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Building a Mission-Focused Church Budget

Watch this video to learn how to Build a Mission-Focused Church Budget or read below: 

 

Building a Mission-Focused Church Budget

Many churches struggle financially, and when budget adjustments are necessary, outreach is often the first area to be reduced or eliminated. However, outreach is essential for growth and fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Without a mission-focused budget, churches risk becoming inward-focused, prioritizing maintenance over reaching new people.

The way a church allocates its budget is a direct reflection of its priorities.

Unfortunately, over 85% of church budgets¹ are typically allocated to internal operations such as salaries, facilities, and programs for existing members, while less than 2% is dedicated to outreach or evangelism.² This misalignment hinders churches from effectively engaging their communities and making disciples. 

If Jesus prioritized reaching people far from God, church budgets should reflect the same priority. Churches that commit to realigning their budgets toward mission-driven outreach often see significant growth and greater impact in their communities.

The Core Questions of Church Budgeting

A church budget is more than a financial document—it is a statement of mission and values. However, financial pressures can cause churches to drift away from their core purpose. To ensure a mission-driven budget, church leaders should ask two essential questions:

  1. Why does the church exist? (The Mission Question) The church exists to know God, love people, and make Him known. Jesus emphasized the priority of reaching the lost in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
  2. How should resources be stewarded to fulfill this mission? (The Stewardship Question) Every dollar spent should reflect a commitment to fulfilling Christ’s mission, ensuring that outreach, discipleship, and evangelism remain priorities.

Realigning Budgets to Prioritize Outreach

The first step toward realignment is committing to designating at least 10% of the budget for outreach. Churches that prioritize this often experience growth, stronger community engagement, and a greater impact.

  • Some churches divide their outreach budgets between local and global efforts, ensuring both their neighborhoods and the nations are reached.
  • Others invest in digital evangelism, recognizing that technology provides a powerful tool for reaching people in today’s world.

However, simply increasing the outreach budget isn’t enough. Churches must invest in strategies that yield lasting fruit. Traditional outreach events may draw crowds, but without intentional follow-up and relationship-building, they often fail to create long-term discipleship.

A New Era of Evangelism: Meeting People Where They Are

With the average person spending 7.25 hours a day on digital devices³, the church has an unprecedented opportunity to reach people where they already are. The digital landscape serves as the modern-day Roman Road—a space where conversations, trust-building, and faith decisions happen daily.

How VisitorReach Helps Churches Align with Their Mission Through Digital Evangelism

  • Meet People Where They Are: Digital platforms allow churches to build trust and relationships over time, leading to deeper engagement.
  • Steward Resources Wisely: Digital outreach strategies maximize a church’s budget while ensuring the highest impact.
  • Build Relationships That Lead to Transformation: The goal is not just increasing attendance but fostering genuine connections that lead people to faith and discipleship.

Moving From a Maintenance-Driven to a Mission-Driven Budget

To shift toward a mission-focused budget, church leaders should ask:

  • Are we prioritizing outreach in our budget planning?
  • How do we measure whether our outreach efforts are effective?
  • Are we investing in strategies that lead to true discipleship, not just attendance?
  • Are we willing to reallocate resources to reflect Christ’s mission?

Though church budgets are a sensitive topic, they don’t have to be. 


Creating a budget centered around outreach and mission and believing in God’s mission for the modern church is the first step to living out the Great Commission. Using digital resources at our disposal and focusing on cultivating relationships instead of just increasing attendance will allow a church to prioritize reaching new people, and investing in them.

 

Footnotes

1. “Are your church budget percentages healthy?”, churchtrac, link.

“Pastor, Where Do Your Missions Dollars Go?”, The Gospel Coalition, link.

“Revealing Average Screentime Statistics”, Backlinko, link.