Foundation · Module 3 of 9
M3 — Money
Strengthen stewardship, financial visibility, giving, budgeting, cash flow, controls, reserves, and long-term sustainability.
Nine M curriculum version 1.0 · Nine M methodology, content, exercises and deliverables by Pastor Lee Jenkins.
Official outcome
Church Financial Health and Stewardship Plan
- Financial-health scorecard summarizing reporting reliability, giving health, budget discipline, controls and reserves
- Three-year trend review of income, expenses and net position pulled from Stewardship Nsites financial dashboard and statements
- Current-year budget with variance notes and a twelve-month cash-flow forecast
- Giving health analysis covering participation, average gift, recurring share, digital versus cash mix, lapsed contributors and concentration, reported in aggregate
- Internal controls walkthrough identifying gaps in separation of duties, counting, deposit and approval practices
- Draft reserves policy stating a target operating-runway range and replenishment approach
- Named list of financial risks with likelihood, impact and an accountable owner for each
- Gaps register listing every open financial-visibility, giving, controls or reserves gap discovered during the module
- 90-day action plan assigning each recommended action an owner, due date, resources required, success measure, status and review date
Suggested duration: 5 weeks · about 8 hours of leadership time · Owner: Finance Director · Coach: Pastor Lee Jenkins · Approval: Coach review
Module health
Needs attentionBaseline 70 → follow-up 76
Module purpose
Suggested leadership time: About 8 hours of leadership time
M3 Money exists to strengthen the way a church sees, stewards and speaks about the financial resources God has entrusted to it. Too many congregations operate with financial information scattered across a treasurer's notebook, a bank app and a bookkeeper's memory, which means decisions get made on instinct instead of evidence. This module builds financial visibility first, so that leaders can trust the numbers before they act on them, and then moves into giving health, budgeting, cash flow, internal controls and reserves so that stewardship becomes a discipline the whole leadership team practices together rather than a burden carried by one volunteer.
By the end of this module, leadership will have produced a Church Financial Health and Stewardship Plan that pulls these threads into one working document: a scorecard that shows where the church stands today, a three-year trend review that shows the direction of travel, a budget and cash-flow plan that translates ministry priorities into dollars, a giving analysis that protects donor confidentiality while surfacing real patterns, control recommendations that reduce risk without implying wrongdoing, a reserves policy that prepares the church for the unexpected, a named list of financial risks, and a 90-day action plan that turns insight into ownership. This is long-term sustainability work, not a one-time audit.
Official outcome — Church Financial Health and Stewardship Plan
Leadership will have reviewed current financial reporting, giving patterns, budget performance and cash position; approved a reserves policy and a set of control improvements; and adopted a Church Financial Health and Stewardship Plan with a 90-day action plan assigning named owners and dates.
Deliverable component checklist
- 1. Financial-health scorecard summarizing reporting reliability, giving health, budget discipline, controls and reserves
- 2. Three-year trend review of income, expenses and net position pulled from Stewardship Nsites financial dashboard and statements
- 3. Current-year budget with variance notes and a twelve-month cash-flow forecast
- 4. Giving health analysis covering participation, average gift, recurring share, digital versus cash mix, lapsed contributors and concentration, reported in aggregate
- 5. Internal controls walkthrough identifying gaps in separation of duties, counting, deposit and approval practices
- 6. Draft reserves policy stating a target operating-runway range and replenishment approach
- 7. Named list of financial risks with likelihood, impact and an accountable owner for each
- 8. Gaps register listing every open financial-visibility, giving, controls or reserves gap discovered during the module
- 9. 90-day action plan assigning each recommended action an owner, due date, resources required, success measure, status and review date
Learning objectives and completion requirements
Learning objectives
- • Identify the financial information leaders need for timely decisions
- • Evaluate giving health without reducing stewardship to fundraising
- • Convert priorities into a budget, forecast and reserves plan
- • Protect assets with controls and decision-ready reporting
Completion requirements
- • All four lessons marked complete
- • All four exercises submitted
- • Required evidence uploaded
- • Named principal deliverable generated and approved
- • 90-day action plan created with owners and dates
- • Coach review recorded
Lessons
Four complete lessons. Each produces one named artifact for the official outcome.
Lesson 1 — Stewardship and Financial Visibility
Identify the financial information leaders need to make timely, mission-aligned decisions. · 75 minutes · produces Ten Financial Questions Visibility Test
CompleteOpen full lessonLesson 2 — Giving Health and Generosity Culture
Evaluate giving patterns without reducing stewardship to fundraising. · 90 minutes · produces Giving Health Analysis
CompleteOpen full lessonLesson 3 — Budgeting, Cash Flow, and Reserves
Convert ministry priorities into a realistic financial operating plan. · 90 minutes · produces Twelve-month forecast, operating-runway calculation, three scenarios and draft Reserves Policy
Not completeOpen full lessonLesson 4 — Controls, Reporting, and Financial Action
Protect church assets and establish decision-ready reporting. · 75 minutes · produces Internal Controls Walkthrough and Remediation Register
Not completeOpen full lesson