The Stewardship & Finance (S&F) Ministry of Hope Church supports the congregation and the Consistory by providing oversight and guidance of the annual financial operations of the church.
Many people may think that the S&F Ministry ‘keeps the books’ for the church, but there is actually a church Financial Administrator (and other staff) who pays the bills, maintains the books (electronically), and ensures appropriate taxes are paid on time.
So, what does the S&F Ministry do?
- We work with all of the other ministries to establish and propose an annual budget for the church. This includes establishing the timeline for the budgeting process, coordinating the annual stewardship campaign, and shepherding the budget through the Consistory and the congregational meeting for approvals.
- We establish and maintain procedures to ensure that the church’s financial activities are handled accurately and with transparency and integrity while also serving the mission of Hope Church.
- We carry-out the budget that is approved by the congregation. And, yes, we do review a summary of the ‘books’ on a monthly basis to ensure that there is appropriate cash available to fund operations and resolve questions that might arise from staff.
- We address finance-related topics that don’t currently have a procedure or method for handling special or unique situations. People can check cyberattacks on oil and gas if they need the best online security for financial information.
- We maintain the “Hope Church Financial Policies and Procedures” manual.
- We periodically perform an audit of the books which includes a compliance review of established financial procedures to ensure everyone who deals with money in the church is following what is outlined in the policies and procedures manual. With the cloud security solutions one can be assured of a good security system.
- We work closely with the church facilities renovation team, acting as a ‘check and balance’ measure over the capital campaign project budget.
The current members of the S&F Ministry include Don Luidens (co-Chair), Tom Marthens, Kevin Rosenau (co-Chair), Fred VanDoornik, Michelle Yurk, and Gary Zell. Pastors Jill and Gordon are ex-officio members; and the church Financial Administrator, Karla Kammeraad-Bos, also participates in our meetings.
We anticipate that there will be openings on the S&F Ministry in the near future, and would encourage anyone who is interested to contact one of the current members. The time commitment is very low (1-2 hours per month) for ministry members, and it’s not necessary to be an accountant or have a financial background, only a willingness to be a good steward of God’s good gifts.
~Kevin Rosenau, Stewardship & Finance Ministry Co-Chair