Ep. 36: Is Your Budget Funding the Mission or Fighting It?

<h2>Summary</h2><p>What should a healthy church budget actually look like?</p><p>In this episode of <i>Distilled</i>, Dan and Greg unpack practical church budget percentages using Parable’s <b>90-70-10-10-10 framework</b>. They explain why churches should budget with margin, how staffing and facility costs work together, and what healthy spending can look like across administration, ministry, and missions.</p><p>But percentages are only part of the story. A budget should not simply categorize expenses—it should show how every dollar supports the church’s mission. When leaders view the budget as a <b>mission map</b>, finances become less about restriction and more about intentionally funding what God has called the church to accomplish.<br /></p><h2>One Key Takeaway</h2><p>A healthy church budget does more than keep expenses under control. It creates margin, protects the ministry from the unexpected, and ensures every dollar is intentionally aligned with the church’s mission.<br /></p><h2>Resources Mentioned</h2><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://liveyourparable.com/church-budget-percentages-on-mission/?pa_utm_source=distilled&amp;pa_utm_medium=episode-summary" target="_blank"><b>Free Church Budgeting Toolkit</b></a><br />Includes tools to help churches project income, build a healthy budget, and evaluate their spending.<br /></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://liveyourparable.com/book/?pa_utm_source=distilled&amp;pa_utm_medium=episode-summary" target="_blank"><b>Upcoming Parable Book on Church Money</b></a><br />Learn more and pre-register for updates about Parable’s upcoming book on aligning church finances with mission.</p>