When You Work for the Church: How to Manage Your Money
This article was written at the request of my friend April Yamasaki for publication on her blog When You Work for the Church.
About April
The following biography is from her website, AprilYamasaki.com.
April Yamasaki writes on spiritual growth and Christian living both online and in print publications, including Christian Century, Christianity Today, The Redbud Post, Godspace, Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Leader, and Rejoice! Her most recent book is Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength.
She is an ordained minister with twenty-five years of experience in pastoral ministry; currently Resident Author with Valley CrossWay Church, a liturgical worship community; and Editor of Purpose, a monthly magazine of everyday inspiration. She speaks widely in other churches and ministry settings.
How to Manage Your Money
During my years of full-time pastoral ministry, I participated in the occasional seminar on financial planning offered through my denomination. I learned about the church-sponsored benefit and pension plans, saving for retirement, and about socially responsible investing. I was encouraged to learn more and plan for my particular situation by contacting an advisor and checking out the related website.
All of that was helpful, but it was also mainly focused on the church pension plan, and understandably so. But there’s a lot more to financial planning than that. So when I heard that my friend, Russell Sawatsky, had started Money Architect Financial Planning, I invited him to give an overview of personal finance tips for pastors and other church workers. Some of the tips below are uniquely Canadian, but the general principles apply to anyone. I find the list a helpful financial health check up, and perhaps you will too. Thank you, Russell, for sharing your expertise!
10 Personal Finance Tips for Pastors and Other Church Workers
by Russell J. Sawatsky
Pastors and church workers, like everyone else, must manage their finances. Some financial matters come around like clockwork, such as paying your utilities, mortgage, or rent. Other factors mean attending to investments, insurance, taxation, your plans for retirement, and getting the paperwork in place for the day you die.
Over the years as I transitioned from working for the church to working in finance, I became acquainted with some of the practices that can help or hinder you in your financial journey. People often think that financial planning is mostly about setting up an investment plan—“Here are the mutual funds I recommend”—but there is so much more to it than that. While hardly comprehensive, my goal with this ten-point summary is to bring awareness to the range of concerns associated with your personal finances.
Click here to read the 10 tips
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Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for general information and discussion purposes only. It should not be relied upon for investment, insurance, accounting or legal decisions.