This week I am blogging about five lessons I have learned on the journey of starting a new church. I believe these five lessons are ones that every church planter will face no matter what their unique situation is. You can see the introduction and part one here.

Today is lesson number two:

2. Raising money is overrated, managing money is underrated

If you read most church planting books, or go to most church planting seminars you will soon realize that it takes a whole lot of money to start a new church. You hear of reports of anywhere from $30,000-$100,000 to just get started. We’ll for most people this just plainly freaks them out.

So much emphasis is put on money that it sometimes becomes the one thing that church planters think is the most important. Well, I have found that yes it does take a whole lot of money to plant a church, but raising $100,000 cannot be a priority! When it comes to finances, it is not how much you raise that is important, but how you manage your money. If God has truly called you to plant a church, believe in him, listen to him and give of your all to him and he will make sure you will have the money you need to plant that church.

So often I have seen it time and again, people raise money and within a few months the money has dried up and they are struggling, all because they did not manage their money well. I chose not to go down the mass fundraising route, but I decided if God has called me to this then I have to step out in faith and believe he is going to provide, and he has provided in an incredible way! What I have found out is that if you are a good steward with the small things God gives you, he trusts you with more. I started with $1000 of my own money, gave $500 of it away to a church planter in India before we even began and have discovered that if you use your money for God’s Kingdom and use it wisely (not spending on things you do not need) God will reward you and provide your every need and every bill that comes your way!

If you’re a church planter, are you using all your money towards your church plant or are you giving away a portion as a tithe and offering unto the Lord?