Empowering Teams to Raise their Own Funds

Common sense has to prevail. If a church feels what the small group is about is crucial to the future of the church, the best thing to do is give them seed money. If not, the best thing to do is let them take responsibility for raising the money. This does not apply to core ministries.

Who has the authority to say yes to a group about spending money?

The mission statement. The authority to say yes and no is based solely on the mission statement. If what the small group wants to do enhances the mission statement, then let them do it unless it is obvious that in doing so they endanger the church, which is not going to be the case very often. In such a system there can not be any dollar amounts.

How often should leaders meet with their supervising leader?

Once a month for at least one hour along with the other leaders.

How are small groups accountable to the church for expenditures?

There is no one way to answer this. Some are totally on their own, others are part of the church budget. Usually it is best to have one person or small team that oversees all of the money issues of a church. Say two or three people. They are not to say NO to anything. They only hold people accountable regarding the money. They have no power at all to say NO. Since most small groups are going to raise their own money, it does not matter how quickly this group can respond to people