Faithful administration is about more than budgets, reports, and policies—it is an important part of ministry. During Administration as Ministry, Executive Director of Finance & Administration/Treasurer Jim Ducker shared practical guidance to help pastors and lay leaders strengthen their church's financial practices while supporting the mission of the local church. Ducker encouraged participants to think about "one or two practical things" they could take back to their congregations, reminding attendees that "it's progress, not perfection."

Early in the workshop, Ducker shared a phrase he learned from a fellow conference treasurer: "administry." The phrase captured the heart of the workshop, that administration is ministry. He explained that faithful administration is about "entrusting the resources that God's provided" and maintaining trust within the congregation, noting that "trust is everything in a ministry." From there, he walked participants through best practices for internal controls, church audits, budgeting, and financial reporting, emphasizing that strong financial systems protect leaders and volunteers, encourage transparency, and help churches faithfully steward the resources entrusted to them.

Participants explored practical ways to strengthen accountability, including establishing checks and balances, safeguarding offerings, conducting annual audits, and creating budgets that support the church's mission. As Ducker explained, "Budgets are ministry plans expressed financially," encouraging church leaders to view financial planning as a tool for ministry rather than simply an administrative task. Throughout the session, biblical principles of stewardship were paired with practical resources from the Book of Discipline and the General Council on Finance and Administration, equipping churches of every size with tools they can begin implementing in their own ministries.

The workshop concluded with practical next steps for local churches, including reviewing internal controls, strengthening financial policies and procedures, scheduling annual audits, improving financial reporting, and training finance volunteers. Participants also received a variety of Dakotas Conference and General Council on Finance and Administration resources to help them continue building financial practices that support both accountability and ministry.

View the slides from this presentation here. 
View the recording here.