discover the joy in changed lives as your church offers a few loaves and fish (excess cash reserves) for the Lord to multiply for His purposes.

To God be the Glory,

Rev. Bill Moberly, Founder and Director of ALWM

Co-Founder and Editor of Celebrating Global Mission