Theology of the Teaching Ministry

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INTRODUCTION

Financial management in most churches have now become a controversial issue and for this reason many churches are breaking apart in Ghana. Mismanagement, poor accountability and improper transparency has led many Christians to backslid. The great commission of the church is now shifting from wining souls to wining money.

 TRANSPARENCY OF THE CHURCH FINANCES

Transparency of church finance is very essential in our modern church settings. People give because they love God and wants to see the kingdom business progressing. Thus planting churches, outreach missions, evangelism, building churches, helping the needy and many more. However, the church has now become personal assert, source of revenue for some pastors and leaders and self-material development by some elders. For these reasons transparent accountability is very crucial. As it is written in the Holy Bible, “now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals” (2Chronicles 24:7).Moreover, these sons were among the people whom the treasures of the temple had been entrusted to, yet they broke into the temple and mishandled the funds. Nevertheless, this is exactly what some pastors, elders, deacons, and many others are doing today, using church funds for their personal consumption.

Again, I believe a church should have a financial committee that will manage its funds. A committee of about five members including the pastor rather than entrusting the funds to one person, and the committee should be able to render a transparent account to the congregation as well.

In 2 Chronicles 24:13-14, the Bible tells us about men who were in charge of the temple work and were diligent, and did the work according to the purposes and plans entrusted to them. When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king without accountability, all because of their diligence. Perhaps, if church leaders, pastors and deacons will be diligent in dealing with church funds, there would be no need for transparency and accountability. But because of the opaqueness of the funds manage, I think the members deserve transparent accountability.

This is what we do in House of Ministry, Buokrom branch. Tithe, offertory and every money receive on Sundays is recorded and announce to the members at the close of the day, unless classify. Then again, all financial records are put together and broadcast to the congregation by the financial committee at the end of the year in clear and simple term.

CONCLUSION

For the givers to give with a cheerful heart, there must be transparency and accountability in the church.