How do you handle financial aspects in a new church?

Question: If you were to start pastoring a new church, how would you begin to approach the administrative/financial aspect of church? How do you start? What is your approach?

Answer: Assuming I understand the question, before accepting a new position, which I am first offered…I would ask several questions and wait for the answers. I would ask about the churches financial condition. Is it meeting its obligations? How many times have they missed payments? What is its financial reputation in the community? How much does it owe on its mortgage? What other obligations does it have? Besides paying its extension tithe and giving to missions, where else has the church given $$? Are there any other employees or compensated positions? I would want to know what I am walking into.

I would also investigate church compliance issues. I would want to meet the Church Council. Are they paying their extension tithe to the denomination? When was the last time they submitted their EZRA report and would review the reports for the past 2 years. I would want to know the date of the last church business meeting. I would want to read minutes for the past 2 years from the Church Council and business meetings.

If I misunderstood the original question and it was more about a church start/plant...
First contact your local ARC (denominational office). You will need to obtain a Federal ID. If you are a Foursquare church, do not do this on your own. You must go through the denomination. ICFG has a group of numbers that lead back to its’ master number and its’ non-profit exemption. Fed ID in hand you can set up a bank account which requires two signatures on each check. Next, create a budget for the first year and categorize it into each of 12 months. This will help you see cashflow needs in smaller manageable blocks. Finally, purchase Quickbooks for your accounting. If you are not great at accounting then recruit a key trusted volunteer who is.