Most clergy graduate from seminary or divinity school with little or no training in financial management or administration to assist them in leading a church congregation. Given these circumstances, it is not shocking when things go awry, and church congregations and pastors face financial challenges.
Financial Management for Churches
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Financial Management for Churches
This course is part of Church Administration: Finance Specialization
Instructor: Russell Elmayan
Included with 
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level
No prior experience required
5 hours to complete
3 weeks at 1 hour a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Connect Gospel-based financial stewardship to financial management best practices.
Explain common financial risks in church operations.
Details to know
Shareable certificate
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Recently updated!
March 2025
Assessments
4 assignments
Taught in English
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This course is part of the Church Administration: Finance Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 4 modules in this course
This week will sketch out a theology of financial management. You will hear an analysis of how scripture encourages a stewardship approach to church financial management. Instead of shying away from engaging with the worldly sphere of money, this lesson will present scriptural references to the importance of church financial administration and financial stewardship. This lesson will help you understand your role in relation to church financial management. Moreover, you will learn how ethical and prudent financial management enables or hinders the church’s ability to serve God’s people in word and deed. The impact of the church’s financial management will be reinforced with real-life examples where financial training, or lack thereof, impacts the ministry of the church.
What's included
4 videos5 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
This week, you will learn about the key principles of financial reporting, including income statements, balance sheets, cash flow projections, and capital expense budgets. Furthermore, you will build your skills and intuition about budgets. You will practice balancing budgets, and consider how to navigate past due financial obligations and stock gifts.
What's included
4 videos5 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
This week, you will learn about comparative financial analysis of parish operations, and financial best practices around managing endowments and endowment spending policies. You will compare unrestricted, designated, and restricted gifts, analyzing the use and flexibility of each type. You will learn about the purpose of audits and other internal control reviews, and the management of one-time sources of revenue. After analyzing ways to balance a designated gift against routine budget obligations, you will test your knowledge via a summative quiz on the week’s topics. Finally, you will preview Week 4, which highlights best practices for directing and managing financial committees.
What's included
4 videos6 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
This week, you will receive a high-level overview of church financial leadership that prioritizes strategic, long-term financial planning and transparent reporting to stakeholders. This overview will analyze your role in church building projects, capital campaigns for facility construction, loans for building projects, and annual financial reporting to the congregation. Furthermore, you will learn about potential tax issues and their implications for congregations in the United States.
What's included
5 videos6 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
Instructor
Offered by
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Frequently asked questions
For pastors and other ministry professionals in need of Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits for their professional development, CEU credits are available for this course. Upon successful completion of this course, you will have earned 1.5 CEU credits from this course. You can provide your course certificate and the course description to your church denomination or employer as proof of your earned CEU credits.
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
More questions
Financial aid available,