In this final installment of a three-part blog series, I want to share with you the remaining two changes you can make to improve your financial future.

#3 Return the full tithe to God. This means bringing back to God the first 10% of what He’s blessed you with. When you don’t return it to him, you’re robbing God and removing His blessings from your life.

It’s impossible for a Christian to get out of debt if you are not fully tithing. We’ve seen this play out hundreds of times with our church members. I’m convinced that so many pastors suffer financially because they aren’t fully obedient to God’s financial plan of bringing him the full tithe. My coaching experience is that 90% of the pastors I’ve coached who are in debt are also giving less than a full tithe. So just like we teach our congregation, we suffer when we fail to obey God’s plan. Regardless of how much you make, when you honor God with the tithe, He honors you in every area of your life. As pastors we have to lead the way.

#4 – Actively engage your financial life. As a pastor, you don’t need to be a CPA but you do want to be actively engaged. Set aside just 15 – 30 minutes a month to examine your finances. Build a baseline of what you own, owe, spend and save. Track it. If you don’t engage it, it will get out of control.

Taking control of your finances as a pastor doesn’t have to be overwhelming – take it one step at a time. Focus in on these 4 changes and you will be looking at a much brighter financial future.

Click here to read Part One of this series.

Click here to read Part Two of this series.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.