As I fly back from the 61st Annual Church Network conference with Scott Haumersen, I am inspired by the number of people and organizations working with churches in our nation. This conference is for church administrators and there were more than 400 people in attendance this year representing nearly 40 states and nearly every denomination.
We were there representing Wegner CPAs at the tradeshow for the second year with 75 other vendors that specialize in working with churches. We spoke with many vendors, including the ECFA and Christianity Today, that are providing tools and services for church giving, capital campaigns, construction, accounting, banking, insurance, healthcare, and membership databases.
In my opinion, there were two takeaways from the conference. The first is the importance of financial stewardship. I heard numerous church administrators verbalize their desire to “do the right thing” in terms of finances and administration. There was also a general consensus that churches are businesses as much as they are ministries. The finance and administration of a church is a critical element of the success of a church.
The second takeaway was the importance of networking and collaboration. At this conference, the attendees were able to share resources, best practices, find answers, and talk to vendors. Talk about a wealth of information!
