Several years ago I wrote an article on cutting a church budget focused on the process and how to best communicate during a cost-trimming time. The intervening years have been ones of relative prosperity in North America. Now (2009) we find ourselves in another season of belt-tightening, and I noticed page views of that first budget cutting article were on the rise.

So, I thought I would offer another article on budget cutting from a slightly different angle. Most churches work on a weekly-budget basis, so the flow of contributions to expenses, week to week, becomes important. Let me suggest a few places to look in a church budget to make significant cuts, if you find yourself as a leader in that position:

Debt management. This is usually one of the larger items on a church budget if you have a campus of any significance. Look into refinancing your debt to a lower interest rate or longer term to lower monthly payments. These are long-term decisions, and it might take a few months to get this through leadership, committees, etc. Remember it never hurts to ask--investigate how you can get your debt cost lower week-to-week. You can always pay your debt down faster at a later date when cash flow is better--or make an extra payment if you meet your budget goals.

Staffing. This is the single largest item in must church budgets. I'm not going to recommend you lay off workers until you have to (do everything else first). But, there are some major cost-cutting measures you can undertake that keep peoples' basic paychecks intact even as you reduce expenses. Some of these are going to sound drastic, but if you are in cost-cutting mode, you should at least consider them:

First, institute a hiring freeze. If you have key roles to fill, look at transitioning other staff to those roles, or not filling a role until another staff member leaves. Encourage staff who can to go to part-time--you'll always have a few staff members who work just because they want to and not for the money.

If you have a retirement matching program, cease your chuch's matching contribution temporarily until economic conditions improve. Inform workers you will not do the matching contribution monthly, but will reconsider it if you meet your year-end budget goal. Look at other insurance offerings that you might be able to trim temporarily. Staff workers will likely submit more agreeably to benefit reductions than to reductions in their base salaries.

Cut hourly workers from a 5 day week to a 4 day week--32 hours instead of 40. This is a 20% reduction in hourly wages and will really impact those workers affected. However, I've talked to several folks who have done this, and it turns out that it's easier for those workers to find additional work elsewhere for 1-2 days per week than to be laid off and faced with finding full-time work. You may also check with other local churches of similar size to see if you might share workers 2-3 days a week.

Look at all paid positions--especially maintenance and housekeeping roles--and see if those could be organized and handled on a volunteer basis. Let Sunday School groups or service teams rotate these duties, taking one week of the year. You could even note who cleaned the building this week in the Sunday bulletin as a thank you. The church receptionist role is also one that can often be managed by a group of volunteers.

On-Campus Expenses. Look to see if you can get preschool supplies like diapers, snacks and toys donated instead of purchasing them.

Look at your leases on any equipment--especially office equipment. Contact those providers and see if there is an option to down-size. Look carefully at any maintenance contracts and make sure they are of critical value. Tell staff that all computer and software upgrades are on hold--see if lay persons will donate their old computers for the church to use if more are required.

Enlist volunteers to organize and provide coffee and supplies for adults on Sunday--this is another area that can have a rotation of helpers. I've found that just having coffee and sweetners can literally be thousands of dollars a year.

Limit the use of the campus to certain hours and evenings weekly. If just one group of 10 people is present one night, it makes no sense to have a staff person to open the building and run the air and lights for them. Ask groups to meet off campus when possible. Consider maximizing your use of Sunday afternoons--if you have Sunday morning and evening events, the building is already on and cooled (or heated) for that time, and using a few more hours is little extra expense compared to another day of the week.

Media and promotion. Cut your church bulletin down from a folding bulletin or a color shell to a simple 1/2 page flyer with basic information. Cut out any weekly or monthly churchwide mailer--newsletter or magazine--and go with a weekly email instead. Using your website and emails for promotional material and distribution can tremendously cut expenses.

Ditch your Yellow Pages advertising and weekly ad in the newspaper's religious section, if you do one. They are both wastes of money anyway and you really should have cut that out a few years ago--your website is the primary first-contact point.

Programming. Make all camps, retreats and other registration-driven or off-campus programming cost-neutral. Most churches supplement these events in their budgets. Consider a lock-in or a weekend at a nearby retreat center versus a youth camp to the beach or mountains. Institute a rule that all overnight events sponsored by the church must cost $99 or less and must be budgeted on a complete cost-recovery basis. You'll be amazed at the resourcefulness of your staff once they get over the initial shock.

Cancel plans for big special events and productions--like a Christmas production or a July 4 program--and go for fellowship and service opportunities instead. Have a summer pot luck picnic or a winter yard rake day. Special programs usually impact the worship ministry the most, but this is really discretionary spending that can be done away with at least temporarily.

Make sure ancillary ministries on campus are budgeted on a cost-recovery basis--such as Mother's Day Out. Look at any "paid volunteer" roles that could be cut--some churches pay musicians, childcare workers or food service personnel. Most of these can be managed by volunteers if organized properly.

If you "clear the calendar of events" to keep expenses down, consider having a monthly churchwide emphasis instead--a book of the Bible to focus teaching on, or segment of the church to minister to. This encourages the church to serve instead of spend.

Food. If you have a Wednesday night supper or other food service, re-price it to be complete cost-recovery, or shut it down temporarily. Institute a policy of no reimbursed meal expenses for the staff. Be sure all events involving food are complete cost-recovery. You can spend a lot on food if you are not careful.

Do not cut your benevolent spending. Finally, be sure to emphasize your assistance to those in need during this time. Obviously with higher jobless rates and other challenges, some families have real needs. Consider special offerings with the proceeds going to families in need in the church and surrounding communities. This is not a budget-cutting measure, but what it does do is serve as a reminder to the church that the budget is being cut for a reason, and that the church can still serve and meet critical needs during a challenging economic downturn.

About the Author. Eugene L. Mason has more than two decades of experience in ministry communications and technologies. More...