Physical Stewardship Of Church Assets

By Sherri L. Mackey*

Recent thefts at a few of our United Methodist churches in the Upper New York Annual Conference serve to remind us that our churches are just as vulnerable to break-ins and theft as is any other business operation. In fact, your church, which may have long periods of time when it is not occupied, may be even more vulnerable – especially during various holiday seasons when it is a known that churches will receive larger donations. Compounding this vulnerability is the desperate situations that a troubled economy creates for individuals in your communities. The church can, in such circumstances, appear to be a relatively easy target. Good stewardship requires that each church take action to avoid being an attractive target for theft.

It is important to review, revise and continually improve practices at your church around the handling of donations, deposits and pledge/plate counting so as to minimize any potential losses.

While we want to believe and trust that all individuals in a local church involved with the handling of funds are good honest Christians and that no one in a local community would “stoop” to stealing from a church, the reality is that people will take advantage of a weakness in monetary controls, especially if their personal situation is desperate enough.

By conducting a review of the church’s practices, policies and procedures, the church can address its vulnerabilities and simultaneously build in checks and balances that not only protect church assets, but also protect those church members who have volunteered their services as church secretary, as treasurer, for counting, and as a member of the finance team. In this manner, the church is optimizing its financial security.

Implementing standard fund- and cash-handling procedures and security measures that often appear to be common sense may help a church, no matter its size, avoid loss.

These procedures and measures may require:

• At least two persons must be present at all times when church collections are being counted.
• No team of counters should have persons related serving together (e.g. no husband/wife or sibling teams).
• Neither the church treasurer nor the church finance secretary should be on a counting team.
• No pastor or pastor’s family member should be on a counting team or have access to church funds at anytime. The pastor should not have the combination or keys to any safe on site.
• Collected funds or deposits should never be brought home with any team member or other person, particularly if the collection has not actually been counted.
• Deposit slips should be completed at the same time as the count is reconciled and the funds should be, immediately upon completion of the count, taken to a bank or other financial institution for deposit. (Placing the funds in a night depository is a good way to secure the funds on a Sunday or holiday.)
• A copy of the deposit slip should be given to the church treasurer. The record of the funds collected (i.e. the record of amounts paid on pledge, plate, special Sunday funds, etc.) should be signed by all counters verifying their agreement, and the original given to the church treasurer.
• Cash or checks that come to the church at times other than during services should be listed for deposit as they arrive and, prior to deposit, the amount received should be independently verified by a person other than the one creating the log. Often the treasurer or financial secretary can do this verification and record of the accounting amounts. The person opening mail should not be the same person that makes a deposit and also records the deposit.
• No deposit of church funds should be made to an individual’s bank account.
• Church funds should be handled by a very limited group of persons. Funds should be collected only by those authorized to do so.
• Make all deposits immediately. For large deposits, in particular, try to arrange for at least two persons to go together to make the deposit or drop to the night depository. Never keep substantial amounts of cash and/or checks on hand at the church. If absolutely necessary to hold funds on site, all amounts should be secured in an immovable safe and counted prior to securing the funds in the safe. Never keep funds in a locked drawer or other locked filing cabinet.
• Have procedures and church funds audited annual as required by the Book of Discipline – 2008. An audit may reveal internal control weaknesses needing your attention.
• Ensure that there is a separation of duties between those with significant financial responsibilities. For example, those who count, should not also record financial data in the account records. Those who report financial information should have that information reviewed by both financial and non-financial church members on CFA and church council.
• The finance team of the church should ensure that the same standards for handling regular church funds are also used for any and all financial activity conducted by the church trustees. The finance team's oversight extends to all funds of a local church, not just to budget funds. Therefore, the finance team needs to know what is happening to trustee- managed funds and that those funds are also subject to appropriate management oversight and internal controls.
• Control of church keys is crucial to securing assets. Give out keys to office spaces and other areas with valuable assets only to those who absolutely must have the keys. Collect keys from those who no longer have a role with the church for which they need to have access. Change locks when keys go missing. Physical barriers are a deterrent.
• When the church is unlocked, at least one responsible person should always be present.
• When the church is closed, all windows and doors should firmly and adequately secured. Ineffective or broken locks, latches, doors, and windows should be immediately repaired.
• Some churches may find it necessary to invest in a security system to protect assets and people. Security access should be tightly managed. The “open doors” concept of The United Methodist Church is about being a welcoming environment to our neighbors and communities. It does not mean that a church should create an unsafe or unprotected environment by not securing or monitoring the church building.
• Counters and others with financial responsibilities should not discuss the amount of funds received on any particular date except with those who have a need to know.  Likewise, the location of funds within a church should not be discussed with anyone other than those that have a need to know, and then only in private locations. Any person who may overhear such a conversation conducted in public could use that information to steal from the church.
• While it would be good to change operational patterns around cash deposits, etc., this is nearly impossible given that Sunday is the day most collections are taken. However, a review of safety practices with those who make deposits for the church should be conducted periodically. For example, this could include a discussion about being aware of one’s surroundings when stepping from a vehicle to make a deposit.

Our purpose as a church is, in part, to minister to the needs of those within our churches, but it is also to reach out to our neighbors to help meet their basic needs. If there are people desperate enough to steal from the church, the need in our neighborhoods is obviously very great. One of the strongest preventative measures your church may be able to take against theft is to really get to know your neighborhood and its people and the pressures and fears that they are experiencing.

This is when direct, caring, compassionate ministry to your neighbors can result in building the trust and love of community that makes it more difficult for someone to make the bad decision to steal from the church. Ministry that works to identify and sincerely meet the needs of the community becomes less vulnerable to crime, and will, more significantly, be kingdom building in our neighborhoods.

*Mackey is the treasurer and director of administrative services for the Upper New York Annual Conference.