Raising Local Funds

To maintain a sufficient inflow of funds to  pay the various expenses of the church is a problem that keeps many a pastor busy. We have a system that we are using quite success­fully, which I will attempt to describe briefly.

First of all, we follow the church budget plan presented in the "Church Manual." We make up our budget, and secure pledges from our members to make a certain monthly payment to cover the budget. We try, so far as possible, to get patrons of the church school to pay tui­tion. However, some are not able to do this, and we debar no child from the school because of the financial inability of the parents. What­ever the tuition payments lack of providing enough to operate the school, is provided for in the church budget.

We next make up two lists of all members, with their names arranged alphabetically. We make one list for the church budget, and an­other for the tuition payments. Beside each name is the amount of the pledge, and opposite that are twelve squares, one for each month. It is a small task to check over the tithe en­velopes once each month, and enter in the proper square the payments for the month. This will always show at a glance just how each person is keeping up his payments. The illus­tration will show how this list appears.

Once a month we give to each member what we call "Just a Kindly Reminder," a reproduc­tion of which appears hereafter. It has the member's name typed upon it. If he is behind with his payments, this is indicated. It also shows the amount of the payment, and the date due, together with the total amount then due.

Our members have co-operated very nicely in this plan. We find it a decided encourage­ment to people to keep their payments method­ically up to date. These reminders are given out with the receipts. Hanging on the wall of our church we have a file which contains a pocket for each member. The receipts and re­minders are put in the file, and the members obtain them in that way. If a member states that his payments are up to date, even though our records do not show it, we take his word and do not argue. We follow the business slo­gan, "The customer is always right."

We used this plan throughout 1933. The re­sult was that not once did we have to make a call or put on a "drive" from the desk on Sab­bath morning for any local need. Under this plan the Sabbath morning hour is kept for wor­ship, without distracting "pulls" for money. This is gratifying to the church. Surely any proper plan that will promote the spirit of wor­ship is worthwhile.

Denver, Colo.