Alabama Insurance

Birmingham - Generating no less than $ 25 million per year over 105 ministries, Briarwood Presbyterian Church touches the world like a multinational company.

“Fifty cents of every dollar goes outside the church - whether Campus Outreach and Bangladesh,” said the Rev. Bruce Stallings, Briarwood’s Executive pastor. “We are able to take over the tasks of the world.”

Founded in a shop in 1960, operates Briarwood, which is probably the biggest church budget in Alabama, with ministries as a ballet, a gymnasium, a seminar and missions of prisoners, students and abroad .

Briarwood has an operating budget of $ 10 million, and collects more than $ 2.5 million - by Zehnt - devoted to the mission. If all departments of their affiliates are combined, the budget increases of more than $ 25 million.

Like large enterprises, the church of field operations. The largest towns - with the accession to thousands of households and millions - working as the church Inc

They include matters of religion, often with the hiring of personnel with experience in business and the adoption of business methods - Arrivals advisors, foundations and the Tithe-mail - as they try to raise the challenge of managing the affairs of God with accounting savvy, but also spiritual integrity.

“It is a necessity, to a high degree of professionalism and responsibility in churches,” said the former accountant, lawyer and a graduate seminar Bryan Gunn, now Minister of hotel Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham.

“Many churches of philosophy, if you have not broken, you will not be on faith,” said Paul Berry pact group, a Christian Consulting Group. “This is not well Stewardship.”

For the Rev. Chris Hodges of the Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, this means that its common Laufen-$ 9.5 million budget a limited liability company.

“I use it more on my business degree when I started my seminary degree,” said Hodges, preaches that 4000 people in three campuses, on Sunday morning, with the help of video streams. If you really treat them as a company, to reach the largest number of people. ”

Churches have been updating their methods for dealing with the delicate merger between faith and finance. The offer is still flat past, but now churches often the adoption of bank transfers, bequests and gifts stock. Many households, which are similar to reports of Corporate Affairs - Church of the Highlands has two per year, one on the financing of projects outside the church and a cash-flow.

“I treat it as an annual shareholders’ report,” Hodges said. ” Every human being can see how every penny spent. ”

Church Highlands in 2001, began to save 50 percent of its income to avoid future debts. He paid $ 7 million in cash of 128 hectares for the construction of a campus opens $ 15 million next year.

Many budgets $ require a high-level professional management. The structure of many churches Corporate America mirror, sometimes with financial assistance to help professionals pastors themselves, sometimes business experience - as, for example, the Rev. Danny Wood of the Shades Mountain Baptist Church, former BellSouth executive.

“This is a church, but it is also a business,” said the Rev. Michael Moore 6000 Member of Faith Chapel Christian Center in Wylam, Ala., has a degree in Business Administration. “You have to measure your expenses, but it is God’s business.