I’m trying to establish a budget for our church business meeting this year and would appreciate some guidelines for evangelism and advertising. How much should a church be spending in this area if it is to be effective? Are there any ‘rules of thumb’ to go by?
Research has found that most growing churches invest at least 10% or more of their gross income in evangelism and outreach ministries to reach their communities. Using this ratio, an average church with a $100,000 income from tithes and offerings would budget at least $10,000 each year to outreach. This is not money spent for missions abroad, but invested with the sole purpose of reaching the people in their immediate community and surrounding area. By tying the budget to a set percentage of gross income, it allows your evangelism program to grow in direct proportion to your church size. And as your evangelism budget grows, you are strongly motivated to explore new and innovative method of outreach and advertising
While to some, this percentage may seem too large, if the truth were known, it’s really too small!
Stop and think: this would include such expenditures as advertising, special outreach programs, special crusades, evangelism training seminars, door-to-door canvassing, Sunday school contests, tracts, and other evangelism expenses. Ten percent should be a minimum. The growing church usually spends much, much more.
Growing churches have many organizational similarities to that of a growing businesses. For growth to happen in business, it takes the investment of time, energy, effort, and money. And God blesses the church that invests its resources into reaching new people with the message of truth.