A poster commented:
Stan,
It's not just HQ that's not being willing to be up front with the membership about offerings and what's being done with them. The local congregations (at least this one) bears watching as well.
While we were just shown a budget for this year recently, we have never been told how last year's funds were actually spent. It's one thing to say you plan to do something; actually doing it is another thing entirely.
After our previous experiences with the WCG under HWA, you would think a minister would know better than to say give your money to Jesus and let it go, and expect people to just go along with it.
Thank you for drawing attention to this most important aspect of giving in the WCG, but not getting appropriate financial reporting in return.
You do well in drawing a distinction between a congregation's projected budget and spending with what actually takes place during the fiscal year. Rarely if ever do the two perfectly coincide. If the budget, donations and spending did match exactly, your pastor must be able to prophesy the future, well in advance. Even Alan Greenspan isn't that good at forecasting!
Stan,
It's not just HQ that's not being willing to be up front with the membership about offerings and what's being done with them. The local congregations (at least this one) bears watching as well.
While we were just shown a budget for this year recently, we have never been told how last year's funds were actually spent. It's one thing to say you plan to do something; actually doing it is another thing entirely.
After our previous experiences with the WCG under HWA, you would think a minister would know better than to say give your money to Jesus and let it go, and expect people to just go along with it.
Thank you for drawing attention to this most important aspect of giving in the WCG, but not getting appropriate financial reporting in return.
You do well in drawing a distinction between a congregation's projected budget and spending with what actually takes place during the fiscal year. Rarely if ever do the two perfectly coincide. If the budget, donations and spending did match exactly, your pastor must be able to prophesy the future, well in advance. Even Alan Greenspan isn't that good at forecasting!
Ambassador Reports has knowledge of other members reporting that they can't get the HQ mandated local financial information from their Pastor. Dan Rodgers, Director of WCG Church administration, and your regional pastoral leader should be notified about this troubling situation in your church. Local church pastors must keep their congregations fully informed with certain periodic financial reports, not just how well the local budget is doing. If the pastor doesn't give after a friendly reminder, perhaps some further administrative action may be in order.
Tkach has demanded financial and administrative accountability from local WCG congregations through highly detailed rules and regulations in the WCG financial and administrative manuals. Part of his financial rule is to require local congregations to develop and locally approve of an annual budget which calls for electronic funds transfer of 15% of donations given ("apportionment income") from the local offerings over to the Glendora headquarters bank account on a set day each month. All the better to electronically monitor local weekly attendance and giving records! Local pastors salary and compensation is similarly transmitted electronically from Glendora back to the local pastor's separate account.
The manuals also direct the pastor of the local congregation and finance committee to keep the local WCG members fully informed in specific ways about the local finances, not just the lack of donations or if meeting budgeted expectations. The local congregation is to receive a certain number of stipulated, written financial reports with detailed information on at least a periodic basis. Summary financial information from the previous year is to be used locally to plan next year's budget. Your congregation may want to go above and beyond the minimum reporting requirement standards as required by the financial manual.
Chapter 8 of the WCG Financial Manual should prove helpful to you. Required financial reports of local congregations are described in this section, along with frequency of reporting and designated recipients in the pecking order. It specifically states that reports to be received by the congregation are to be posted on a bulletin board or in a bulletin or newsletter available to all members. Are you getting these reports through bulletin boards? Perhaps your local newsletter is getting filtered out as spam by your internet service provider.
Reports to be received by Glendora HQ are to be submitted electronically, through the Internet. If required financial reports become overdue by more than six months, HQ may audit the congregation’s records or take other appropriate action, charging your congregation for associated costs for the inquisition. Local congregations are responsible for reporting to HQ according to certain deadlines.
Tkach has demanded financial and administrative accountability from local WCG congregations through highly detailed rules and regulations in the WCG financial and administrative manuals. Part of his financial rule is to require local congregations to develop and locally approve of an annual budget which calls for electronic funds transfer of 15% of donations given ("apportionment income") from the local offerings over to the Glendora headquarters bank account on a set day each month. All the better to electronically monitor local weekly attendance and giving records! Local pastors salary and compensation is similarly transmitted electronically from Glendora back to the local pastor's separate account.
The manuals also direct the pastor of the local congregation and finance committee to keep the local WCG members fully informed in specific ways about the local finances, not just the lack of donations or if meeting budgeted expectations. The local congregation is to receive a certain number of stipulated, written financial reports with detailed information on at least a periodic basis. Summary financial information from the previous year is to be used locally to plan next year's budget. Your congregation may want to go above and beyond the minimum reporting requirement standards as required by the financial manual.
Chapter 8 of the WCG Financial Manual should prove helpful to you. Required financial reports of local congregations are described in this section, along with frequency of reporting and designated recipients in the pecking order. It specifically states that reports to be received by the congregation are to be posted on a bulletin board or in a bulletin or newsletter available to all members. Are you getting these reports through bulletin boards? Perhaps your local newsletter is getting filtered out as spam by your internet service provider.
Reports to be received by Glendora HQ are to be submitted electronically, through the Internet. If required financial reports become overdue by more than six months, HQ may audit the congregation’s records or take other appropriate action, charging your congregation for associated costs for the inquisition. Local congregations are responsible for reporting to HQ according to certain deadlines.
WCG financial reporting deadlines are:
Weekly reports are due by Tuesday of the week following
Monthly reports are due by the 10th of the month following
Quarterly reports are due by the 30th of the month following
Year-end report is due by March 1 of the year following
WCG Financial Manual
Good luck in your quest to get your Pastor to follow Tkach' local disclosure financial rules. You always have the option of not donating to an unaccountable Worldwide Church of God! What are they going to do, run a tithe check on you?
2 comments:
well, obviously no one seems to give a rats ass about WCG finances after it's given :)
As an "ex-member" I don't understand why in the world anyone would "give" or tithe to WCG. Haven't you all had enough???
There are WAY better ways to "give" of your money. Try going to your local elementary school principal and find out the needs of the poor children. Buy their school supplies and some shoes. You'll be doing GOD's work yourself AND filling a REAL need in your community!
Why we think our "giving" has to be done in a church building is simply NUTS!
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