Simple, actionable insights in just 5-10 minutes per episode.
Each episode focuses on key financial topics, offering tips to align your church’s finances with its mission. From budgets to financial reports, we’re here to help you build a strong foundation.
Episode Show Notes
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Episode 1: Protecting Your Church’s Money
Welcome to the First Episode of Distilled: Church Finance Made Simple!
We’re thrilled to kick off this journey with you! On Distilled, we tackle complex church financial topics and transform them into simple, actionable steps you can take to steward your church’s resources wisely.
In This Episode: Greg Daley, Chief Visionary of Parable Bookkeeping & Accounting for Churches, joins us to discuss a sobering statistic: the staggering amount of money projected to be stolen from churches in the coming year.
Together, we explore:
- Why and how money is stolen from churches.
- The most common vulnerabilities in church financial systems.
- Practical steps to protect your church and promote financial accountability.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the Risk: Theft in churches often stems from a lack of proper financial controls, making it easier for mismanagement or fraud to occur.
- Implementing Safeguards: Simple changes like dual sign-offs, transparent reporting, and regular audits can significantly reduce the theft risk.
- The Importance of Stewardship: Protecting your church’s finances is part of your mission to steward God’s resources effectively.
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Episode 2: The Missing Piece to Church Finance
In this conversation, Greg and Dan discuss the critical missing piece in church finance, emphasizing the importance of strategic finance. They explore how strategic finance can help churches align their financial resources with their mission, make informed decisions, and plan for the future.
The discussion also covers churches’ various options for obtaining strategic financial help, including hiring staff, utilizing volunteers, or partnering with specialized companies. The episode concludes with actionable takeaways for pastors, including a recommendation to complete a financial leadership assessment.
Takeaways
- The missing piece in church finance is strategic finance.
- Strategic finance involves aligning funds with the church’s mission.
- Budgeting is essential for future planning and resource allocation.
- Without a budget, funds can be misallocated and wasted.
- Churches often need fractional financial help rather than full-time staff.
- Volunteers can provide valuable financial assistance but may lack consistency.
- Hiring a specialized company can offer broader insights and experience.
- Understanding financial health is crucial for church growth and sustainability.
- Pastors should prioritize strategic financial questions in their planning.
- Utilizing resources like financial assessments can improve stewardship.
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Episode 3: Unlocking New Revenue Streams for Your Church
n this conversation, Greg and Dan discuss innovative approaches to church funding, emphasizing the importance of exploring additional revenue streams beyond traditional giving. The discussion highlights various creative ideas for generating income, such as utilizing church spaces for events, forming partnerships with business leaders, and leveraging existing resources. The conversation concludes with practical steps for pastors to implement these ideas and access further resources.
Key Takeaways:
- Churches often rely solely on traditional giving for funding.
- Exploring additional revenue streams can enhance church missions.
- Utilizing church spaces creatively can generate income.
- Merchandise sales often do not yield significant profits.
- Engaging business-savvy individuals from the congregation can help.
- Companies exist to assist churches in generating revenue.
- Forming a group of business leaders can lead to innovative solutions.
- Churches can rent out unused spaces for income.
- It’s important to ensure compliance with legal and tax obligations.
- Resources are available for churches to learn about funding options.
Resources: Diversifying Income Streams Video Series with Mark DeYmaz
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Episode 4: 4 Numbers Every Pastor Needs to Know
In this episode of Distilled: Church Finance Made Simple, Dan Pourbaix breaks down the four essential financial numbers every pastor should track to ensure the financial and spiritual health of their church. These key metrics—income received, expenses, savings, and donor engagement—provide crucial insights into both financial stability and the congregation’s commitment to the church’s mission. Dan shares practical strategies for monitoring these numbers and explains how they can help pastors make better-informed decisions.
Key Takeaways:
- Every pastor should track four key financial numbers: get, keep, have, and gave.
- Understanding these numbers provides a clear picture of the church’s financial health.
- Tracking giving trends can reveal deeper issues within the congregation.
- Financial data should be viewed in context over time for better decision-making.
- Healthy savings can prevent financial crises and keep the church on mission.
- Giving patterns can reflect the spiritual engagement of the congregation.
- Pastors should regularly review these metrics with their leadership team.
- Utilizing financial tracking tools can simplify the process and increase accuracy.
Resources & Next Steps:
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- Free Download: Church Financial Metrics Tracking Spreadsheet
- Download the Church Financial Toolkit for additional resources.
- Learn more about Parable’s bookkeeping services for expert financial support.
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Episode 5: Finding Hidden Money in Your Church Pt. 1
In this episode of Distilled: Church Finances Made Simple, Kira and Dan kick off a three-part series on making your church budget go farther. They tackle a critical question: Can church leaders really find extra money in their budget, or is that just a gimmicky statement? Spoiler alert—there may not be a hidden pot of gold, but there are strategic ways to free up resources for mission-critical expenses.
Key Takeaways:
- No Gold Buckets, But Real Savings: Churches often waste money on redundant, unnecessary, or outdated expenses. Identifying and eliminating these costs is like discovering a hidden pot of gold for your missions.
- Commit to Clarity: Just like a doctor needs full information before making a diagnosis, church leaders need financial clarity to make sound decisions. Inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to poor choices that don’t align with the church’s true financial health.
Resources & Next Steps:
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- Download the Church Financial Toolkit for additional resources.
- Learn more about Parable’s bookkeeping services for expert financial support.
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Episode 6: Finding Hidden Money in Your Church Pt. 2
In part two of our Finding Hidden Money in Your Church series, we dive into a simple yet powerful tool that every pastor should use when prioritizing church finances. The key takeaway? Good is the enemy of great. Many churches unintentionally fund “good” things at the expense of their core mission. Today’s episode will help you assess your spending and realign your budget with what truly drives impact.
Key Takeaways
- Good vs. Great – Many churches allocate resources to good things that ultimately prevent them from funding the great things that align with their mission.
- Budget Assessment – A simple, structured evaluation can help churches prioritize spending where it makes the most impact.
- Practical Tool – Learn how to use the Ministry Assessment Tool to rank spending priorities and make informed financial decisions.
Resources & Next Steps:
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- Download the Ministry Assessment Tool.
- Learn more about Parable’s bookkeeping services for expert financial support.
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Episode 7: Finding Hidden Money in Your Church Pt. 3
Is your church’s budget fueling growth—or holding it back? In this final episode of Finding Money in Your Church Finances, we unpack a powerful lesson from The Pumpkin Plan. Just like farmers who grow record-breaking pumpkins, thriving churches focus their resources where they’ll have the most impact.
Join us as we discuss:
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Why strategic pruning leads to financial health
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How to identify expenses that need to go
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A simple tool to refine your budget and fund your mission
Resources & Next Steps: Download our Expense Evaluation Tool to help you decide what to keep, reduce, or stop spending.
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Episode 8: How to Build An Effective Chart of Accounts
In this episode of Distilled: Church Finances Made Simple, Dan and Kira recap their time at the Exponential Conference in Florida—featuring Santa hats, snow yeti pajama pants, and a missing tiny Jesus figurine—before diving into something that may sound boring, but is actually foundational for church financial clarity: the Chart of Accounts (COA).
Dan breaks down what a Chart of Accounts is, why it matters, and how simplifying it can relieve burdens for ministry leaders, empower wise financial decisions, and keep every dollar aligned with your mission and vision. Whether you’re a pastor or ministry leader, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how to use your COA to clearly communicate your church’s priorities—not just to your team, but also to your congregation.
One Key Takeaway: Look at your Chart of Accounts and ask: is it simple, clear, and aligned with our mission and vision? If not—simplify it. Your financial reports should tell the story of your church’s priorities.
Resources Mentioned:
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Learn how Parable can help you simplify and align your COA by reach out to their team.
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Episode 9: Designated Giving Without Derailing the Vision
In this episode of Distilled: Church Finances Made Simple, Kira and Dan unpack the often-misunderstood world of donor-restricted funds. From designated giving to the tension between generosity and governance, they explore how churches can honor donor intent without drifting from mission. You’ll hear practical strategies for managing designated gifts, avoiding common missteps, and guiding your givers toward aligned generosity that fuels your vision—not fragments it.
One Key Takeaway: Donor restrictions can either support or sideline your mission—how you handle them determines the difference. Set clear expectations, communicate vision, and steward every gift with transparency and purpose.
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Episode 10: The Future of Church Finance Starts With Your Voice
In this episode of Distilled, Greg Daley, founder and visionary of Parable, joins host Dan Pourbaix to announce and unpack Parable’s bold new nationwide initiative: a survey designed to hear directly from church leaders about what’s really happening in church finances. Together, they explore the three key areas the survey is focused on—financial management, stewardship development, and accountability—and why insights in these areas are crucial to helping churches build trust, inspire generosity, and lead with integrity. Whether your church has solid systems or feels stuck in outdated practices, this conversation is a call to action: your voice matters, and the future of church stewardship depends on it.
One Key Takeaway: Your real-world experience with church finances—successes, struggles, systems—is the missing piece in building tools and solutions that actually help. Add your voice to shape what’s next.
Resources Mentioned: Church Finance Survey
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Episode 11: The System Behind the Mission Pt. 1
In this episode of Distilled, Dan and Kira kick off a two-part series exploring how to align your church’s finances with its mission. Dan explains what a financial operating system is, why every church already has one—intentional or not—and how Parable’s PFOS helps churches move from confusion to clarity by streamlining tools, policies, and strategy.
One Key Takeaway: An unintentional financial system creates confusion and risk; a clear, integrated financial operating system helps you fund what matters most.
Resources Mentioned: Church Financial Toolkit
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Episode 12: The Real Threat to Church Finances
Inflation, recession, declining giving—these are real concerns for church leaders. But what if they’re not the biggest threat to your church’s financial health? In this episode of Distilled, Dan Pourbaix sits down with Greg Daley (Founder & CEO of Parable) and Mark DeYmaz (Pastor, Author, and CEO of ChurchEconomist) to uncover what’s really holding churches back: an outdated economic model.You’ll hear real stories and practical insight into how churches are unlocking tens—even hundreds—of thousands of dollars by shifting to a 21st-century model of funding. From rethinking outdated programs to leveraging new income streams, this conversation is packed with ideas to help your church stop surviving and start thriving.
One Key Takeaway: Churches that thrive in today’s economy aren’t just reacting—they’re rethinking how they fund the mission, moving beyond tithes and offerings to unlock new income streams and opportunities.
Resources Mentioned:
Parable – Your Church Finance Team
ChurchEconomist with Mark DeYmaz
Book: The Coming Revolution in Church Economics by Mark DeYmaz
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Episode 13: Keep Every Dollar on Mission: Maximize Your Church’s Impact
Every dollar your church spends is either fueling your mission—or distracting from it.
In this episode of Distilled, Kira Echeandia and Dan Pourbaix sit down with Parable founder Greg Daley and Church Economics expert Mark DeYmaz to unpack what it means to keep every dollar on mission. They explore why churches often lose financial focus as they grow, where the disconnect happens between mission and budget, and what pastors can do to align their finances with their calling.
Whether you’re a lead pastor, executive pastor, or church finance leader, this episode will help you rethink how to steward your resources for maximum kingdom impact.
One Key Takeaway: Good stewardship requires intentionality. Faith isn’t passive—it calls for thoughtful action. Aligning your budget with your mission is how you move from doing good things to doing the best things.
Resources Mentioned:
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Episode 14: The Coming Revolution in Church Economics
The American church’s reliance on tithes and offerings as its primary source of income is no longer enough to sustain long-term ministry. In this episode, Dan Pourbaix and Greg Daley of Parable speak with Mark DeYmaz, pastor and CEO of The Church Economist, about the financial disruption already underway—and what churches must do to adapt.
Mark explains that thriving churches are expanding beyond traditional giving by embracing new models of revenue generation. These include launching for-profit businesses, securing grants and external donations, and leveraging their existing assets to fund ministry. This shift isn’t just about generating income—it’s about increasing missional impact, engaging more people in meaningful work, and bringing life back to communities.
The conversation dives into the theological, sociological, and technological realities that are forcing this change and offers practical ideas for church leaders who want to stay ahead of the curve.
One Key Takeaway
Churches must diversify their funding models now to remain sustainable and impactful in the 21st century. This requires rethinking stewardship and intentionally exploring new sources of income that align with the church’s mission.
Resources Mentioned
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Books by Mark DeYmaz
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The Church Economist
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www.churcheconomists.com – Offers tools like:
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Church Economics Assessment (free 6–7 minute tool)
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Sustainability Sprint – Helps churches build a customized funding roadmap
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Episode 15: 3 Mid-Year Moves Every Pastor Should Make
Summary:
In this episode of Distilled, Kira and Dan break down three critical mid-year financial review steps every church leader should take to set up for a strong finish. If your church operates on a calendar year budget, this is the perfect time to evaluate income, cash flow, and your ministry “wish list.” Dan shares practical tips and tools that help pastors and church finance teams make intentional, informed decisions that align with mission and vision—without defaulting to short-term thinking or reactive spending.
From assessing year-to-date giving and donor trends to reviewing your cash position and clarifying spending priorities, this episode is packed with wisdom and ready-to-use resources to help you steward the rest of your year well.
One Key Takeaway:
Pick one area—income, cash, or your wish list—and start today.
Whether you dig into giving trends, evaluate your cash flow, or organize and prioritize your ministry wish list, taking one intentional step now will set your church up for a stronger year-end and more mission-focused decision-making.Resources Mentioned:
- Income Analysis & Projection Tool – Input your historical and current giving data to project year-end income.
- Expense Review Tool – Evaluate your spending to catch hidden expenses and get back on track.
- MortarStone – Donor analytics software to help you understand giving patterns, identify lapses, and plan discipleship strategies.
- Core Four Episode – A previous Distilled episode on the four numbers every church needs to know.
churchfinancemadesimple.com - Income Analysis & Projection Tool – Input your historical and current giving data to project year-end income.