Remember the Future: Financial Leadership and Asset Management for Congregations

By Gerald Keucher

Book Overview

A roadmap for church leaders to break the model of "managing" their parish to setting a foundation for growth and hope.

This practical, no-nonsense guide challenges church leaders to get out of "survival mode" and start imagining-and living out-a future filled with growth and hope. In his years of work with congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, Gerald Keucher discovered that the shrinkage in numbers in many congregations of mainline churches "has deeply affected the psyches of those who lead our congregations. In many cases, they've been 'managing decline' for so long that they've forgotten to look to the future." Keucher outlines a method for sound leadership and asset management in clear, easy-to-follow chapters.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089869518X
• ISBN13: 9780898695182
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

A must-read guide for all churches

This book is an excellent guide for all governing bodies and staff (including clergy) at churches. It simplifies the rationale and process of establishing, investing and spending from endowments, and provides practical guidelines for how much to put aside annually for maintaining and improving your buildings and grounds.

Remember the Future!

This excellent work by Rev. Keucher is very helpful in enabling church leaders get "on the same page" regarding their fiduciary duties to both the current chuch members and to those who come after. The author's easy-to-read style persuaded me to provide copies of the book to every member of our Vestry, Finance Committee and Foundation. The response from several of these church leaders was a profound "thank you, this was a wonderful learning experience in stewardship and church leadership." Steve Paul Moen, Treasurer St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral Seattle, Washington

A Treasure

What I like about it: 1. Keucher puts all the financial stuff in the context of the larger horizon of total care of the parish. 2. It eschews financial jargon and uses normal English to explain the issues very simply and understandably. 3. It explains the issues simply and straightforward so that the reader gets an understanding of the issues and their implications - that is, why the church councilperson should care. 4. It is fun to read. 5. There are not a lot of numbers that might be off-putting. 6. It clearly explains why the lay leadership of the parish should care about the finances and provides them the way of understanding the issues. 7. Church council members will have sufficient knowledge and understanding to ask thoughtful and important questions of the Treasurer and Investment Managers. I highly recommend the book for clergy, members of church councils and interested members of churches. Keucher uses not-for-profit organizations as examples of what he is explaining so it could be read with great benefit by members of advisory committees of not-for-profits also.