Most church finance advice is either too technical or too vague. This library is neither. Each guide opens with a direct answer, then shows the working, drawn from nearly two decades in the church CFO chair and written so a pastor, a treasurer, and a board member can all follow it.
From Tim's desk
Featured guide
The short answer most leaders are looking for is roughly three to six months of operating expenses, but the right target for your church depends on your giving patterns, debt, and seasonality. This guide walks through how to set a number you can actually defend to your board.
Read the guide →Ten cornerstone guides, written answer first. New ones are published as Tim finishes them, so a few are marked coming soon.
Paying off debt comes down to sequencing, refinancing where it helps, and protecting the mission while you do it. Here is the same framework Tim used to help lead a church to debt free.
A bookkeeper records what already happened. A CFO helps you decide what happens next. Most churches cross that line near a $2M budget.
What share should really go to staff, facilities, and ministry? The commonly cited ranges, and how to read your own budget against them.
Slow books make every decision slower. A practical, repeatable close process that gives your team fresh numbers fast.
Beyond bookkeeping: the CFO-level judgment, systems, and decisions a growing church needs. A plain look at the role, what it costs, and the difference it makes day to day.
Set up fund accounting correctly the first time, and avoid the mistakes that turn QBO into a monthly headache.
Three buckets that get confused all the time. What each one is, what you can spend, and why the distinction protects donor trust.
The handful of clear, consistent reports that move a board from anxious questions to confident decisions.
One of the most valuable, and most mishandled, parts of pastoral compensation. The steps a board needs to take, and the timing that matters.
Tim writes these guides from the questions church leaders actually send him. Ask yours and it may become the next one, or just get a straight answer by email.
A starting-point table you can bookmark. These are general guidance ranges, not targets set in stone. The right numbers for your church depend on your size, debt, and season.
Ranges shown are general industry guidance for illustration, drawn from sources such as ECFA, CapinCrouse, Lifeway Research, and Church Law & Tax. They are not a guarantee or a formal opinion. Confirm the right targets for your church with a full review.
Not a content team, and not a marketing intern. Tim is a CPA who began his career at KPMG, serves on the Maryland Association of CPAs Board of Directors, and is the sitting CFO of a 5,000-member multicultural church, nearly two decades and counting. He writes as a published advisor for Church Law & Tax, ChurchLeaders, and ChurchTechToday, in the same plain, pastoral voice he uses with the boards he serves.
Start with the free Clarity Check for a clear read on where you stand and what to focus on first, or book a call and talk it through with Tim directly. No pressure, no jargon.
Serving churches in Columbia, Maryland and nationwide, remote.
