Finances are an integral part of the ministry of the church, and are handled by a member of the congregation who possesses business skills. The church treasurer works behind the scenes, benefitting the whole congregation through the work they do as they exercise their spiritual gifts.

The responsibilities of the church treasurer are as follows:

1. Tithes and offerings. The treasurer receives the tithes and offerings which come in on Sabbath morning or to the church office during the week. It is a generally accepted safeguard to have two or more vetted treasury volunteers count the loose offerings as soon as possible after they have been received before the money is turned over to the treasurer. The church monies are kept in a safe in the church office before being deposited in the bank.

2. Receipting. All funds received should be receipted as soon as possible. The offering envelopes are opened and checked to see that each amount received tallies with what is written on the envelope. All the receipts are then posted in the church ledger by hand or computer. The keeping of these records is vital not only for the auditor who will be checking them each year, but for the members as well, who will need a list of their contributions for tax purposes.

3. Banking. It is the responsibility of the office manager to deposit church monies in a local bank. Of course, this must be in a separate account from that of the church treasurer’s personal account. This account is under the Church of the Advent Hope, according the requirements of national and local law.

4. Records. The treasurer needs to forward a copy of the church ledger pages to the conference each month. This list of the month’s receipts should be accompanied by a check covering the amount of tithe given and the offerings received that were designated for the conference, union, or General Conference projects.

5. Personal receipts. The receipts for tithes and offerings given by the members should be distributed to them on a regular basis in the manner the church board has agreed upon. Some churches do this quarterly while others have worked out a system to mail them out on a yearly basis. There is no strict rule for this procedure.

6. Accounts payable. Authorization for the disbursing of church funds for church operation is generally given in the annual church budget. Special projects or items not in the budget must be authorized by the church board or by a church business meeting.

7. Financial statements. The treasurer should prepare a monthly financial statement and distribute copies to the church board at their meeting. This statement should include the balance status of all budgeted accounts, as well as the totals received in tithes and offerings and a detailed record of all disbursements made.

8. Funds collected for special projects. Funds for events such as the holiday benefit concert should be counted and remitted to the appropriate recipients.

9. Budgeting: The treasurer is responsible for the operations budget. The budgeting process begins in late July. A first draft of the budget is presented to the Board in September. The final budget is presented to the Church in the business meeting in October/November.