Finances are a very important function of ministry administration. Good stewardship of the resources the Lord provides to the church through the tithes and offerings of the congregation will help develop trust and confidence in the leadership of the church. Unfortunately, many churches do not use a ministry budget to fund ministries and manage resources.
This learning activity is focused on designing a ministry budget timeline. It is very important that ministry leaders create a timeline to prepare the stakeholders, gather information, design, and execute the budget. Following a timeline will help every stakeholder know the timeline and understand the flow of the process. For this learning activity you will be creating a timeline concept-map in Word. You will need to use the Shapes function to help you create the needed sections of your timeline. If you have never used the shapes and drawings function in Word there is a Microsoft help page at:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/CH060832101033.aspx
Read Chapters 7-9 of your textbook by Tidwell, titled Church Administration: Effective Leadership for Ministry.
Create a ministry budget development timeline. Using the Microsoft Word shapes function (Insert, Illustration), design a concept-map to visually illustrate each step.
Post your response to your facilitator in the drop box titled Budget Timeline Concept Map Exercise. This exercise need not be formatted in the APA style unless otherwise noted from your facilitator; however, citations should be presented in APA format.
Developing a ministry budget timeline is the first step in the process of designing an effective ministry budget. In preparing your ministry budget it is important to know who is involved in the process and when in the timeline they are to be involved. Your organization will have ministry leaders, board members, and others that will have a stake in the budgeting process. As the ministry leader it is important to include these individuals at the right time. This learning activity will consider the stakeholders and when they fit into the timeline that you have previously developed.
Learning Activity #5: Adding Stakeholders Exercise 1 PAGE
Based on the exercise completed above, identify which stakeholder roles belong in the budgetary process. Insert the roles in the concept map where you believe they should be involved. Write a brief explanation of why you believe the role belongs where it has been placed in your concept-map.
Post your response to your facilitator in the drop box titled Adding Stakeholders Exercise. This exercise need not be formatted in the APA style unless otherwise noted from your facilitator; however, citations should be presented in APA format
