My ministry education began much earlier than my financial education. My dad was a preacher for over 50 years. My parents ate, drank, and slept ministry. I received the blessing of their intentional efforts to teach about the joys and challenges of ministry. This article couldn’t begin to contain all they taught me by example or the profound gratitude and respect I have for their faithfulness. I couldn’t have asked for better role models—about ministry.

My education about financial matters was another story. The money lessons I remember most were that a) preachers don’t make much money, and b) You can’t function in life without a Sears credit card. To be fair, my folks stressed that the other blessings of ministry outweighed the meager financial rewards. But they simply hadn’t been taught about money management.

As a young minister myself, I came face to face with my lack of financial education. I knew nothing about all those things that young adults must navigate such as managing debt, budgeting, insurance, and retirement savings. As I latched on to some God-sent financial mentors and began to learn, I came to discover that it wasn’t just young ministers struggling with these lessons. In fact, most of my peers were similarly floundering in the deep end trying to stay financially afloat. 

As I came to better understand financial matters (and even enjoy it), God ultimately led me away from “located” ministry and into helping people with finances. It’s been a journey I could not have envisioned as God led me step by step. First, I became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). When I retired from that part of my life last year, the practice had grown to managing over $100 million of other people’s money and serving over 140 clients. They say that if you see a turtle on a fencepost, you know it had help. I am that turtle. I had lots of help. It’s a God story.

Here are some lessons I learned over the years. Hopefully, there’s something here that God can use to stimulate your thinking about financial matters.

Appreciating the Time Value of Money

There’s a difference between saving and investing. Saving is simply putting funds aside for some future purpose. Investing is putting money to work. 

Let’s say you are 25 years old. You don’t have a lot but find you could chisel $100 a month from your budget. Here’s what could happen over time with that money if invested. 

$100 per month for 30 years earning 8% = $150,030

$100 per month for 35 years earning 8% = $230,918

$100 per month for 40 years earning 8% = $351,428

An 8% projected return is not overly optimistic. The S&P 500 (an index of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. stocks) has averaged over 10% annually since 1926. These types of index funds are readily accessible. 

Here’s the real point. After over 40 years at $100 per month, you would have invested $48,000 of principal. The time value of money makes it worth $351,428. If it takes you an extra 10 years to “get your financial act together,” that $12,000 you didn’t invest from age 25-34 ends up costing you over $200,000! (That’s the difference between the $351,428 for 40 years and the $150,030 for 30 years.) That’s the time value of money. Every dollar you invest now multiplies. 

If You Don’t Manage Your Money, It Will Manage You.

Over the years, I’ve encountered numerous faithful servants selflessly serving others. But like my parents, they just muddle through the financial end of things. Here’s the truth—you can ignore financial planning and avoid making difficult adjustments. However, you will pay the price later. Figuring out how to cut $100 of monthly spending now is easier (and less stressful) than figuring out how to get out of a mountain of debt later.

Realistically, ministry can be stressful. Finances—when approached with one’s head in the sand—will result in much more stress later. I’ve seen gifted ministers leave the ministry in large part because of financial stress. Much of that could have been minimized with planning. 

Good Financial Planning Provides Ministry Opportunities

Very simply, as we go through life, we are either accumulating debt or accumulating capital. Good financial planning can move us from the debt side to the capital side (a good thing!) and speed up the rate of accumulation of capital (another good thing!).

Having more capital doesn’t make you a better Christian, but it does provide more choices. Years ago, my wife and I heard God’s unmistakable call to minister to an expat church in the Republic of Panama. We used my wife’s flight benefits to fly back and forth several times a month while the ministry grew. Obviously, the more time we spent there, the less time we could be earning money in the U.S. The church couldn’t pay us much of anything. The move was a bit scary even though we didn’t have much debt and had been investing for a while. If we would have been in a messy financial situation, I don’t know if we would have accepted the call, and we would have missed out on some tremendous blessings.

Sometimes, life can throw us curve balls outside of our control. However, simply by planning and making better choices, we can grow our capital more rapidly—and that honors God.

“Ministry Good; Money Evil” is not a Biblical Concept

Of course, ministry is good. To be called by God and used by Him in special ways thrills beyond belief. Ministry is not a call to poverty. While the scriptures condemn the love of money as a root of all kinds of evil (I Tim. 6:10), we are also taught that the worker is worthy of their wages (I Tim. 5:18) and that saving is good (check out the ant in Proverbs 6:6). Wisely handling God’s resources is praised throughout scripture as a virtue. 

Buying into the dichotomy of “ministry good; money evil” can set us up for some identity crises later. Some are called into specialized ministry for their entire working career. However, many others are called for a season, moving later into a traditional career. I struggled with this transition in my early 30’s, moving from being in located ministry to developing a “secular” career. By describing it this way, you will see the problem: Ministry is good, and careers outside of ministry seemed somehow less good. But I wanted to approach everything from a ministry viewpoint (not necessarily bad), but I assumed that meant that I wasn’t supposed to care if I made much money. 

In retrospect, it would have been much healthier to see everything through a different lens. I am God’s servant. He has called me to be a minister at all times and in all circumstances—regardless of whether my paycheck is coming from a church or mission organization. Everything I have is God’s—every penny, every opportunity. I honor God by making good financial decisions and planning for my future. It took me too long to find that lens.

Get Help

Finances are such an important part of life. How you handle your money will impact your marriage, your ministry, your stress load, and your future. 

Getting some outside help can be a great idea. Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace is a great place to start for budgeting and getting out of debt. I personally suggest you consult other professionals to address other elements of financial planning. Try to find someone who you can pay simply for their advice. Just remember that if they’re trying to sell you life insurance or annuities, you may be getting skewed advice.

All of life—particularly ministry and financial planning—is a journey. You don’t get it figured out or fixed all at once. Sometimes, it takes a while to really hear what God is saying. Make your finances a part of your prayers and planning