Econ 101
Beauty, value, purpose – none of it matters if income never exceeds outgo. Ask me how I know.
In mid-2016 our extension campus felt almost untouchable.
Sundays buzzed with more than two-hundred worshipers, the band provided a top tier worship experience, and our children’s ministry was filled with laughter and learning.
Small groups met in homes throughout the week, weaving genuine community. And best of all, I served beside a staff that was every pastor’s dream – loyal, competent, and fully engaged in the mission.
I loved coming to work every single day, and people could feel it.
Yet while ministry life soared, our spreadsheets told an unsettling counter-story.
Giving consistently lagged attendance (as it so often does in a church plant scenario), and for five-plus years the “home office” from which we had been launched stepped in to cover the shortfall.
Their generosity bought us time, but subsidies are life support, not a sustainable diet.
By the late summer of that year it was painfully clear that our expenses still out-ran our income and that nothing on the horizon promised to close the gap.
So, the parent church made the only fiscally responsible choice: they closed the campus.
Along with the announcement came an unfortunate hiccup in my professional timeline.
I was fired.
I understood the decision then, and nearly nine years later I still do – even though the memory tends to tighten my chest.
There is an economic law as sure as gravity: no enterprise – be it government, church, company, nonprofit, or household – can survive indefinitely if it spends more than it takes in.
Peter Drucker captured it bluntly: “No margin, no mission.”
Jesus hinted at the same principle when he asked, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost…?”
Mission and stewardship are not rivals; they are dance partners. Ignore one and you end up flat on the dance floor.
We can see the same law at work far beyond church walls.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bleeds tens of millions annually, a deficit CBS has chosen to no longer cover.
The WNBA survives largely on the NBA’s financial oxygen, even as its athletes rightfully champion the sport’s beauty. How long will that last?
These are not moral judgments; they are two fiscal realities that happen to be in the headlines today. If subsidies dry up before profitability arrives, the curtain will fall.
Purpose-driven leaders, especially those of us motivated by faith or cause, often treat money like a necessary evil – something to glance at quickly before we get back to the “real work.”
When attendance climbs or testimonials pour in, we tell ourselves the finances will catch up.
Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. Hope is a wonderful spiritual discipline but a lousy business strategy.
My mistake was postponing the hard questions:
What is our true break-even point, and how close are we – really?
At what date must subsidies end, and what milestones prove we are ready?
Which expenses actually drive ministry impact, and which merely decorate it?
Had I forced those conversations earlier, we might have pivoted, trimmed, or innovated our way to sustainability. Instead, I learned the lesson the painful way. And so did the congregation that loved our campus.
Healthy organizations marry passion with prudence.
John Maxwell reminds us that “leaders see more than others see, and they see it sooner.” Vision must therefore include the budget.
Here are three mindset shifts that help keep vision and viability in step:
Treat subsidies like a runway, not a hammock. Temporary funding should accelerate lift-off toward self-sufficiency. Mark a clear end date and measure progress in plain sight.
Speak numbers as fluently as you speak vision. Finances are not a distraction from mission. They are the fuel gauge that tells you how far the vehicle can go. Review cash flow as faithfully as you review attendance or customer feedback.
Build margin on purpose. Surplus is not greed. It is capacity. Capacity to serve in crises, to innovate, to facilitate flourishing within the scope of your organization.
If your organization (government, church, company, nonprofit, or even your own household) relies on outside subsidies to keep the lights on, pause and reckon with the numbers today.
The earlier we face the truth, the more options we preserve. The beauty of our work, the power of our purpose, even the loyalty of our people cannot compensate for a perpetually negative bottom line.
Economics may feel unspiritual, but they are among the most spiritual realities we confront because they reveal whether our stewardship matches our calling.
Blessings to you, my friends!
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- Mike Michalowicz
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MMS 25-29
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