Church Budget Template - How to Write

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by Sage

A practical guide and worksheet structure for building a church budget by projecting income and planning expenditures. It walks through collecting last year’s income sources, analyzing trends, and setting projected totals for each revenue category (offerings, donations, dues, rentals, trust funds, investments, bequests). It then organizes expenses into missions, salaries/benefits, discipleship/education, music/worship, evangelism, facilities, debt retirement, utilities, and savings, including monthly and annual amounts so income and expenses balance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

How to Write a Church Budget

Income

Expenses

Totals

Church Budget Tips

| How to Write a Church Budget | | | --- | --- | | A church budget lines up the
MONEY COMING IN
| ....against the
MONEY GOING OUT
| | This includes things like:
● Offerings
● Donations
● Dues
● Facility Rentals
● Trust Funds
● Investments
● Bequests | This includes things like:
● Facilities
● Staff
● Debt
● Ministry Expenses
● Apportionments (WEF and Fair Share)
● Benevolence
● Savings | | ↑ Project these numbers with historical data ↑ | | | $ Total Income = $ Total Expenses
These totals should be equal | | Income Start your budget by pulling in your income from the last year. If you have multiple years to look at, do you detect an upward or downward trend? That will factor into how you set your budget goal. Once you’ve audited all of your sources of income and considered your trending revenue for the last few years, it’s time to set a projected income from each source and a total for the year. | 2020 | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | Source | Amount | | | Offerings | | | | Donations | | | | Dues | | | | Facility Rentals | | | | Trust Funds | | | | Investments | | | | Bequests | | | | TOTAL | | 2021 | | Source | Expected Amount | | --- | --- | --- | | | Offerings | | | | Donations | | | | Dues | | | | Facility Rentals | | | | Trust Funds | | | | Investments | | | | Bequests | | | | TOTAL | | Expenses Now that you have your projected income, it’s time to plan for expenditures. Before you break your expenses down into the categories below, take a look at where you spent your income from last year and see where you may need to adjust. Missions Month Annual | Percentage of Budget % | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | World Missions | | WEF (5.5%) | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Mission Specials | | | | | | | | Fair Share (8%) Local Compassionate Min. | | Activity A | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Activity B | | | | | Activity C | | | | | Activity D | | | | TOTAL MISSIONS | | | | | Salaries | | Month | Annual | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Percentage of Budget % | | | | | | Senior Pastor | | | | | Executive Pastor | | | | | Worship Pastor | | | | | Small-Group Pastor | | | | | Finance Director | | | | | Education Pastor | | | | | Youth Pastor | | | | | Operations Director | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Outreach Pastor | | | | | Children's Pastor | | | | | Stewardship Pastor | | | | | Missions Pastor | | | | | Associate Pastor | | | | | Creative Director | | | | | Director of Communications | | | | | Technology Director | | | | | Education Pastor | | | | TOTAL SALARIES/BENEFITS | | | | | Discipleship/Education | | Month | Annual | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Percentage of Budget % | | | | | | Sunday School Material | | | | | Vacation Bible School | | | | | Youth Ministry | | | | | Discipleship/Bible Studies | | | | | Women's Ministry | | | | | Children's Ministry | | | | | Senior Adult Ministry | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | | Other | | | | Discipleship/Education Total | | | | | Music/Worship | | | | Month | | Annual | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Percentage of Budget % | | | | | | | | | | Music | | | | | | | | Christmas Program | | | | | | | | Easter Program | | | | | | | | Special Events | | | | | | | | Instruments | | | | | | | | Other | | | | | | | | Other | | | | | | | | Other | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MUSIC/WORSHIP TOTAL | | | | | | | | Evangelism | | | | Month | | Annual | | Percentage of Budget % | | | | | | | | | | Evangelism Training | | | | | | | | Revival Expenses | | | | | | | | Special Events | | | | | | | | Media | | | | | | | | Advertising |

FAQs

How do you start building a church budget?

Pull income data from the last year, look for an upward or downward trend if you have multiple years, then set projected income for each source and a total for the year.

What expense categories should be included in the budget?

Plan expenditures across missions, salaries/benefits, discipleship/education, music/worship, evangelism, and facilities, along with related items such as debt retirement, utilities, insurance, repairs/upkeep, custodial, and office expenses.

How do you know the church budget is balanced?

Match total expected income with total expenses; when they equal, the budget is complete and ready to use.

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by Sage