One common comment I hear when assisting smaller churches that are seeking a new pastor is their lack of money. There is usually some sort of apology and a promise that if the church grows they will be able to pay more, but right now they just can't provide much of a salary. Recently, I've been responding, "So in other words, you're looking for a commissioned salesperson. The more revenue they bring in the more you'll pay them. Is this what you're saying?" Of course, they deny that is what they mean, but in some ways it is what they are thinking.
I understand that every church, regardless of size, has limited resources. But, that doesn't mean that smaller churches have money problems. In most cases, they have stewardship problems or a vision problem. Churches are notorious for not wanting their pastor to speak on money issues from the pulpit, and yet to ignore that topic is to ignore a significant piece of the New Testament. Jesus had much to say about money. The Bible speaks about tithing and offerings. For a pastor to not address these issues is to fail to preach the whole counsel of God.
My experience has been that the churches that are most offended by stewardship teaching are the ones that need it the worse. These are churches made up of a majority of people who rob God of His tithe each week. They are also often people who will withhold their giving in protest to something they don't like in the church. As a judicatory leader I've seen more than one pastor forced to resign because small-minded people in the church quit supporting the church financially so the church would be unable to pay the pastor. In two of those cases, I've confronted the congregation in a public setting and told them that is one of the most unspiritual things they can do. Pastors need to teach stewardship to their congregations whether the congregations want to hear it or not. Often, the reasons the church has not been more faithful in its giving is because they've never been taught what the Bible says on this topic, and once they learn that they will improve their financial support of the church.
The second cause of poor giving to a church is a lack of vision. If the only thing a church is going to do with its finances is pay the utilities and salaries, that is all the money that will come in. People give to vision; they give to ministry; they give much less to maintenance activities. In a lifetime of attending smaller churches I've seen it happen numerous times that a church that struggles to pay its bills each month suddenly raises a large sum of money within days or weeks to fund a major project. That alone proves the church is not without resources. The problem is that we've not challenged the people to part with those resources for something more exciting than an electric bill.
When a church pursues a fresh vision from God and has been taught biblical stewardship it is very unlikely to have money problems. The challenge then will become how to be good stewards of the funds coming in so they are used to honor God and advance His kingdom. That is a much more exciting financial challenge for a smaller church to have!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Discerning a fresh vision for ministry
Yesterday I spoke at a church and offered to assist them in discerning a fresh vision for ministry. Like many churches, this church has been in decline for a number of years. They have the location and the facilities to enjoy a good ministry. What they have not had is a common, unifying vision that would get everyone pulling in the same direction. As I shared with them, this will reduce the amount of conflict and give the church a focused approach to ministry. It will also give them a more outward focus as God's vision for a church is never an inward one. Following my message the church held a special called business meeting and voted to begin the vision discernment process with me. I am excited to be working with this congregation in such an important process.
Few of the churches I see on a regular basis have such a vision. Most open their doors each week and hope something good will happen. As important as hope is, hope is not a strategy. While God can do anything He wants when He wants, I find that He often does His best work when we are working alongside Him. The exciting thing is that God has a unique vision for each church, and if we are willing to strive to discern that vision it will be shown to us. At that point, we are ready to move forward with a singleness of mind and purpose to advance the Kingdom of God.
The process I use is simple but not easy. I will spend one evening with the church identifying their core values. The challenge with this is getting people to identify the church's true core values and not the ones they believe they should have. A second evening will examine the church's bedrock beliefs, those biblical beliefs that are at the foundation of everything they do. We will then spend a Saturday in a discernment process trying to identify God's vision for the church. That vision must be congruent with the core values and bedrock beliefs we've already identified plus it must be in line with the gifts and ministry passion of the people. This entire process must be bathed in much prayer if we want to hear God speak to us throughout the process. I explained to the congregation that this will take much time on their part and will cost them in numerous ways, but it is a process that is much needed to help this church move forward.
What is the vision of your church? I'm not necessarily interested in a vision statement that was developed a few years ago by a committee and voted upon by the congregation and now sits gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. What single purpose drives the ministry of your church? What is your church budget and calendar built around? Without such a vision your church is probably wandering around in the wilderness wondering why good things seldom happen in your church. It's time for your church to identify the vision God has for your church and focus all your resources to make that happen.
Few of the churches I see on a regular basis have such a vision. Most open their doors each week and hope something good will happen. As important as hope is, hope is not a strategy. While God can do anything He wants when He wants, I find that He often does His best work when we are working alongside Him. The exciting thing is that God has a unique vision for each church, and if we are willing to strive to discern that vision it will be shown to us. At that point, we are ready to move forward with a singleness of mind and purpose to advance the Kingdom of God.
The process I use is simple but not easy. I will spend one evening with the church identifying their core values. The challenge with this is getting people to identify the church's true core values and not the ones they believe they should have. A second evening will examine the church's bedrock beliefs, those biblical beliefs that are at the foundation of everything they do. We will then spend a Saturday in a discernment process trying to identify God's vision for the church. That vision must be congruent with the core values and bedrock beliefs we've already identified plus it must be in line with the gifts and ministry passion of the people. This entire process must be bathed in much prayer if we want to hear God speak to us throughout the process. I explained to the congregation that this will take much time on their part and will cost them in numerous ways, but it is a process that is much needed to help this church move forward.
What is the vision of your church? I'm not necessarily interested in a vision statement that was developed a few years ago by a committee and voted upon by the congregation and now sits gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. What single purpose drives the ministry of your church? What is your church budget and calendar built around? Without such a vision your church is probably wandering around in the wilderness wondering why good things seldom happen in your church. It's time for your church to identify the vision God has for your church and focus all your resources to make that happen.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Smaller churches with a missional mindset
The past couple of days I've been with some wonderful church leaders in the American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region leading a workshop that addresses how to help a smaller church transition from a maintenance-mindset to a missional one. It was a joy to be with these church leaders and the leadership of the Region and share with them some of the ideas that come out of my book Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church: Becoming a Missional Community
.
Many of our smaller churches have a maintenance-mindset that has greatly limited their impact on their communities. These churches have an inward focus rather than an outward one, they seek chaplains rather than pastors to lead them, they work very hard to preserve their resources instead of using those resources for ministry, and they see missions as something they support instead of do. Most of these churches are either plateaued or declining with the majority of them in decline. They can often survive for decades in this state, but for all practical purposes they have forfeited their right to call themselves a church. They long ago forgot their purpose for existence was is to impact their communities with the Gospel.
The good news is that these churches can change and become more missional in their understanding of their ministry. As they develop a more outward focus and recognize that their primary mission field is within their own communities they can see lives changed through their ministry. Such a transition does not occur quickly; in fact it can take years to transform a church from being maintenance-minded to missional. The important thing is to begin making that transition and doing it in a way that makes it more likely to succeed.
This is why these small church leaders attended these workshops this week. They know their churches can do much more than they are currently doing, but they needed help in knowing how to lead their churches in the needed transition. The Region provided copies of my book to the pastors attending the workshops, and we spent the day at two workshops discussing the steps their churches need to take to become more missional in their ministries.
Would you describe your church as maintenance or missional? What kind of impact is your church making on its community, or is it even involved in the community at all? How much of everything your church does is for itself and how much of it is for persons outside your church membership? Does your church need to make the transition discussed above? You can start by reading my book. As you think about hnow to implement the ideas you'll find there you may want to ask your denominational or judicatory leader to invite me to lead this workshop for the small church leaders in your judicatory. I would love to help your church become more missional in its approach to ministry.
. Many of our smaller churches have a maintenance-mindset that has greatly limited their impact on their communities. These churches have an inward focus rather than an outward one, they seek chaplains rather than pastors to lead them, they work very hard to preserve their resources instead of using those resources for ministry, and they see missions as something they support instead of do. Most of these churches are either plateaued or declining with the majority of them in decline. They can often survive for decades in this state, but for all practical purposes they have forfeited their right to call themselves a church. They long ago forgot their purpose for existence was is to impact their communities with the Gospel.
The good news is that these churches can change and become more missional in their understanding of their ministry. As they develop a more outward focus and recognize that their primary mission field is within their own communities they can see lives changed through their ministry. Such a transition does not occur quickly; in fact it can take years to transform a church from being maintenance-minded to missional. The important thing is to begin making that transition and doing it in a way that makes it more likely to succeed.
This is why these small church leaders attended these workshops this week. They know their churches can do much more than they are currently doing, but they needed help in knowing how to lead their churches in the needed transition. The Region provided copies of my book to the pastors attending the workshops, and we spent the day at two workshops discussing the steps their churches need to take to become more missional in their ministries.
Would you describe your church as maintenance or missional? What kind of impact is your church making on its community, or is it even involved in the community at all? How much of everything your church does is for itself and how much of it is for persons outside your church membership? Does your church need to make the transition discussed above? You can start by reading my book. As you think about hnow to implement the ideas you'll find there you may want to ask your denominational or judicatory leader to invite me to lead this workshop for the small church leaders in your judicatory. I would love to help your church become more missional in its approach to ministry.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
My workshops
In the past several weeks I've had a number of bivocational ministers asking if I was scheduled to lead any of my workshops in their areas. In every case the answer was no. I am doing workshops in the Great Rivers Region in Illinois this week and another one in Michigan later in the year at an annual meeting of a state convention, and those are the only two I currently have scheduled this year. Most years I will lead 3-5 workshops so this is a slow year, but that happens sometimes.
I only go where I am invited, so anyone who is interested in one of my workshops should contact their state convention, judicatory leader, or denominational leader and ask them to invite me to lead a workshop for their pastors and lay leaders. Although I serve in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky, I have led my workshops for Southern Baptists, General Baptists, Church of the Nazarene, Salvation Army, United Methodist, Wesleyan, Atlantic Baptist Mission (Canada), and Lutheran. I am willing to work with any denomination or group that wants to encourage and equip their bivocational leaders and the churches they serve. I have also done workshops for interdenominational events held at universities.
The workshops I currently offer are:
Because of my work I limit myself to 5-6 workshops a year outside of our Region, so it is important that people contact me as soon as they can to get me on their schedule. There is still time to schedule me for an event this fall although 2013 is filling up with other activities. Again, if you are interested in attending one of my workshops, talk with someone who can host an event and ask them to invite me. I'll be more than happy to speak with them about their needs.
I only go where I am invited, so anyone who is interested in one of my workshops should contact their state convention, judicatory leader, or denominational leader and ask them to invite me to lead a workshop for their pastors and lay leaders. Although I serve in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky, I have led my workshops for Southern Baptists, General Baptists, Church of the Nazarene, Salvation Army, United Methodist, Wesleyan, Atlantic Baptist Mission (Canada), and Lutheran. I am willing to work with any denomination or group that wants to encourage and equip their bivocational leaders and the churches they serve. I have also done workshops for interdenominational events held at universities.
The workshops I currently offer are:
- Bivocational Ministry in the 21st Century
- The Healthy Small Church
- Transitioning the Small Church from Maintenance-Minded to Missional
- The Healthy Pastor
- Church Hospitality: How to Turn First Time Guests Into Followers of Christ
- Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness (This workshop is primarily for judicatory leaders who want a tool they can use to better serve their bivocational leaders.)
Because of my work I limit myself to 5-6 workshops a year outside of our Region, so it is important that people contact me as soon as they can to get me on their schedule. There is still time to schedule me for an event this fall although 2013 is filling up with other activities. Again, if you are interested in attending one of my workshops, talk with someone who can host an event and ask them to invite me. I'll be more than happy to speak with them about their needs.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Bivocational ministers and education
About nine years ago I conducted a survey of bivocational ministers in the American Baptist Churches USA. One of the questions addressed the level of education these ministers had. The responses ran the gamut from high school diploma to PhD with most of the responders falling somewhere in between.
As I've shared elsewhere, when I began my ministry I had no education beyond high school. It took me only a few months to realize that some ministerial training and education might be helpful! As I began to look around I found a two year Bible school about one hour away from my home, and I soon enrolled as a student. It was a wonderful experience although it was challenging to work a full-time job, serve as a bivocational minister, be a student, and have a wife and two children. However, I finished that program and enjoyed the learning process so much I enrolled at a university and began working on my bachelor's degree. Before completing that degree I added running a small business to the other responsibilities listed above. It took me seven years to finish that degree, and I graduated at 46 years of age. Several years later I felt the need to earn a Master's and then a doctorate. I was 62 when I received my doctorate.
My educational experience was certainly not the normal route most people take, and much of it occurred before distance learning was available. Today there are many more options for the person who wants to further his or her education. Not only are there opportunities for persons to earn accredited degrees online, but there are many non-degree educational opportunities available as well. Bivocational ministers need to take advantage of these opportunities.
Now, I know the arguments about time and other demands on your time. I didn't list all the things I had going on in the above paragraph to boast on all the things I did but to demonstrate that any objection you can give can be overcome. And, there is not a age limit on when you can earn a degree or further your education. When I began my bachelor's studies someone asked how long I thought it would take. When I replied I thought it would take me about seven years they asked, "How old will you be when you graduate?" I responded in seven years I would be 46 years old, but in seven years I would be 46 anyway. The only thing I had to decide was did I want to be 46 with a college degree or 46 without one, and I chose to be 46 with one.
Doing a Google search will take you to a number of excellent schools where you can do much or all of your studies online. I always recommend Campbellsville University as a great place to start. They have a diploma program specifically for bivocational ministers, and they offer a very solid Master of Theology degree which can be taken entirely online if you wish. You can get more information about those programs here.
Some judicatories have training programs available. Our Region has offered the Church Leadership Institute to lay leaders and bivocational ministers in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky for the past ten years. This year we have opened two additional locations for classes and now offer it to anyone regardless of denominational affiliation.
You will have the opportunity to attend numerous workshops and seminars hosted by a wide variety of groups, and you should make every effort to attend at least one or two of these each year. Ministry is changing rapidly, and you owe it to yourself and your church to learn new insights that will make you a more effective leader in your church.
I am a strong believer in being a life-long learner, and I hope you are as well. The more I have learned the better minister I have become. I don't ever want to stop learning and growing because I don't want there to ever be a lid on my ministry abilities. I pray you feel the same way.
As I've shared elsewhere, when I began my ministry I had no education beyond high school. It took me only a few months to realize that some ministerial training and education might be helpful! As I began to look around I found a two year Bible school about one hour away from my home, and I soon enrolled as a student. It was a wonderful experience although it was challenging to work a full-time job, serve as a bivocational minister, be a student, and have a wife and two children. However, I finished that program and enjoyed the learning process so much I enrolled at a university and began working on my bachelor's degree. Before completing that degree I added running a small business to the other responsibilities listed above. It took me seven years to finish that degree, and I graduated at 46 years of age. Several years later I felt the need to earn a Master's and then a doctorate. I was 62 when I received my doctorate.
My educational experience was certainly not the normal route most people take, and much of it occurred before distance learning was available. Today there are many more options for the person who wants to further his or her education. Not only are there opportunities for persons to earn accredited degrees online, but there are many non-degree educational opportunities available as well. Bivocational ministers need to take advantage of these opportunities.
Now, I know the arguments about time and other demands on your time. I didn't list all the things I had going on in the above paragraph to boast on all the things I did but to demonstrate that any objection you can give can be overcome. And, there is not a age limit on when you can earn a degree or further your education. When I began my bachelor's studies someone asked how long I thought it would take. When I replied I thought it would take me about seven years they asked, "How old will you be when you graduate?" I responded in seven years I would be 46 years old, but in seven years I would be 46 anyway. The only thing I had to decide was did I want to be 46 with a college degree or 46 without one, and I chose to be 46 with one.
Doing a Google search will take you to a number of excellent schools where you can do much or all of your studies online. I always recommend Campbellsville University as a great place to start. They have a diploma program specifically for bivocational ministers, and they offer a very solid Master of Theology degree which can be taken entirely online if you wish. You can get more information about those programs here.
Some judicatories have training programs available. Our Region has offered the Church Leadership Institute to lay leaders and bivocational ministers in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky for the past ten years. This year we have opened two additional locations for classes and now offer it to anyone regardless of denominational affiliation.
You will have the opportunity to attend numerous workshops and seminars hosted by a wide variety of groups, and you should make every effort to attend at least one or two of these each year. Ministry is changing rapidly, and you owe it to yourself and your church to learn new insights that will make you a more effective leader in your church.
I am a strong believer in being a life-long learner, and I hope you are as well. The more I have learned the better minister I have become. I don't ever want to stop learning and growing because I don't want there to ever be a lid on my ministry abilities. I pray you feel the same way.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Bivocational ministers are found around the world
This past weekend I received a message from a Facebook friend from Brazil. He is attending seminary preparing for the ministry. He speaks no English and uses Google translator to communicate with his English speaking friends. His message was to thank me for my books which he has found has been a great encouragement to him and very helpful. I am assuming one of the books he has read is Conciliando Profissa E Ministeri which is my book The Bivocational Pastor translated into Portuguese and published by CPAD which I believe is the publishing arm of the Assembly of God in Brazil. I appreciated his comments very much.
A few years ago my book The Healthy Small Church was published in Korean by Word of Life Press. I won't even try to reproduce the title of that book here! The church in Korea continues to grow, and with the recent issues in that part of the world I would anticipate even more people will be coming to Christ. I am honored to know that my work is playing a small part in meeting the leadership needs of the church there.
Last year I received e-mails from bivocational ministers in Scotland and India asking if I had plans to do any workshops in their countries. They were reading my books and following my blog and other writings. Perhaps God will one day open doors to do that, but for now I continue to develop resources that they can use in their churches and in their own personal lives.
It is easy for us in bivocational ministry to feel like we are all alone, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the US bivocational ministry is growing across all denominations, and in some that growth is rapid. Although I have not seen figures, my guess is that it is growing even more outside the US. The fact is that God has been calling, and continues to do so, an army of bivocational ministers to serve the needs of His church around the world. My friends, if you have responded to this call on your life you are part of that army. Do not ever allow yourself to become discouraged and feel like you are "just a bivocational minister." No, no, no...you are part of a significant move of God that is occurring around the world. You are God's elect. We should be both proud and humbled that He has chosen us to be part of this work.
Do you know a bivocational minister who is a little discouraged in the work right now? If so, send him a link to this post. It is my prayer that all who read it will be encouraged and reminded of the special call God has placed on their lives.
A few years ago my book The Healthy Small Church was published in Korean by Word of Life Press. I won't even try to reproduce the title of that book here! The church in Korea continues to grow, and with the recent issues in that part of the world I would anticipate even more people will be coming to Christ. I am honored to know that my work is playing a small part in meeting the leadership needs of the church there.
Last year I received e-mails from bivocational ministers in Scotland and India asking if I had plans to do any workshops in their countries. They were reading my books and following my blog and other writings. Perhaps God will one day open doors to do that, but for now I continue to develop resources that they can use in their churches and in their own personal lives.
It is easy for us in bivocational ministry to feel like we are all alone, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the US bivocational ministry is growing across all denominations, and in some that growth is rapid. Although I have not seen figures, my guess is that it is growing even more outside the US. The fact is that God has been calling, and continues to do so, an army of bivocational ministers to serve the needs of His church around the world. My friends, if you have responded to this call on your life you are part of that army. Do not ever allow yourself to become discouraged and feel like you are "just a bivocational minister." No, no, no...you are part of a significant move of God that is occurring around the world. You are God's elect. We should be both proud and humbled that He has chosen us to be part of this work.
Do you know a bivocational minister who is a little discouraged in the work right now? If so, send him a link to this post. It is my prayer that all who read it will be encouraged and reminded of the special call God has placed on their lives.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Avoiding problems before they happen
I was part of an interesting Facebook discussion yesterday about church treasurers. A question was raised about how a church can have accountability with its treasurer. Several people suggested having a regular audit of the books, and others pointed out that often leads to treasurers being offended by their perception of people not trusting them. One pastor told how their small church lost three primary families when an audit was suggested for the books. In my pastorate we lost two families partly because I made a suggestion that would have eliminated a financial officer whose work was redundant. They perceived my suggestion as a statement of my distrust of the individual, and no matter how much I tried to explain my position they were not satisfied.
The vast majority of church treasurers are honest people who often protect the church's money more closely than their own. However, anyone can make a mistake. Who hasn't overdrawn a checking account because of a mistake? The most honest treasurer may be inept. One church learned their treasurer had not balanced the checkbook in years, and when that individual stepped down it cost the church a lot of money and time to go back and bring the accounting current. No one would accept the position until that was done, and I don't blame them. And, unfortunately, there are a few who are dishonest.
We need to remember that we are dealing with God's money. People have given their tithes and offerings to the church in the belief that they will be used for the ministry of the church. It is an act of stewardship on the part of the church to ensure those funds are properly accounted for and used for the purposes for which they were given. It is also an integrity issue. I speak to numerous pastors who have not seen their church's financial statement in years and claim they cannot get the treasurer to produce one. That is unacceptable. In a situation like that I would either have a copy of the statement or a new treasurer regardless of how many families the church lost. In the small, bivocational church which I pastored we had a treasurer and a financial secretary who produced a four page financial statement for every business meeting. I have never seen such a detailed statement in any church I have visited, and when one read the statement there was no question that every dollar given and spent had been accounted for. We left copies of the statement on a table in our entrance so anyone attending our church could pick up a copy and see how we handled our finances. We wanted complete transparency. For our church it was a stewardship and an integrity issue. There were no trust issues with either our treasurer or financial secretary; they were some of the most honest people I have ever known, but we wanted to be completely open with our finances and they were not afraid of being transparent with their records.
However, I also know that asking for the financial records of a smaller church can sometimes lead to hurt feelings and loss of members. What I suggested in yesterday's discussion is that between treasurers is a good time for a church to develop a policy that would require an annual audit of the books and an additional audit any time a treasurer resigns. This does several things. It establishes the audit as part of the expectations of the position. Anyone accepting that responsibility knows ahead of time that an annual audit by an outside firm will be done. In case of problems, it protects the outgoing treasurer from any allegations of misconduct, and it assures the incoming treasurer that everything is correct before he or she assumes responsibility. Finally, it assures the church and anyone interested in the workings of the congregation that everything is being done openly and with integrity.
Good systems in place with documented policies can protect a church in so many ways. If your church does not have such a policy in place, talk to your treasurer and ask his or her feelings about an audit policy. Explain how it will protect him or her from allegations of wrong-doing. If you are not comfortable with such a discussion, at least implement such a policy in between treasurers. If the treasurer opposes such a policy, you may want to keep a closer eye on the books. A good rule of thumb might be that the more angry the treasurer gets over your suggestion the more apt it is he or she is hiding something. It may be that the loss of a family over such a policy might be a small price to pay to assure financial integrity.
The vast majority of church treasurers are honest people who often protect the church's money more closely than their own. However, anyone can make a mistake. Who hasn't overdrawn a checking account because of a mistake? The most honest treasurer may be inept. One church learned their treasurer had not balanced the checkbook in years, and when that individual stepped down it cost the church a lot of money and time to go back and bring the accounting current. No one would accept the position until that was done, and I don't blame them. And, unfortunately, there are a few who are dishonest.
We need to remember that we are dealing with God's money. People have given their tithes and offerings to the church in the belief that they will be used for the ministry of the church. It is an act of stewardship on the part of the church to ensure those funds are properly accounted for and used for the purposes for which they were given. It is also an integrity issue. I speak to numerous pastors who have not seen their church's financial statement in years and claim they cannot get the treasurer to produce one. That is unacceptable. In a situation like that I would either have a copy of the statement or a new treasurer regardless of how many families the church lost. In the small, bivocational church which I pastored we had a treasurer and a financial secretary who produced a four page financial statement for every business meeting. I have never seen such a detailed statement in any church I have visited, and when one read the statement there was no question that every dollar given and spent had been accounted for. We left copies of the statement on a table in our entrance so anyone attending our church could pick up a copy and see how we handled our finances. We wanted complete transparency. For our church it was a stewardship and an integrity issue. There were no trust issues with either our treasurer or financial secretary; they were some of the most honest people I have ever known, but we wanted to be completely open with our finances and they were not afraid of being transparent with their records.
However, I also know that asking for the financial records of a smaller church can sometimes lead to hurt feelings and loss of members. What I suggested in yesterday's discussion is that between treasurers is a good time for a church to develop a policy that would require an annual audit of the books and an additional audit any time a treasurer resigns. This does several things. It establishes the audit as part of the expectations of the position. Anyone accepting that responsibility knows ahead of time that an annual audit by an outside firm will be done. In case of problems, it protects the outgoing treasurer from any allegations of misconduct, and it assures the incoming treasurer that everything is correct before he or she assumes responsibility. Finally, it assures the church and anyone interested in the workings of the congregation that everything is being done openly and with integrity.
Good systems in place with documented policies can protect a church in so many ways. If your church does not have such a policy in place, talk to your treasurer and ask his or her feelings about an audit policy. Explain how it will protect him or her from allegations of wrong-doing. If you are not comfortable with such a discussion, at least implement such a policy in between treasurers. If the treasurer opposes such a policy, you may want to keep a closer eye on the books. A good rule of thumb might be that the more angry the treasurer gets over your suggestion the more apt it is he or she is hiding something. It may be that the loss of a family over such a policy might be a small price to pay to assure financial integrity.
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